Sean Garrison obit

Sean Garrison, ‘Dundee and the Culhane’ TV Actor, Dies @ 80

 

 He was not on the list.

The following obit by Howard Mutti-Mewse:

Sean Garrison, the smooth, handsome, leading actor of the late 1950s and '60s showed great early promise. Predicted by the Hollywood publicity mill to be the "next big thing" and likened to Clint Eastwood (b. 1930), Paul Newman (1925-2008) and Steve McQueen (1930-1980), that's where the comparison ended, as stardom — outside of a string of TV guest roles — eluded him.

He had already scored a success with supporting roles in Splendor in the Grass and Bridge to the Sun (both 1961) as well as in episodes of hit TV shows, Sugarfoot and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (both 1958), when producers cast him as Lancelot in a touring company product of Camelot, co-starring Biff McGuire (b. 1926) and Jeannie Carson (b. 1928).

It was no secret that Warner Bros. was already scouting to cast for motion picture version of the musical [they'd already cast Vanessa Redgrave (b. 1937) and Richard Harris (1930-2002)], but when executives visited the Gammage Auditorium, in Tempe, Arizona, they were less than impressed with Garrison's performance. Reportedly, studio mogul Jack Warner (1892-1978) added insult to injury by suggesting he wasn't handsome enough, either. The role of Lancelot went to the Italian actor Franco Nero (b. 1941), who had to be dubbed while Garrison possessed a superb baritone. His career virtually ended there.

Garrison was born on October 19, 1937, of Irish descent  in New York, and left school at 14, taking a variety of jobs, from ranch hand to construction worker, before landing a job at the ABC film vaults in Hollywood. His natural good looks quickly brought him to the attention of the front office; a screen test was arranged which in turn lead to a short-term contract with Warner Bros. He made his film debut in director William Wellman's (1896-1975) Darby's Ranger's (1958), followed in quick succession with Violent Road (1958), starring Brian Keith (1921-1997) and Merry Anders (1934-2012), and Onionhead (1958) with Andy Griffith (1926-2012) and Felica Farr (b. 1932).

Later in '58, Garrison went to New York to study drama at the Actor's Studio; where he supplemented his income in a series part time jobs; in December 1959, he attracted a long line of young mothers waiting to catch a glimpse of him as a hunky Father Christmas at Macy's Department Store.

Back in Hollywood, he guest starred in a plethora of popular TV shows, including The Big Valley (1965) and Gunsmoke (1965), also joining Bert Lahr (1895-1967) and Larry Hagman (1931-2012) in the stage production The Beauty Part (1962).

In 1966, he was given his breakout role as Mark Dominic, a naval ensign opposite Jean Seberg (1938-1979) in the psychological thriller Moment to Moment, co-starring Arthur Hill (1922-2006) and Honor Blackman (b. 1925). Although the film faired well at the box office, critics were less than enthusiastic about Garrison, suggesting director Mervyn LeRoy (1900-1987) should have cast an actor of Paul Newman's caliber instead. The film's best reviews came from gossip Hedda Hopper (1885-1966), who wrote, "This film has style, sophistication, beauty and four fine actors." Hopper died the week the film opened.

Garrison followed this playing an impulsive hotshot lawyer apprenticed to an aristocratic British attorney [played by John Mills (1908-2005)] in the CBS TV period piece, Dundee and the Culhane (1967); it failed miserably and was shelved after just 13 episodes.

Undaunted, Garrison continued to find screen work, though offers became more sporadic. He starred in a handful of made-for-TV films, including Seven in Darkness (1969) with Milton Berle (1908-2002) and The Challengers (1970), as well as popping up on episodes of TV shows like Love, American Style (1970), Police Woman (1977), The Rockford Files (1977), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) and CHiPS (1981).

By the early 1980s, Garrison retired as an actor and went into the swimming pool construction business, making a lucrative income far greater than he earned as a film star.

"I hoped to become a box-office commodity," he said in 2010, "but it wasn't meant to be."

He never married.

