Joshua Bryant obit

Taos Talking Pictures founder Joshua Bryant dies

 

He was not on the list.

If you were around in the 1990s, no doubt you were aware of an annual event that put international entertainment media attention on Taos. That event was the Taos Talking Picture Festival and Media Literacy Conference. Its founder, Joshua Bryant, was an actor, writer, rock climber, political activist, vegetarian and somewhat of a visionary, who managed to gather the talents of many film and critical professionals to this small but influential festival in Northern New Mexico.

Bryant, 83, died June 25 in Maisonnais sur Tardoire, France, according to his wife, artist and former actor, Melinda Mullins. A message sent to Jonathan Warm Day Coming of Taos Pueblo, with whom Bryant communicated from time to time, said he passed away peacefully.

Although the event was centered on exploring independent film and alternative viewpoints, it was often touted in the media as a lucrative pipeline to Hollywood. In fact, it presaged the present surge in motion picture production in New Mexico and possibly inspired it by exposing filmmakers to the colorful vistas and diversity of its people. But, deep down, Bryant was growing much more critical of the socio-political environment in the United States than most people might have realized.

“It is said that we live in an age of information, the implication being that we are widely well informed. [The late media theorist and cultural critic] Neil Postman, however, has suggested that Americans are the most entertained people on earth, not necessarily the best informed,” Mullins stated in a Monday (July 1) email.

She added, “until his death, Josh was active in denouncing censorship as well as media used as political and economic propaganda. He was also fierce in supporting independent investigative journalism. He was gratified to hear, the day before his death, that [WikiLeaks founder] Julian Assange had been freed.” Australian journalist and editor Assange ignited a legal firestorm after publicly disclosing classified documents related to the Afghan and Iraq wars, among other secrets. After fighting numerous charges and serving years in jail and in exile, he was finally freed in June 2024 after pleading guilty to an espionage act charge.

Bryant and Mullins have said they loved northern New Mexico more than any other place on earth. Their lives were centered on various creative endeavors while living on Montosa Road, a rough stretch of unpaved road reached by four-wheel drive more often than not west of Arroyo Hondo, past the Rio Grande Gorge. “Our days were spent outside working on the ranch and training the horses,” Bryant told this writer in 2019. “We developed calluses on our hands. We learned a lot about horses. They bucked, they reared, they kicked and bit. We gently convinced them that none of that was necessary. Fortunately, neither of us was seriously injured.”

When the United States government attacked Iraq in 2003, “based on lies, (the couple) decided to protest the only way they felt they could: By emigrating. Mustangs, dogs, cats and humans packed up and moved to rural south-western France,” Mullins stated in the email. “Josh left behind many good friends in northern New Mexico and a part of his heart will always be there.”

In 1994, this writer, a Taos News arts editor at the time, had lunch with Bryant at Abe’s Cantina in Arroyo Seco to talk about an idea on which he’d been working. That idea turned out to be the Taos Talking Picture Festival, an event Bryant would found in April 1995 that exceeded all expectations. Within four years of its inception, it was named by writer Chris Gore as “one of the top 10 film festivals in the world,” a media statement reads.

Over its run, it featured screenings of independent and world films, workshops and media literacy events that were widely covered in the media, and included appearances by luminaries including Elizabeth Taylor, James Coburn, Sam Elliott, Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, Chris Eyre, Luis Valdez, Howard Zinn, Jim Hightower, John Sayles, and Jim Jarmusch and many more.

It was also notable for its Maverick Award, and its Taos Land Grant Award, in which the winner was given ownership of a piece of land near Taos. Sadly, actor Ben Johnson, who was to be honored with a Maverick Award, died a couple of months before the 1996 event.

The festival was so popular, the late-N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson often asked this writer, “when are they going to get that festival going again?”

The festival lasted a glorious nine years, finally wrapping on Nov. 18, 2003, but during that time, a variety of financial and organizational issues gradually tore away the goodwill that was at its heart. In November of 2003, Taos Talking Pictures declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy due to the the organization amassing about $100,000 in debt. Bryant told the Taos News that he blamed himself in part. "I wish I had been a stronger, smarter guy and able to do something to stop its demise,” he said.

