Peter Brown obit

Peter Brown, Deputy on TV Western 'Lawman,' Dies at 80

He was not on the list.

Peter Brown, who starred as the eager young deputy Johnny McKay on the 1958-62 ABC series Lawman, has died. He was 80.

Brown, who played a Texas Ranger on NBC's Laredo, another TV Western, died Monday at his home in Phoenix as a result of Parkinson's disease, his wife, Kerstin, told The Hollywood Reporter.

In Foxy Brown (1974), the boyishly handsome actor portrayed a bad guy who is castrated by men hired by the revenge-seeking title character (Pam Grier), with his severed genitals being presented to his girlfriend (Kathryn Loder).

From 1972-79, Brown played Dr. Greg Peters on NBC's Days of Our Lives and later worked on other soap operas such as The Young and the Restless, Loving, One Life to Live and The Bold and the Beautiful.

On Lawman, one of several series that Warner Bros. had on the air at the time, Brown starred as Johnny, an orphan in the 1880s who gets the job as deputy under Marshal Dan Troop (John Russell) in Laramie, Wyo.

The role "came naturally to me," he once said. "My character was not a big stretch; he was a pretty nice kid who was adept at what he did and was eager to learn. Johnny liked girls and guns and all the things Peter Brown liked."

Brown returned to the Western genre on the hourlong action comedy Laredo, playing the clever Chad Cooper for two seasons (1965-67). The show's pilot was an episode of The Virginian.

Born in Manhattan, Brown moved with his family to the West Coast, and he studied acting at UCLA. As the story goes, he met studio chief Jack Warner while working at a gas station, and that led to a contract at Warner Bros.

He had small roles in such films at the studio as Too Much, Too Soon (1958), Darby's Rangers (1958), Onionhead (1958), Marjorie Morningstar (1958) and The Young Philadelphians (1959) before landing his Lawman gig.

After leaving Warners, Brown signed with Universal Studios and made three films in 1964: A Tiger Walks, Kitten With a Whip, starring Ann-Margret, and Ride the Wild Surf.

Brown also appeared in such films as Summer Magic (1963), Chrome and Hot Leather (1971), Piranha (1972), The Messenger (1986) and The Wedding Planner (2001) and on TV shows including Wagon Train, Mission: Impossible, The Bob Newhart Show, Police Woman, Dallas, Knight Rider and JAG.

Brown married Kerstin, his fifth wife, in 2008. Survivors also include his children Joshua, Matt and Christi, their spouses and three grandchildren.

Filmography

Film credits Year               Title       Role       Notes

1957      The Story of Esther Costello         Boy        Uncredited

1957      Sayonara              2nd MP                Voice, Uncredited

1957      Freedom and You             Bill Martin           Edited to half an hour and rereleased in 1962 as Red Nightmare

1958      Darby's Rangers                Pvt. / Cpl. Rollo Burns    

1958      Too Much, Too Soon       Young Nightcl    Uncredited

1958      Marjorie Morningstar     Alec       Uncredited

1958      Violent Road      Marine Corporal               Uncredited

1958      No Time for Sergeants   Radio Disc Jockey             Voice, Uncredited

1958      Onionhead          Clark      (scenes deleted)

1959      Westbound        Army Sentry Outside Tent            Voice, Uncredited

1959      The Young Philadelphians             Airline Ticket Agent / Elevator Operator Voice, Uncredited

1959      The FBI Story      FBI Agent at Hearting     Voice, Uncredited

1962      Merrill's Marauders        Bullseye              

1963      Summer Magic Tom Hamilton   

1964      A Tiger Walks     Vern Goodman

1964      Ride the Wild Surf            Chase Colton     

1964      Kitten with a Whip           Ron       

1968      Three Guns for Texas      Texas Ranger Chad Cooper           Episodes of Laredo TV series made into a feature film

1969      Backtrack             Texas Ranger Chad Cooper           Episodes of Laredo TV series made into a feature film

1970      Attack at Dawn Abie       Israeli film

1971      Chrome and Hot Leather               Al           

1971      Teenage Tease                 

1972      Piranha, Piranha               Jim Pendrake    

1973      Gentle Savage   -              Executive producer

1974      Foxy Brown         Steve Elias          

1974      Memory of Us    Winston              

1974      Act of Vengeance             Jack       

1975      Sunburst              The Professor   

1976      Sparkle -              Executive producer

1982      The Concrete Jungle       Danny  

1986      The Aurora Encounter    Sheriff  

1986      The Messenger Harris   

1990      Deathstone        Admiral               

1995      Fists of Iron         Max      

1997      Asylum Dr. Frank Meyers            

1999      Wasteland Justice            Wilkerson           

2001      The Wedding Planner     Justice  

2004      Y.M.I.    Glenn   

2004      Land of the Free?             Sen. Jacobs        

2004      Hollywood, It's a Dog's Life           Hank O'Hara      

2005      Three Bad Men Tom Noland       

2005      Hell to Pay           Johnny Behan    (final film role)

Television credits Year   Title       Role       Notes

1957      Colt .45                 Jimmy Benedict / Dave 2 episodes

1957–1960          Maverick              Deputy Johnny McKay / Rip Fallon / Chris Semple              3 episodes

1957–1962          Cheyenne           Ross Andrews-Pocketful Of Stars ... Billy Younger / Jed Wayne / Clay Conover (4 episodes)

1958–1959          Sugarfoot            Deputy Johnny McKay / Davey Reeder    2 episodes

