Peter Brown (actor)

Pierre Lind de Lappe (October 5, 1935 – March 21, 2016[1]), known professionally as Peter Brown, was an American actor who portrayed Deputy Johnny McKay opposite John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop in the 1958 to 1962 ABC-Warner Brothers western television series Lawman and Texas Ranger Chad Cooper on NBC's Laredo from 1965 to 1967.[2]

Peter Brown
Brown as Deputy Johnny McKay in the television series Lawman (1959)
Born	Pierre Lind de Lappe October 5, 1935 New York City, U.S.
Died	March 21, 2016 (aged 80) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Film and television actor
Years active	1957–2005
Spouse(s)	Diane Jergens ​ ​ (m. 1958; div. 1960)​ Sandy Edmundson ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1971)​ Liliane Alice Yvette Safargy ​ ​ (m. 1971; div. 1974)​ Mary Kathleen Gauba ​ ​ (m. 1986; div. 1999)​ Kerstin Kern ​ (m. 2008⁠–⁠2016)​
Children	3

Early life

Brown was born in New York City. His mother, Mina Reaume, was a stage and radio actress, playing the "Dragon Lady" on the Terry and the Pirates radio serial. He had an older brother, Phillip, and two younger half brothers, Paul and Michael. Peter took the name Brown from his stepfather, Albert Brown.

During his United States Army service in Alaska with the 2nd Infantry Division, Brown became involved in writing, directing and acting in plays to entertain the other troops. Upon his discharge, Brown studied Drama at the University of California, Los Angeles and soon was appearing in plays and on NBC Matinee Theatre.

He supported himself by working in a gasoline station on the Sunset Strip. One night a man paid for his purchase with a credit card reading "Jack L. Warner". Brown asked the customer whether he was one of the Warner Brothers, the man replied "I'm the last one left".[3] The next day Brown was offered a screen test at the studio.

Career

As a contract player for Warner Brothers, Brown appeared in the films Red Nightmare and Darby's Rangers. Though his role in Onionhead was cut from the completed film, the producer Julius Schermer hired him for Deputy Johnny McKay in Lawman, an important part that lasted from 1958 to 1962. Brown was the last surviving member of the series. Brown also appeared in the 1962 film, Merrill's Marauders.

Brown appeared in dozens of other television shows and did several crossovers with other western series as Johnny McKay, including Maverick, in the 1961 episode "Hadley's Hunters," featuring Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, along with a host of characters from other Warner Brothers. westerns, including Cheyenne (Clint Walker), Bronco (Ty Hardin), and Sugarfoot (Will Hutchins). In 1957 Brown appeared as Clay Conover in Cheyenne in the episode titled "Top Hand." In 1958 he appeared as Billy Younger in Cheyenne in the episode titled "Ghost of the Cimarron." In the Cheyenne episode "Renegades" (1958), Brown at twenty-two was cast as 17-year-old Jed Wayne, who enlists in the United States Army after his father is killed in an attack by Comanche renegades. Olive Sturgess played Kathy Donovan, who takes an interest in young Wayne and is the daughter of the fort commander, Colonel Ralph Donovan (Bartlett Robinson), who distrusts the Indians. The episode also focuses on the spirit and endurance of Wayne's mortally lame horse and the wisdom of the Comanche chief, Little Elk (Steve Darrell).

Brown twice guest-starred in another ABC/WB western, Colt .45, with Wayde Preston. He appeared as Dave with Andrew Duggan and Bob Steele, who were cast as Jim Rexford and Sergeant Granger respectively in "The Peacemaker" or "Judgment Day", the series premiere in 1957. Thereafter that same season, he was cast as Jimmy Benedict opposite Charles Bronson as the outlaw Danny Arnold in the episode "Young Gun". In the story line, Benedict, who wants to make a name for himself, challenges Arnold to a gunfight.[4]

After his contract with Warner Brothers lapsed, Brown made two films for Walt Disney Studios, including Summer Magic with Hayley Mills and Burl Ives. He appeared in other television series too, such as Redigo, starring Richard Egan as a New Mexico rancher. He contracted to Universal Pictures for the 1965 NBC western television series Laredo, set on the Mexican border in and about Laredo, Texas.

Brown appeared in the pilot for Police Woman, starring Angie Dickinson. Brown appeared in several exploitation films such as Foxy Brown, Chrome and Hot Leather, and Act of Vengeance.

Soap operas

Brown also appeared on several soap operas. On Days of Our Lives, he played Dr. Greg Peters from 1972-1979 who was involved in a romance with Amanda Howard (Mary Frann). He was Laurie Brooks' attorney, Robert Laurence, on The Young and the Restless (1981-1982) when she was on trial for the murder of her former mother-in-law, Vanessa Prentiss. He would return briefly to "Y&R" in between soap stints in the late 1980s.

Brown replaced John Shearin as Roger Forbes on Loving during its early days, but was written out after only a couple of months. From 1986-1987, he played Charles Sanders, former ambassador to Mendorra, on One Life to Live The character had a heart attack and died on the evening of his wedding to Lee Halpern. He subsequently played Blake Hayes on The Bold and the Beautiful, the ex-husband of Dr. Taylor Hamilton Hayes.

Personal life

Brown was married five times. His wives were:

• Diane Jergens, an actress; they wed on 6 August 1958 and divorced in June 1960.
• Sandy Edmundson, a fashion model; they wed on 26 May 1964 and divorced in March 1971.
• Liliane Alice Yvette Safargy, a fashion model; they wed on 14 November 1971 and divorced in September 1974.
• Mary Kathleen Gauba, a tennis player; they wed on 29 November 1986 and divorced in 1999.
• Kerstin Kern; they wed on 6 September 2008 and the marriage lasted until his death in 2016.

Brown had three children as follows:

• Matthew (born 1965) by his second wife Sandy Edmundson.
• Joshua (born 1977), by Amber Karlson, with whom Brown lived from 1974 until 1979.
• Christi (born 1961), by Merle Pertile.[5]

Brown's brother, Phil, worked as an NBC Television West Coast operations coordinator in Burbank, California.

Brown died on March 21, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona, from complications of Parkinson's disease, aged 80.[6]

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	Stevie 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 in the episode: "Stage West"/ Chris Semple	3 episodes
1957–1962	Cheyenne	Ross Andrews-Pocketful Of Stars ... Billy Younger [Ep:"Ghost of the Cimarron"] Jed Wayne [Ep: Renegades] Clay Conover - [Ep: Top Hand] (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

Notes

1. Rosenberg, Eli (March 25, 2016). "Peter Brown, Star in TV Westerns and Soap Opera, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
2. Thomas, Bob (February 8, 1959). "Peter Brown Major Reason 'Lawman' Show Popular". Ocala Star-Banner. p. 11. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
3. "Peter Brown Biography". Official Peter Brown Fan Site. Archived from the original on 2007-08-20.
4. "Colt .45". ctva.biz. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
5. Aaker, Everett (2017). Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland & Company. p. 70. ISBN 978-1476662503.
6. ""Summer Magic" Star Peter Brown Passes Away at 80". Laughing Place. March 22, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2017.

References

• Brown, Peter; Stuart, Alexx (2014). The Fastest Gun in Hollywood: The Life Story of Peter Brown. Wild Horse Press. ASIN B00HRHANJ2.

External links

• Peter Brown at IMDb
• Peter Brown at AllMovie
• Obituary - Hollywood Reporter