“It has been said that Americans — meaning U.S. citizens — are the most informed people on earth. In fact, the great mass of those Americans have for decades been the most disinformed, misinformed and blissfully brainwashed people on the planet,” Bryant later told this writer. “In 1995, I founded a film and video festival in New Mexico in order to spread the concepts of media literacy. I began my Director’s Letter in the 1998 program with, ‘What if you lived in a country where the news was more propaganda than fact? Where a handful of powerful private interests, with their attendant agendas, controlled virtually all the media? I believe you do.’”

Bryant was born on July 2, 1940 in Norfolk, Virginia. After attending the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts on a James Dean Scholarship and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and serving for three years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, he began a career in the theater that eventually led to his starring, guest-starring and appearing in many dozens of television shows.

He is recognized for many television roles. He appeared as Mary Tyler Moore’s boyfriend, married the school teacher on “Little House on the Prairie” and played Sergeant Scully on “M*A*S*H.” For several years he hosted the U.S. nationally syndicated weekly television show, “Game Warden Wildlife Journal.” His most recent role was as General William Tecumseh Sherman in the DreamWorks mini-series, “Into the West.” He has also recorded the autobiography of his friend, Gardner McKay, for Hawaii Public Radio.

He recently completed a novel titled, “The Hard Way Up,’ which can be found at editions-prairie.com.

He is survived by his wife, Em Bryant (née Melinda Mullins) and daughter Samantha Hanks, along with “a passel of dogs, cats and horses.”

Bryant once said, ”The stories we tell each other are everything. As always, they are nothing less than the way human beings know how to be in the world.”

Director

S.W.V.: Anything

Music Video

Director

1994

 

Actor

Wildfire (2005)

Wildfire

7.5

TV Series

Dr. Ronald

2008

2 episodes

 

Julianna Margulies and Peter Krause in The Lost Room (2006)

The Lost Room

8.1

TV Mini Series

Art O'Dougherty (as Josh Bryant)

2006

1 episode

 

Keri Russell and Matthew Settle in Into the West (2005)

Into the West

8.0

TV Mini Series

Gen. Wm. Sherman (as Josh Bryant)

2005

1 episode

 

Roma Downey, John Dye, and Della Reese in Touched by an Angel (1994)

Touched by an Angel

6.1

TV Series

Harry

2001

1 episode

 

The Lazarus Man (1996)

The Lazarus Man

7.4

TV Series

1996

1 episode

 

Dominic Barto, Ron Carey, Bo Greigh, and Fritz Sperberg in Lucky Luke (1992)

Lucky Luke

6.1

TV Series

Mr. Farley

1992

1 episode

 

Hilary English and Frank Zagarino in Project Eliminator (1991)

Project Eliminator

3.4

Dr. Markson

1991

 

Burt Reynolds in B.L. Stryker (1989)

B.L. Stryker

6.1

TV Series

1990

1 episode

 

L.A. Law (1986)

L.A. Law

7.1

TV Series

Dr. Gregory Stark

1989

1 episode

 

Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven (1984)

Highway to Heaven

6.9

TV Series

Caz

1989

1 episode

 

Jerry Orbach and Barbara Babcock in The Law and Harry McGraw (1987)

The Law and Harry McGraw

7.4

TV Series

Preston Metzger

1987

1 episode

 

Dale Robertson and Ben Vereen in J.J. Starbuck (1987)

J.J. Starbuck

7.2

TV Series

Billy

1987

1 episode

 

Robert Hays in Starman (1986)

Starman

6.7

TV Series

Wayne Geffner

1987

2 episodes

 

Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.3

TV Series

Sam the Vet

1986

1 episode

 

The Education of Allison Tate (1986)

The Education of Allison Tate

5.2

Richard Tate

1986

 

Andy Griffith in Matlock (1986)

Matlock

7.1

TV Series

Dave Edwards

1986

1 episode

 

Mark Harmon, M. Emmet Walsh, Frederic Forrest, John Ashton, Bonnie Bartlett, George Grizzard, Ben Masters, and Glynnis O'Connor in The Deliberate Stranger (1986)

