Donald Lee Stroud (born September 1, 1943) [1] [2] is an American actor, musician, [3] and surfer. Stroud has appeared in over 100 films and 200 television shows. [4] He portrayed Disabled Stunt Driver Carl in Dukes Of Hazzard Season 2, Ep. 24 and 25 "Carnival of Thrills." 1980.
Stroud is the son of vaudeville actor Clarence Stroud (of "The Stroud Twins" team) and singer Ann McCormack. He was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, by his mother and stepfather, Paul Livermore. [1] [2] [4]
At the age of 16, Stroud earned a black belt in the Hawaiian martial art of Kajukenbo. [2] [5]
Stroud began surfing at the age of 3. [1] : 242 As a surfer, he taught surfing while he was still in high school. In 1960 at the age of 17, Stroud won the Mākaha Junior Championship, and placed fourth overall in the Duke Kahanamoku International event. [2] [4]
While working at the Kahala Hilton beach as a lifeguard, producers hired Stroud to double for Troy Donahue's surfing sequences at Waikiki Beach for an episode of Hawaiian Eye . Afterwards, Donahue asked Stroud to move to Los Angeles to become an actor, while also serving as Donahue's fight double and bodyguard. [2] After jobs parking cars, bouncing, and eventually managing at the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood, he received advice on getting a start as an actor from Sidney Poitier, who frequented the club. Poitier set Stroud up with Dick Clayton, who was also an agent for such actors as James Dean, Michael Douglas, Al Pacino and Burt Reynolds, among others. [4]
At 6'2", and around 200 pounds, Stroud often portrayed villains and tough guys. [2] [4]
Stroud's Hollywood film debut was a role in Games (1967) as Norman. That same year, he appeared in The Ballad of Josie (1967) as Bratsch.
In 1968, he signed with Universal Pictures on a five-film contract, and he took a role in Madigan that same year. Stroud also appeared with Clint Eastwood in two films, Coogan's Bluff (1968) and Joe Kidd (1972). [1] [4]
Stroud co-starred in two Roger Corman films, Bloody Mama (1970) and Von Richthofen and Brown (1971). In the latter, he played Roy Brown opposite John Phillip Law's Baron von Richthofen. [4] Corman used Lynn Garrison's Irish aviation facility. Garrison taught Stroud the rudiments of flying so that he could manage to take off and land the aircraft, making some of the footage more realistic.
Stroud and Robert Conrad performed in the speedboat chase through Fort Lauderdale in the film Murph the Surf (1975). In the film, he starred in the role of real-life jewel thief Jack Murphy. Conrad and Stroud also had a martial arts fight in Sudden Death (1977). Stroud would have another fight with Park Jong-soo in Search and Destroy (1979). [2]
He starred in the horror/thriller Death Weekend (1976) (aka The House By the Lake), and had a supporting role in the cult horror film The Amityville Horror (1979) as Father Bolen. Other films in the genre include The Killer Inside Me (1976), and Sweet Sixteen (1983). [4]
In The Buddy Holly Story (1978), he co-starred as the late musician's drummer, while actually playing the drums live in front of two or three thousand kids brought in by buses, recording the soundtrack directly using 24-track recording trucks at the venue. [1]
In James Bond he played a villain in the film Licence to Kill (1989).
On television, his debut came in 1967 in the Barry Sullivan NBC western series The Road West as Nino. Being under contract at Universal, Stroud appeared in Barnaby Jones , Cannon , Charlie's Angels , Ironside , Hawaii Five-O , Marcus Welby, M.D. , Starsky & Hutch , and The Streets of San Francisco , among others. Stroud had many other guest appearances, including The Fall Guy , [2] Gunsmoke , Hotel, and The Virginian . He had a reoccurring role as Mike Varrick in the miniseries Mrs. Columbo [6] (1979-1980) which starred Kate Mulgrew. [4]
He played Captain Pat Chambers in Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and The New Mike Hammer with Stacy Keach. In the television pilot movie Gidget's Summer Reunion [7] (1985) he played The Great Kahuna, and also revised the role in series The New Gidget (1986). He also has roles in Nash Bridges (1996–2001) and Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1996–2000). [4]
In 2011, he made a brief appearance in the new Hawaii Five-0 . Stroud played a bartender in the second season's fourth episode, "Mea Makamae" (meaning "Treasure" in Hawaiian).
