Tyler MacDuff

Tyler MacDuff (born Tyler Glenn Duff Jr., September 12, 1925 – December 23, 2007),[1] was an American actor, primarily on television westerns and dramas who was cast as Billy the Kid in The Boy from Oklahoma (1954).

Tyler MacDuff
Born	Tyler Glenn Duff Jr. September 12, 1925 Hollywood, California, US
Died	December 23, 2007 (aged 82) Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California
Resting place	Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California
Alma mater	Pasadena Playhouse
Occupation	Film, television, actor
Spouse(s)	Beverlie May Anderson MacDuff (1953–1961, divorced)
Children	3, including Dana J. MacDuff
Notes
(1) MacDuff, then Tyler Duff, was part of General Douglas MacArthur's landing forces in the Philippine Islands in 1945. (2) MacDuff appeared mostly in guest-starring roles in western television series.

Biography

A native of Hollywood, California, MacDuff was the son of Tyler Duff Sr. (1890–1967), originally from Indiana. His mother was Cecil W. Duff (1893–1978), an Illinois native.[1] In 1943, at the age of eighteen, MacDuff joined the U.S. Navy. In 1944, he drove an LCVP landing craft in the first wave of the invasions of Saipan and Guam. In late 1944 and 1945, he was part of General Douglas MacArthur's invasion forces in the Philippine Islands.

In 1952, MacDuff graduated from the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California, where his classmates included Dana Andrews and Harry Dean Stanton. From 1953 to 1961, he was married to the former Beverlie Mae Anderson (born 1930), and the couple had three sons, Brandon (born 1954) and Dana J. MacDuff (born 1955), and Tyler Glenn III (born 1959)

Acting roles

In 1952, MacDuff in one of his first uncredited roles appeared as a cheerleader in the film Bonzo Goes to College. From 1953–1957, he appeared three times as Brad Stanton, Clint Harkey, and Kip Holloway on the series The Lone Ranger.

In 1954, he appeared on CBS's Schlitz Playhouse in the episode entitled "At the Natchez Inn". That same year, he guest starred on Jim Davis's syndicated Stories of the Century in the role of Bob Ford, the assassin of Jesse James in the episode "Frank and Jesse James". In 1954, he portrayed Billy the Kid in the film, The Boy from Oklahoma, with Will Rogers Jr., as Tom Brewster. The film is the basis for the 1957–1961 television western Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins as a tenderfoot studying to be a lawyer.[2] That same year, MacDuff played Frankie in the episode "The Boy Who Hated Superman" on the George Reeves series, Adventures of Superman. In 1955, he portrayed a delivery man in the "Olsen's Millions" episode of Superman.

In 1956, MacDuff appeared in the syndicated anthology series Death Valley Days in the role of gold prospector Norman Berry in the episode "The Hoodoo Mine".

MacDuff appeared four times in 1956 in different roles on the Gail Davis series, Annie Oakley. He was the title guest star in the episode "The Saga of Clement O'Toole". That same year, he appeared as Stacy in the episode "Christmas Present" in the series The West Point Story.

In 1957 and again in 1967, he was the dialog director for Raymond Burr's two series, Perry Mason on CBS and Ironside on NBC. He also appeared in two Perry Mason episodes in 1958 and 1965. In "The Case of the Lucky Loser", based on a 1957 Erle Stanley Gardner novel.[3] In 1993, in one of his last acting roles, MacDuff played the part of W.J. Cronkite in Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal, a television movie.

MacDuff played Emmett Dalton in the 1957 episode "The End of the Dalton Gang (October 5, 1892)" on the CBS documentary series, You Are There. He appeared that same year in the first season of ABC's Maverick as Drake in "Relic of Fort Tejon" opposite James Garner. He played Bill Corey in "Lost River Roundup" of the series Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. In 1958, he was Townsend in "The Gallant Foe" of the American Civil War drama Gray Ghost, based on the exploits of the Confederate Major John Singleton Mosby. In 1957–1958, MacDuff appeared twice on Dale Robertson's first and most successful western series, Tales of Wells Fargo. In 1960, he portrayed Reggie Lemaire in the episode "Mystery at Malibu" on Ronald W. Reagan’s CBS anthology series, General Electric Theater. Other MacDuff guest-starring role were as Ira Burns in the episode "Get Dawson" of the 1960 police drama This Man Dawson starring Keith Andes, Alcoa Theatre, Lawman, Lassie, and James Arness's Gunsmoke.

Last years

MacDuff spent his last years in the Park Marino Rest Home in Pasadena. He also lived part of the time in Reno, Nevada,[1] where his sons started Oakdale Pictures.[4] MacDuff is interred at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.[5]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	No Room for the Groom	Soldier	Uncredited
1952	Francis Goes to West Point	Cadet	Uncredited
1952	Son of Ali Baba		Uncredited
1952	Bonzo Goes to College	Cheerleader	Uncredited
1952	Above and Beyond	Master Sgt.	Uncredited
1953	Conquest of Cochise	White Water	Uncredited
1954	The Boy from Oklahoma	Billy the Kid
1954	The Egyptian	Cadet	Uncredited
1954	The Bounty Hunter	Vance Edwards
1955	The Glass Slipper	Willie	Uncredited
1955	Cell 2455, Death Row	Nugent
1955	The Last Command	Messenger	Uncredited
1955	Headline Hunters	Young Man	Uncredited
1956	Diane	Montgomery's Squire	Uncredited
1956	The Burning Hills	Wes Parker
1957	Fury at Showdown	Tom Williams
1966	Cyborg 2087	Sam Gilmore
2000	Go Fish	Alan Sr.
2003	An American Reunion	Benny's Dad	(final film role)

References

1. "Social Security Death Index". ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
2. "The Boy from Oklahoma". hollywood.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
3. Hal Erickson, "The Case of the Lucky Loser", All Movie Guide
4. "Oakdale Pictures". oakdalepictures.us. Archived from the original on April 27, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
5. "Tyler MacDuff, April 22, 2008". listsearches.rootsweb.com. Retrieved January 9, 2010.

External links

• Tyler MacDuff at IMDb