The Deliberate Stranger

7.3

TV Mini Series

Prosecutor

1986

2 episodes

 

News at Eleven (1986)

News at Eleven

6.4

TV Movie

Martin Kent

1986

 

Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, Howie Mandel, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, Ellen Bry, William Daniels, and Ed Flanders in St. Elsewhere (1982)

St. Elsewhere

8.0

TV Series

Dr. Bond Stevens

1986

1 episode

 

Wildside (1985)

Wildside

7.7

TV Series

Pike

1985

1 episode

 

John Rubinstein and Jack Warden in Crazy Like a Fox (1984)

Crazy Like a Fox

7.0

TV Series

Colonel Glendon

1985

1 episode

 

Gone Are the Dayes (1984)

Gone Are the Dayes

6.0

TV Movie

Fred Cooper

1984

 

Riptide (1984)

Riptide

6.8

TV Series

Dr. Robert Atkins

1984

1 episode

 

Hart to Hart (1979)

Hart to Hart

6.7

TV Series

Dan WilmottPaul Villon

1979–1984

2 episodes

 

George Peppard, Mr. T, Dirk Benedict, and Dwight Schultz in The A-Team (1983)

The A-Team

7.5

TV Series

Jim Baker

1983

1 episode

 

Secrets of a Mother and Daughter (1983)

Secrets of a Mother and Daughter

6.7

TV Movie

Barry

1983

 

The Powers of Matthew Star (1982)

The Powers of Matthew Star

6.0

TV Series

Martin Ragland

1983

1 episode

 

Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. (1980)

Magnum, P.I.

7.5

TV Series

Keeler

1982

1 episode

 

Wait Until Dark (1982)

Wait Until Dark

7.1

TV Movie

Mike Talman

1982

 

Lee Majors and Heather Thomas in The Fall Guy (1981)

The Fall Guy

7.1

TV Series

Director (as Josh Bryant)

1982

1 episode

 

Donna Mills, Joan Van Ark, Michele Lee, Constance McCashin, John Pleshette, and Ted Shackelford in Knots Landing (1979)

Knots Landing

7.0

TV Series

Larry Wilson

1982

2 episodes

 

James Garner in Bret Maverick (1981)

Bret Maverick

7.5

TV Series

Busted Bill Sharples

1982

1 episode

 

Emilio Estevez in To Climb a Mountain (1982)

To Climb a Mountain

5.8

TV Movie

John Novak

1982

 

Behind the Screen

5.6

TV Series

Gerry Holmby

1981

1 episode

 

First Monday in October (1981)

First Monday in October

6.4

Bill Russell

1981

 

Insight (1960)

Insight

7.4

TV Series

JimWalter

1976–1981

2 episodes

 

Eight Is Enough (1977)

Eight Is Enough

6.6

TV Series

Walt Liebowitz

1981

1 episode

 

Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)

CHiPs

6.5

TV Series

Arthur HolmesBenson

1978–1980

2 episodes

 

Buddy Ebsen in Barnaby Jones (1973)

Barnaby Jones

6.9

TV Series

Alex HarmonHarris LassiterDan Parker ...

1974–1980

4 episodes

 

Alan Alda, David Ogden Stiers, Gary Burghoff, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, and Loretta Swit in M*A*S*H (1972)

M*A*S*H

8.5

TV Series

Pvt. Jack ScullySgt. Jack ScullySgt. Jerry Scully

1979

3 episodes

 

Reggie Nalder in Salem's Lot (1979)

Salem's Lot

6.7

TV Mini Series

Ted Petrie

1979

2 episodes

 

Married: The First Year (1979)

Married: The First Year

5.9

TV Series

Michael Huffman

1979

1 episode

 

Noah Beery Jr. and James Garner in The Rockford Files (1974)

The Rockford Files

8.2

TV Series

HoltDeputy Chief GormanAgent Mike Wolf ...

