Tom Hennesy (August 4, 1923 – May 23, 2011) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and stuntman. He is known for playing the

Gill-man The Gill-man—commonly called the Creature—is the main antagonist of the 1954 in film, 1954 black-and-white science fiction film ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' and its two sequels ''Revenge of the Creature'' (1955) and ''The Creature Wal ...

(on land) in ''

Revenge of the Creature ''Revenge of the Creature'' ( ''Return of the Creature'' and ''Return of the Creature from the Black Lagoon'') is the first of two Universal-International sequels to '' Creature from the Black Lagoon''. It was the only 3D film released in 1955 ...

'', the second installment of the ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'' trilogy.

Early life

Hennesy was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

and the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

Career

Hennesy began his movie and television career as a stuntman and actor, while he was in college and playing football at USC. Hennesy played the title role in the classic Universal horror film "Revenge Of The Creature" (the sequel to the Creature From The Black Lagoon). Hennesy served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Hennesy acted and performed stunts in numerous John Wayne and John Ford films. Hennesy was the stunt double for many stars, including Rock Hudson, Randolph Scott, Rod Cameron, Jeff Chandler, and more. Hennesy also worked as a general secondary, as well as elementary school, teacher in many Hollywood studios. His celebrity students included, among others, Natalie Wood, Annette Funicello, Paul Anka, Sal Mineo, Tim Considine, Molly Bee, Tommy Rettig, and Lauren Chapin.

Actor/Filmography

*''

It Should Happen to You ''It Should Happen to You'' is a 1954 American romantic comedy film starring Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford and Jack Lemmon; it was Lemmon's first major film appearance. The film was directed by George Cukor, and partly filmed on location in New ...

'' (1954) - Board Member (uncredited) *''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

'' (1954) - Knight (uncredited) *''

The Long Gray Line ''The Long Gray Line'' is a 1955 American Cinemascope Technicolor biographical comedy-drama film in CinemaScope directed by John Ford based on the life of Marty Maher and his autobiography, Bringing Up the Brass'' co-written witNardi Reeder Cam ...

'' (1955) - Cadet Dotson (uncredited) *''

Prince of Players ''Prince of Players'' is a 1955 20th Century Fox biographical film about the 19th century American actor Edwin Booth. The film was directed and produced by Philip Dunne from a screenplay by Moss Hart, based on the book by Eleanor Ruggles. Th ...

'' (1955) - Man in Tavern (uncredited) *''

'' (1955) - The Gill Man (on Land) / Marineland Diver (uncredited) *''The Road to Denver'' (1955) - Man (uncredited) *''

Onionhead ''Onionhead'' is a 1958 comedy-drama film set on a U.S. Coast Guard ship during World War II, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, Erin O'Brien, James Gregory, Joey Bishop, and Claude Akins. It was directed by ...

'' (1958) - Minor Role (uncredited) *'' The Buccaneer'' (1958) - Pirate (uncredited) *'' The Alamo'' (1960) - Bull (uncredited) *''

North to Alaska ''North to Alaska'' is a 1960 comedic Western/Northern film directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne (uncredited). The picture stars Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian, and Capucine. The script is based on the 1939 play ' ...

'' (1960) - Outlaw (uncredited) *'' The Comancheros'' (1961) - Gordo - Gralie's Bodyguard (uncredited) *''

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' () is a 1962 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and James Stewart. The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was adapted from a 1953 short story written by ...

'' (1962) - Buck Langhorn (uncredited) *'' The War Wagon'' (1967) - Bartender (uncredited) *''

The Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

'' (1968) - Soldier (uncredited) *''

Big Jake ''Big Jake'' is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years. It grossed $7.5 million in t ...

'' (1971) - Mr. Sweet (uncredited) *''Squares'' (1972) - Hilly (final film role)

Television

*''

The Mickey Rooney Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' - episode - Tiger Mulligan (1954) - Jack Corey *''

'' - episode - The Basketball Star (1955) - Tom *''Further Adventures of Spin and Marty'' (1956) - North Fork Counselor *''

26 Men ''26 Men'' is a syndicated American Western television series about the Arizona Rangers, a law-enforcement group limited to 26 active members. By March 1958, the program was carried on 158 stations in the United States. The program was also broad ...

''- episode - Cattle Embargo (1958) - Jeff Conley *'' Colt .45'' - episode - Amnesty (1959) - Harry *'' Tales of Wells Fargo'' - episode - The Barefoot Bandit (1961) - Miller Sledge *'' Thriller'' - episode - The Return of Andrew Bentley (1961) - The Familiar *'' Gunsmoke'' - episode - Cody's Code (1962) - Art (uncredited) *'' Have Gun - Will Travel'' - episode - Taylor's Woman (1962) - Clyde Moss *'' Temple Houston'' - episode - The Law and Big Annie (1964) *''

Hondo Hondo may refer to: Places * Rio Hondo (disambiguation), the name of several locations, derived from the Spanish word for "deep" Canada * Hondo, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States * Hondo, New Mexico, an unincorporated co ...

'' - episode - Hondo and the Comancheros (1967) - Poker Player (uncredited)

Stunt man (Filmography) (All uncredited)

*'' Iron Man'' (1951) *''

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...

'' (Stunt Double: Buddy Bear) (1952) *'' Trouble Along the Way'' (1953) *''

The President's Lady ''The President's Lady'' is a 1951 novel of the life of American president Andrew Jackson and his marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards, written by Irving Stone. A biographical film was made in 1953 by 20th Century Fox, directed by Henry Levin and ...

'' (Stunt Double: Charlton Heston) (1953) *''

The Robe ''The Robe'' is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion of Jesus, written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list in October 1942, four weeks later ...

'' (1953) *'' The High and the Mighty'' (1954) *''

The Caine Mutiny ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the moral ...

'' (1954) *''

'' (1955) *''The Road to Denver'' (1955) *''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

'' (Stunt Double: Clint Walker) (TV series) (1955) *''

Blood Alley ''Blood Alley'' is a 1955 American seafaring Cold War adventure film produced by John Wayne, directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Wayne and Lauren Bacall. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. and shot in CinemaScope and Warnercolor. ...

'' (1955) *''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

'' (1956) *''

'' (1958) *'' The Buccaneer'' (1958) *''

The Horse Soldiers ''The Horse Soldiers'' is a 1959 American adventure war western film set during the American Civil War directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers. The screenplay by John Lee Mahin and Martin Rackin w ...

'' (1959) *'' The Alamo'' (1960) *''

'' (1960) *'' The Comancheros'' (1961) *'' The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence'' (1962) *'' Donovan's Reef'' (1963) *''

McLintock! :''See also McClintock (disambiguation)'' ''McLintock!'' is a 1963 American Western comedy film, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The film co-stars Wayne's son Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kru ...

'' (1963) *'' Stagecoach'' (1966) *'' The War Wagon'' (1967) *''

'' (1968) *''

'' (Stunt Double:

Gregg Palmer Palmer Edwin Lee (January 25, 1927 – October 31, 2015), known by his stage name Gregg Palmer, was an American film and television actor. Born in San Francisco, California, Palmer served in the United States Army Air Corps as a cryptographer i ...

) (1971)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hennesy, Tom American male film actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Los Angeles Military personnel from California American stunt performers 1923 births 2011 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II