Actor (46 credits)

 1981 CHiPs (TV Series)

V.A. Doctor

- The Hawk and the Hunter (1981) ... V.A. Doctor

 1980 B.J. and the Bear (TV Series)

Carl Belford

- The 18-Wheel Rip-Off (1980) ... Carl Belford

 1980 Fantasy Island (TV Series)

Captain Buck Tanner

- PlayGirl/Smith's Valhalla (1980) ... Captain Buck Tanner

 1980 Power (TV Movie)

Tex

 1979 The Secret Empire (TV Series)

Yannuck

- Chapter XIV: Escape to the Stars (1979) ... Yannuck

- Chapter XII: Powerhouse (1979) ... Yannuck

- Chapter 6: Seeds of Revolt (1979) ... Yannuck

- Chapter V: The Mind Twisters (1979) ... Yannuck

- Chapter IV: Prisoner of the Empire (1979) ... Yannuck

 1979 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV Series)

Flight Controller

- Planet of the Amazon Women (1979) ... Flight Controller (uncredited)

 1979 Rendezvous Hotel (TV Movie)

Guy

 1977 Black Sheep Squadron (TV Series)

Major Walter Layton

- The Hawk Flies on Sunday (1977) ... Major Walter Layton

 1977 Police Woman (TV Series)

Turner

- Guns (1977) ... Turner

 1977 The Rockford Files (TV Series)

Lanark

- Second Chance (1977) ... Lanark

 1977 Cover Girls (TV Movie)

Sven

 1976 Midway

Lt. Cmdr. Ken Cunningham (uncredited)

 1973 Police Story (TV Series)

Detective Robert Scott

- The Violent Homecoming (1973) ... Detective Robert Scott

 1972 Mannix (TV Series)

Clint Carpenter

- Harvest of Death (1972) ... Clint Carpenter

 1972 Adventures of Nick Carter (TV Movie)

Lloyd Deams

 1971 Alias Smith and Jones (TV Series)

Harvey Bishop

- The 5th Victim (1971) ... Harvey Bishop

 1970 Breakout (TV Movie)

Frank McCready

 1970 Love, American Style (TV Series)

Ali Cooper (segment "Love and Double Trouble")

- Love and the Fly/Love and the Millionaires/Love and Double Trouble (1970) ... Ali Cooper (segment "Love and Double Trouble")

 1970 The Challengers (TV Movie)

Cody Scanlon

 1970 To Rome with Love (TV Series)

George

- The Pied Piper of Rome (1970) ... George

 1969 Seven in Darkness (TV Movie)

Mark Larsen

 1969 Mod Squad (TV Series)

Samuel J. Coles

- A Reign of Guns (1969) ... Samuel J. Coles

 1968 The Name of the Game (TV Series)

Buck Hambleton

- Ordeal (1968) ... Buck Hambleton

 1967 Dundee and the Culhane (TV Series)

The Culhane / Culhane

- The Catch a Thief Brief (1967) ... The Culhane

- The Death of a Warrior Brief (1967) ... The Culhane

- The 3:10 to a Lynching Brief (1967) ... The Culhane

- The Dead Man's Brief (1967) ... Culhane

- The Cat in the Bag Brief (1967) ... The Culhane

Show all 7 episodes

 1967 The Outsider (TV Movie)

Collin Kenniston III

 1967 Banning

Richard Tyson

 1966 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (TV Series)

Doug Pomeroy

- Runaway Bay (1966) ... Doug Pomeroy

 1966 Gunsmoke (TV Series)

Rev. John Porter

- Sanctuary (1966) ... Rev. John Porter

 1966 Moment to Moment

Mark Dominic

 1965 The Big Valley (TV Series)

Lloyd

- The Young Marauders (1965) ... Lloyd

 1963 Look Up and Live (TV Series documentary)

Masters

- The End of the Story (1963) ... Masters

 1962 Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV Series)

- The Secret Crime (1962)

 1962 John Brown's Body (TV Movie)

 1961 Bridge to the Sun

Fred Tyson

 1961 Splendor in the Grass

Glenn

 1961 'Way Out (TV Series)

- Button, Button (1961)

 1960 Deadline (TV Series)

Ralph

- The Cave (1960) ... Ralph

 1959 Brenner (TV Series)

Howard Campell

- I, Executioner (1959) ... Howard Campell

 1959 Up Periscope

Seaman Floyd

 1958 Sugarfoot (TV Series)

Andy Gibson

- The Canary Kid (1958) ... Andy Gibson

 1958 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (TV Series)

George

- Stealing Rick's Girl (1958) ... George

 1958 Onionhead

Yeoman Kaffhamp

 1958 Violent Road

Ken Farley

 1957-1958 Colt .45 (TV Series)

Charles 'Chuck' Dudley / Youth

- Circle of Fear (1958) ... Charles 'Chuck' Dudley

- A Time to Die (1957) ... Youth

 1958 Cheyenne (TV Series)

Mike Fullerton

- The Empty Gun (1958) ... Mike Fullerton

 1958 Darby's Rangers

Young Soldier (uncredited)

Hide Hide Archive footage (1 credit)

 1980 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV Series)

Flight Controller

- A Blast for Buck (1980) ... Flight Controller (uncredited)