1974–1979

4 episodes

 

This Is the Life (1952)

This Is the Life

6.2

TV Series

Sexton

1978

1 episode

 

Paul Shenar and Cindy Williams in Suddenly, Love (1978)

Suddenly, Love

7.4

TV Movie

1978

 

Greatest Heroes of the Bible (1978)

Greatest Heroes of the Bible

6.1

TV Series

1978

1 episode

 

Victoria Principal, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy, Larry Hagman, Charlene Tilton, Jim Davis, Linda Gray, and Steve Kanaly in Dallas (1978)

Dallas

7.1

TV Series

Peter Larson

1978

1 episode

 

Maneaters Are Loose! (1978)

Maneaters Are Loose!

5.5

TV Movie

Tom Purcell

1978

 

Killing Stone (1978)

Killing Stone

7.0

TV Movie

Harold Rizzi

1978

 

Kam Fong, Al Harrington, Jack Lord, and James MacArthur in Hawaii Five-O (1968)

Hawaii Five-O

7.4

TV Series

Joe Boyd

1978

1 episode

 

Melissa Sue Anderson, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Richard Bull, Sidney Greenbush, Jonathan Gilbert, Rachel Lindsay Greenbush, and Katherine MacGregor in Little House on the Prairie (1974)

Little House on the Prairie

7.5

TV Series

Adam Simms

1977–1978

2 episodes

 

Hunter (1976)

Hunter

6.5

TV Series

Pohlman

1977

1 episode

 

Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)

The Love Boat

6.3

TV Series

Jack Plymouth (as Josh Bryant)

1977

1 episode

 

Visions (1976)

Visions

5.9

TV Series

Dr. Rosen

1977

1 episode

 

Rafferty (1977)

Rafferty

7.0

TV Series

Robert Cardler

1977

1 episode

 

George Hamilton and Jane Seymour in Killer on Board (1977)

Killer on Board

5.6

TV Movie

Ballinger

1977

 

Harold Gould and Stefanie Powers in The Feather and Father Gang (1976)

The Feather and Father Gang

6.8

TV Series

Washington

1977

1 episode

 

Future Cop (1976)

Future Cop

5.8

TV Series

Andrew

1977

1 episode

 

Starsky and Hutch (1975)

Starsky and Hutch

7.0

TV Series

Jerry Tabor (as Josh Bryant)

1977

1 episode

 

Man from Atlantis (1977)

Man from Atlantis

6.5

TV Series

Dr. Doug Berkley

1977

1 episode

 

Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner in Switch (1975)

Switch

7.1

TV Series

Stafford Hayes

1977

1 episode

 

The Blue Knight (1975)

The Blue Knight

6.8

TV Series

Sgt. Rainey

1976

2 episodes

 

Spencer's Pilots (1976)

Spencer's Pilots

6.9

TV Series

Bill Kelly

1976

1 episode

 

Peter Falk in Columbo (1971)

Columbo

8.3

TV Series

Wayne TaylorDr. MacMurray

1974–1976

2 episodes

 

City of Angels (1976)

City of Angels

7.7

TV Series

Duncan

1976

1 episode

 

Susan Howard, Barry Newman, and Albert Salmi in Petrocelli (1974)

Petrocelli

7.2

TV Series

Paul Andrews

1976

1 episode

 

William Conrad in Cannon (1971)

Cannon

6.8

TV Series

Professor EganDr. AtworthDavid's Brother

1971–1976

3 episodes

 

Anthony Franciosa and Laraine Stephens in Matt Helm (1975)

Matt Helm

5.8

TV Series

Bub Stuart

1975

1 episode

 

The Night That Panicked America (1975)

The Night That Panicked America

7.0

TV Movie

Howard Koch

1975

 

Kate McShane (1975)

Kate McShane

6.2

TV Series

1975

1 episode

 

Medical Center (1969)

Medical Center

7.1

TV Series

Joe Gannon's Father

1975

1 episode

 

Joe Don Baker in Framed (1975)

Framed

6.4

Andrew Ney

1975

 

Mannix (1967)

Mannix

7.4

TV Series

Professor Ed PryorPaul Russell

1970–1975

2 episodes

 

Trapped Beneath the Sea (1974)

Trapped Beneath the Sea

6.7

TV Movie

Sam Wallants

1974

 

The Streets of San Francisco (1972)

The Streets of San Francisco

7.3

TV Series

Dr. Benjamin Blakely

1974

1 episode

 

