Lance LeGault

William Lance LeGault (May 2, 1935 – September 10, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known as U.S. Army Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series ''The A-Team''.

Early and personal life

LeGault was born May 2, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Mary Jean (née Kovachevich; died December 21, 1980) and Ernest Legault (1906–1941). LeGault's father, Ernest, was French-Canadian from Moose Creek, Ontario, Canada. LeGault's mother, Mary, was born in Illinois, the daughter of immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The family was poor. He lived in an orphanage for a time between his father's death in 1941 and when his mother remarried in 1943. He started working at 11, and was fired from the railroad at 13 when they discovered he was not 18 as he had claimed.

He grew up in Chillicothe, Illinois and graduated from Chillicothe Township High School in 1955. He received a full football scholarship to the Municipal University of Wichita, where he majored in business administration for two years before dropping out to pursue a music career.

Career

LeGault's first three feature films were Elvis Presley movies, ''Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962) in which he was a stunt double for Elvis Presley, ''Kissin' Cousins'' (1964), and ''Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). He also appeared in Presley's 1968 NBC television special ''Elvis'' (also known as '' Elvis' 68 Comeback Special''), where he sat at the side of the stage playing a tambourine. He appeared in ''Roustabout'', another Presley film, as a carnival barker. In 1969, he appeared as Iago in the UK stage version of ''Jack Good's Catch My Soul: Rock Othello'', and played Iago again in the 1974 Metromedia film version of '' Catch My Soul''.

He starred in television series and in television movies and was known mainly for portraying military personnel, especially officers. His best known television role was in the 1980s series ''The A-Team'' as Colonel Roderick Decker—a United States Army colonel who tried to catch the fugitive Vietnam veterans. He played the role of Colonel Decker from 1983 to 1986. He also had a recurring role in another 1980s hit television series, ''Magnum, P.I.'', as a United States Marine Corps colonel, Colonel "Buck" Greene.

LeGault was on screen in a variety of programs including the short lived series ''Werewolf'' in 1987. In 1980, he starred with Kenny Rogers in the television movie '' The Gambler''. He made a few appearances on the second season of ''Dynasty'' as gangster Ray Bonning. He appeared on ''Knight Rider'' in the pilot episode "Knight of the Phoenix" and appeared (as a different character) in the season 2 episode "Knight in Shining Armor"; and played three different characters in ''Airwolf'' (in ''To Snare a Wolf'', ''Sweet Britches'' as villains, and ''Wildfire'' in a comparatively rare good guy role) as well as doing the voice-overs for the series' 1st Season "saga sell" teasers. He guest-starred on yet another hit 1980s television series ''Dallas'' as Al Halliday in 1989. In 1984 he also starred in ''Murder, She Wrote'', Season 4 Episode 20.

Often playing stern colonels, the low-pitched, gravelly-voiced actor portrayed Colonel Glass in the 1981 comedy ''Stripes'', starring Bill Murray and John Candy.

He made many guest appearances on television series, his appearances ranged from ''The Rockford Files'' (episodes "Claire" and "A Deadly Maze"), ''Gunsmoke'', '' Barbary Coast'', ''Logan's Run'', '' Police Woman'', ''Battlestar Galactica'', ''The Incredible Hulk'' (episode "The Antowuk Horror"), ''Wonder Woman'', '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' (episode "The Runaway"), ''T. J. Hooker'', ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'', ''Voyagers!'', ''MacGyver'', ''Simon & Simon'', ''Sledge Hammer!'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''Renegade'' and ''Crusade''. He appeared on ''Land of the Giants'' in the first-season episode "Underground" as a police officer.

LeGault's last role was in the 2013 film ''Prince Avalanche'', and the film is dedicated to him.

Voicework

On the ''Knight Rider'' season 1 DVD pilot commentary, creator Glen A. Larson mentioned that Lance LeGault had "a voice that was four octaves lower than God's." This trait helped him obtain roles (often) as a villain or other "tough guy". It also resulted in a side career doing voice-over work. LeGault's trademark voice was at one point featured on self-guided tour cassettes at Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. For many years in the 1980s, LeGault voiced programme trailers for ABC.

In the video game world, he was heard as the voice of Major Manson in the 1998 video game '' Battlezone II: Combat Commander''.

He lent his deep bass voice as Junior the Buffalo in Disney's ''Home on the Range'' (2004). What’s more, he voiced Yank Justice in the nine-episode, 30-minute 1985 series ''Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines'', part of Marvel Productions' Super Sunday block.

From 2009 to 2010, he performed voiceover work for Burger King, with the then-new "Angry Whopper" burger. Other voice-over work on commercials included Dodge and 7-Up.

Death

LeGault died from heart failure on Monday, September 10, 2012, at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 77, survived by his wife of 28 years Teresa, and their four children Mary, Teresa, Marcus and William Lance Junior.

Filmography

References

External links

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Audio interview with Lance LeGault at VoiceoverNinja.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Legault, Lance
1935 births
2012 deaths
Male actors from Illinois
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of French-Canadian descent
People from Chillicothe, Illinois
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)