On September 16, 1970, during a low-level sequence flying a two-seat SV.4C Stampe biplane across Lake Weston, a duck flew through the propeller's arc, striking the pilot Garrison in the face, knocking him unconscious. The aircraft flew into five power lines, snap rolled and plunged inverted into Ireland's large Liffey River. Stroud rescued the unconscious Garrison, treading water until rescue crews found them almost an hour later. Stroud was unhurt, but Garrison required 60 stitches to close a head wound. [2] [4]
Sometime in 1989 or 1990, on the street in Greenwich Village, New York City, Stroud tried to help a man who was being mugged. During the confrontation, Stroud was stabbed several times, suffering partial paralysis in the face, and losing the use of one eye. The mugging victim fled. [1] : 242
A partial filmography follows.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1966 | The Virginian | Cate | "The Long Way Home" |
1967 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre [1] | Greg Travis | "Wipout" |
1967 | Ironside [1] | Bains | "An Inside Job" |
1967 | The Road West [1] | Nino | "Eleven Miles to Eden" |
1967 | Run for Your Life [1] | Jim Hammack | "Fly by Night" |
1967 | The Virginian | Frank Hollis | "Paid in Full" |
1968 | Ironside [1] | Albee | "Split Second to an Epitaph" (parts 1 & 2) |
1968 | The Virginian | Rafe Judson / Wally McCullough | "Image of an Outlaw" |
1970 | Hawaii Five-O | Nick Pierson | "The Late John Louisiana" |
1971 | Dan August | Nicky | Episode: "The Meal Ticket" |
1971 | McMillan & Wife | Billy Benton | Episode: “Death Is a Seven Point Favorite” |
1973 | Cannon | Marty Brand | "Come Watch Me Die" |
1973 | Hawaii Five-O | Tally Green | "The Flip Side Is Death" |
1974 | Barnaby Jones [1] | Chuck Summers | "Programmed for Killing" |
1974 | Gunsmoke | Pete Murphy | "Jesse" |
1974 | The Elevator | Pete Howarth | TV movie |
1974 | Gunsmoke | Foss | "Town in Chains" |
1974 | Police Woman | Frank Asher | "Warning: All Wives" |
1976 | Hawaii Five-O | Nathan Purdy | "Target - A Cop" |
1978 | Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold | Sullie Toulours | TV movie |
1981 | The Fall Guy | Randy Soames | "Colts Angels" |
1983 | Matt Houston | Dirk Bronson | "Get Houston" |
1983 | Matt Houston | Cord Cody | "Heritage" |
1983 | The A-Team | Deke Watkins | "A Nice Place to Visit" |
1984 | Mike Hammer | Captain Pat Chambers | |
1985 | The A-Team | Walter Tyler | "Knights of the Road" |
1985 | Gidget's Summer Reunion | The Great Kahuna | TV movie |
1985 | Hunter | Sheriff Johnson | "The Biggest Man in Town" |
1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Carey Drayson | "Murder Takes The Bus" |
1986 | The New Gidget | The Great Kahuna | 4 episodes (1986-1987) |
1987 | The Law & Harry McGraw | Rudy Udovic | "Old Heroes Never Lie" |
1989 | The New Dragnet | Captain Lussen | 52 episodes (1989-1990) |
1991 | Quantum Leap | Coach | "Play Ball" |
1993 | In the Heat of the Night | Ron Griff | "Even Nice People" |
1993 | Renegade | Kattrain | "Windy City Blues" |
1994 | Babylon 5 | Caliban | "TKO" |
1995 | The Alien Within | Louis | TV movie |
1996 | Babylon 5 | Boggs | "Ceremonies of Light and Dark" |
1998 | National Lampoon's Men in White [1] : 242 | Old Bob | TV movie |
James William Ercolani, known by his stage name James Darren, was an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in films including the youth and beach-culture film Gidget (1959) and its sequels. He also appeared in the The Gene Krupa Story (1959), All the Young Men (1960), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Diamond Head (1962). As a teen pop singer, he sang hit singles including "Goodbye Cruel World" in 1961. He later became more active in television, starring as Dr. Anthony Newman in the science fiction series The Time Tunnel (1966–1967). He had the regular role of Officer James Corrigan in the police drama T. J. Hooker (1982–1986) and performed as Vic Fontaine, a recurring role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1998–1999).