Telly Savalas in Kojak (1973)

Kojak

7.1

TV Series

Simon Hecht

1974

1 episode

 

The Morning After (1974)

The Morning After

7.8

TV Movie

Dr. Emmett

1974

 

Stu Gilliam and Hilly Hicks in Roll Out (1973)

Roll Out

7.2

TV Series

Sgt. Briggs

1973

1 episode

 

A Scream in the Streets (1973)

A Scream in the Streets

4.6

Officer Ed Haskell (as John Kirkpatric)

1973

 

Me

8.3

TV Movie

Rick

1973

 

Raymond Burr and Barbara Sigel in Ironside (1967)

Ironside

6.9

TV Series

Floyd StonerJohn MooreReuben Colter

1971–1973

3 episodes

 

The F.B.I. (1965)

The F.B.I.

7.4

TV Series

Carney

1973

1 episode

 

Circle of Fear (1972)

Circle of Fear

7.6

TV Series

The Doctor

1973

1 episode

 

Mark Jenkins and Stephen Manley in Young Dr. Kildare (1972)

Young Dr. Kildare

7.1

TV Series

Henderson

1972

1 episode

 

Emergency! (1972)

Emergency!

7.9

TV Series

Mr. Bodine

1972

1 episode

 

Anthony Franciosa, Doug McClure, and Hugh O'Brian in Search (1972)

Search

8.0

TV Series

Air Reservationist

1972

1 episode

 

Enter the Devil (1972)

Enter the Devil

5.0

Glenn (as Josh Bryant)

1972

 

Love, American Style (1969)

Love, American Style

6.8

TV Series

HaroldLester (segment "Love and the Sensuous Twin")

1972

1 episode

 

Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, and Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

8.3

TV Series

Anton Styrokowski (Sandy)

1972

1 episode

 

Monty Nash (1971)

Monty Nash

6.3

TV Series

Brother Zachary

1971

1 episode

 

Rod Serling in Night Gallery (1969)

Night Gallery

7.9

TV Series

Eliot Blackman (segment "Pickman's Model")

1971

1 episode

 

Lynn Loring and Roy Thinnes in Black Noon (1971)

Black Noon

5.8

TV Movie

Towhead

1971

 

The Bill Cosby Show (1969)

The Bill Cosby Show

6.1

TV Series

Mr. Thomas

1971

1 episode

 

Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Peter Graves, Peter Lupus, and Greg Morris in Mission: Impossible (1966)

Mission: Impossible

7.9

TV Series

Stefan

1970

1 episode

 

Burt Reynolds and Norman Fell in Dan August (1970)

Dan August

7.1

TV Series

Lester Mzarek

1970

1 episode

 

Robert Brown, Bobby Sherman, and David Soul in Here Come the Brides (1968)

Here Come the Brides

7.6

TV Series

Eben

1970

1 episode

 

Bunny Allister, Charlene Jones, Angelique Pettyjohn, and David Westberg in The Curious Female (1969)

The Curious Female

4.2

Mr. Tower (as Josh Bryant)

1969

 

James Arness, Amanda Blake, Milburn Stone, and Dennis Weaver in Gunsmoke (1955)

Gunsmoke

8.1

TV Series

Young

1969

1 episode

 

Don Murray and Otis Young in The Outcasts (1968)

The Outcasts

7.4

TV Series

Lieutenant

1968

1 episode

 

Stuart Whitman in Cimarron Strip (1967)

Cimarron Strip

7.1

TV Series

Lieutenant

1968

1 episode

 

Additional Crew

American Titans (2015)

American Titans

7.3

TV Mini Series

production assistant

2015

1 episode

 

Molly Shannon in Year of the Dog (2007)

Year of the Dog

6.0

stand-in: Mr. Sarsgaard

2007

 

Soundtrack

Alan Alda, David Ogden Stiers, Gary Burghoff, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, and Loretta Swit in M*A*S*H (1972)

M*A*S*H

8.5

TV Series

performer: "Some Enchanted Evening"

1979

1 episode

 

Self

Game Warden Wildlife Journal (1998)

Game Warden Wildlife Journal

TV Series

Self - Host

1998–2002