1958–1962          Lawman               Deputy Johnny McKay    156 episodes

1962      Hawaiian Eye     Teo        Episode: "Lalama Lady"

1962      77 Sunset Strip Trace Morgan / Timmy Ellison     2 episodes

1963      The Gallant Men               Lt. Hodges           Episode: "The Bridge"

1963      The Alfred Hitchcock Hour            Det. Philip Reardon / Ed                2 episodes

1963      Redigo Johnny Porter    Episode: "The Blooded Bull"

1963–1964          Wagon Train      Ben Campbell / Aaron Balfour / Benedict O'Brien               3 episodes

1964      Kraft Suspense Theatre Chris Forrester / Lieutenant Ben Hollister              2 episodes

1964–1967          The Virginian      Tom Conlan / Chad Cooper / Craig Ryan 3 episodes

1965–1967          Laredo Chad Cooper      56 episodes, three of which are a credit only. Credited as Chad Cooper/Prince Lazlo in "A Prince of a Ranger" (1966)

1967      The Danny Thomas Hour               Eddie Kimble      Episode: "The Enemy"

1969      The Best Years   Dempster            Made-for-television movie

1969      Mod Squad         Lou Franklin        Episode: "The Debt"

1970      Hunters Are for Killing    Raymond Pera   Made-for-television movie

1970      The Most Deadly Game Scott Norton      Episode: "War Games"

1971      My Three Sons Mike Turley        Episode: "The Love God"

1971      Dan August         Fred Bowers       Episode: "The Manufactured Man"

1971      Mission: Impossible        Johnny Brown    Episode: "Blind"

1971      O'Hara, U.S. Treasury      S.A. Bart Herron                Episode: "Operation: Spread"

1972      Medical Center Dr. Musante       Episode: "Deadlock"

1972      The Bob Newhart Show Stan Conners     Episode: "Tennis, Emily?"

1972–1978          Days of Our Lives              Dr. Greg Peters 10 episodes

1973      The Magician     Ray Weaver        Episode: "The Vanishing Lady"

1974      Police Story        Chuck / Lloyd     2 episodes

1975      Marcus Welby, M.D.       Mike Ross            Episode: "The Covenant"

1975      Matt Helm                          Episode: "Dead Men Talk", Episode: "Murder on Ice"

1975      Police Woman   Paul Monarch    Episode: "Above and Beyond"

1977      The Streets of San Francisco        Officer Brady      Episode: "One Last Trick"

1977      Quincy M.E.        Bondine - College Football Coast               Episode: "Main Man"

1978      Wonder Woman               Inspector Tim Bolt           Episode: "Hot Wheels"

1978      Charlie's Angels                 Mark Correll       Episode: "Angels Ahoy"

1978      Vega$    Richie    Episode: "The Pageant"

1978      The Eddie Capra Mysteries                           Episode: "Breakout to Murder"

1978      Flying High          Richard                 Episode: "Brides and Grooms"

1979      Salvage 1             Bill Kelly               Episode: "Salvage" (pilot)

1979      Project U.F.O.    Steve Rollins       Episode: "Sighting 4026: The Atlantic Queen Incident"

1979      California Fever                 Woods Episode: "Beach Wars"

1980      The Dukes of Hazzard     Floyd Baker         Episode: "Officer Daisy Duke"

1980      Top of the Hill    McCain                 Made-for-television movie

1980      The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything    Bodyguard          Made-for-television movie

1981      Fantasy Island    Patrick O'Herlihy               Episode: "Elizabeth's Baby/The Artist and the Lady"

1981      The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo           Hijacker Thompson         Episode: "Airsick - 1981"

1982      Dallas    Tom Flintoff        Episode: "Denial"

1982      Magnum, P.I.     Robert Brighton                Episode: "Heal Thyself"

1983      Hart to Hart        Ray Martin / Dr. Scott     Episode: "As the Hart Turns"

1983      Loving   Roger Forbes     

1983      T.J. Hooker          Lt. Drummer       2 episodes

1983      Manimal              Carl McGhan      Episode: "High Stakes"

1984      Whiz Kids             Androv Episode: "Father's Day"

1984      Cover Up              Mark Reynolds Pilot episode

1984      The Fall Guy                        Episode: "San Francisco Caper"

1984      Riptide Fred Cushing      Episode: "Peter Pan Is Alive and Well"

1984–1986          Simon & Simon Manny Crobett / FBI Agent Frank Kenniman         2 episodes

1985      Crazy Like a Fox                                 Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part"

1985      Knight Rider                       Episode: "Knight Behind Bars"

1986      Airwolf Herb Waldron    Episode: "Little Wolf"

1986      The A-Team                        Episode: "The Theory of Revolution"

1986–1987          One Life to Live Charles Sanders, III          Featured Role

1988      Ohara    Austin Snyder    Episode: "Last Year's Model"

1988      Aaron's Way       Coach Grady       Episode: "New Patterns"

1988      1st & Ten: The Championship     Mal Hutchins      Episode: "Caught in the Draft"

1989      Hunter Fuller     Episode: "Partners"

1989      Generations       Doctor 4 episodes

1989–1991          The Young and the Restless         Robert Laurence               6 episodes

1990      Baywatch             Bucky    Episode: "Shark Derby"

1991–1992          The Bold and the Beautiful           Blake Hayes        30 episodes

1992      Wings    Dr. Lasker            Episode: "Noses Off"

1994      One West Waikiki             Mr. Dineheart    Episode: "Along Came a Spider"

1997      Babylon 5            Minister               Episode: "Intersections in Real Time"

2000      JAG        Bill Layton           Episode: "Real Deal SEAL"

2001      Disney's California Adventure TV Special                                Made-for-television movie