Victor Tayback was an American actor. He was best known for his role as diner owner Mel Sharples on the television sitcom Alice (1976–1985), as well as his multiple guest appearances on The Love Boat (1977–1987). The former earned him two consecutive Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Anthony Jared Zerbe is an American actor. His notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; as an Irish Catholic coal miner and one of the Molly Maguires in the 1970 film The Molly Maguires; as a corrupt gambler in Farewell, My Lovely; as the leper colony chief Toussaint in the 1973 historical drama prison film Papillon; as Abner Devereaux in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park; as villain Milton Krest in the James Bond film Licence to Kill; Rosie in The Turning Point; Roger Stuart in The Dead Zone; Admiral Dougherty in Star Trek: Insurrection; and Councillor Hamann in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
Donald Cecil Porter was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Leonard Stone was an American character actor who played supporting roles in over 120 television shows and 35 films.
John Phillip Law was an American film actor.
The beach party film is an American film genre of feature films which were produced and released between 1963 and 1968, created by American International Pictures (AIP), beginning with their surprise hit, Beach Party, in July 1963. With this film, AIP is credited with creating the genre. In addition to the AIP films, several contributions to the genre were produced and released by major and independent studios alike. According to various sources, the genre comprises over 30 films, with the lower-budget AIP films being the most profitable.
Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach in Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl" and "midget". Following the novel's publication, the character appeared in several films, television series, and television movies.
The New Gidget is an American sitcom sequel to the original 1965–66 sitcom Gidget. It aired in syndication from September 15, 1986, to May 12, 1988. The series was produced by original Gidget series producer Harry Ackerman and was launched after the made-for-television film Gidget's Summer Reunion, starring Caryn Richman as Gidget, aired in 1985.
Andrew Duggan was an American character actor. His work includes 185 screen credits between 1949 and 1987 for roles in both film and television, as well a number more on stage.
Robert Donner was an American television and film actor.
Anthony James was an American character actor who specialized in playing villains in films and television, many of them Westerns.
Luigi Pistilli was an Italian actor of stage, screen, and television.
The outlaw biker film is a film genre that portrays its characters as motorcycle riding rebels. The characters are usually members of an outlaw motorcycle club.
H. M. Wynant is an American film and television actor.
Von Richthofen and Brown, alternatively titled The Red Baron, is a 1971 war film directed by Roger Corman and starring John Phillip Law and Don Stroud as Manfred von Richthofen and Roy Brown. Although names of real people are used and embedded in basic historic facts, the story by Joyce Hooper Corrington and John William Corrington makes no claim to be historically accurate, and in fact is largely fictional.
The Kahoona is a character created by Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. As "Kahuna", the character appears in the 1959 film Gidget and in some of the television work involving the Gidget character.
Daniele Vargas, stage name of Daniele Pitani was an Italian film actor.
Angel Unchained is a 1970 American action thriller film directed by Lee Madden for American International Pictures and starring Don Stroud as the title character Angel. It was released in the United States on September 2, 1970.
José Álvarez Canalejas, known as José Canalejas, was a Spanish actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1960 and 1997. He died on 1 May 2015 at his home in Madrid at the age of 90.