Christopher Dark (born Alfred Francis DeLeo, April 21, 1920 – October 10, 1971) was an American actor. He graduated from Cornell University and did post graduate work at Columbia University. He served as an army medic in the Philippines during WWII, and received honors. He began his career in theater in NY, and then moved to Hollywood in 1952. He was a member of the Foreign Film Committee for SAG for most of his career. As well as acting, he also wrote many scripts, including collaborations with Ida Lupino and Christopher Cary.

Biography

Dark was born in New York. In 1954, Dark played in an episode of the TV series, ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'', entitled Texas Draw. In 1955, Dark was cast in an episode of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

, '' Frontier'', hosted by

Walter Coy Walter Darwin Coy (January 31, 1909 – December 11, 1974) was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, arguably most well known as John Wayne's character's brother in ''The Searchers'' (1956). Early years Originally ...

. Dark guest starred on two episodes of the ABC religion

, '' Crossroads'', as Irving Green in "The Unholy Trio (1955) and as Frank Corletto in "Circus Priest" (1956). In 1956, Dark appeared in two episodes of ''

Science Fiction Theatre ''Science Fiction Theatre'' was an American science fiction anthology television series that was produced by Ivan Tors and Maurice Ziv and originally aired in syndication. It premiered on April 9, 1955 and ended on April 6, 1957, with a total of ...

'', S2E6 "Bullet Proof," and S2E9 "End of Tomorrow." In 1957 and 1958, Dark guest starred in two episodes of

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

, ''

Richard Diamond, Private Detective ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' is an American detective drama, created by Blake Edwards, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960. Radio Dick Powell starred in the ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective' ...

'', as the lead in "The Mickey Farmer Case" and then as Rudi Trekhala in "Widow's Walk". About this time, he also guest starred on

John Bromfield John Bromfield (born Farron Bromfield; June 11, 1922 – September 19, 2005) was an American actor and commercial fisherman. Early years Farron Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion at Saint Mar ...

's crime drama, ''

U.S. Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

''. In 1957, he played Sgt. Al Zavala in four episodes of the syndicated crime drama, '' Code 3'', with

Richard Travis Richard Charles Travis, (born Dickson Cornelius Savage; 6 April 1884 – 25 July 1918) was a New Zealand soldier who fought during the First World War and was posthumously decorated with the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry ...

in the lead role of assistant Sheriff Rodger Barnett. He also guest-starred a number of times on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

situation comedy '' Mr. Adams and Eve'' during its two-season run in 1957–1958. In 1958, Dark appeared as Don Ramon in "Decoy" on the ABC/

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

western series, '' Colt .45'', starring

Wayde Preston Wayde Preston (born William Erksine Strange; September 10, 1929 – February 6, 1992) was an American actor cast from 1957 to 1960 in the lead role in 67 episodes of the ABC/ Warner Bros. Western television series, '' Colt .45''. Background ...

. That same year, Dark played the main villain, William Swanson, in the episode "The Young Gun" in

Robert Culp Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on ''I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television se ...

's western series, '' Trackdown''. In 1959, Dark guest starred in the first episode of NBC's '' Bonanza'' in "A Rose for Lotta". Besides the pilot, he would also guest star in other three episodes of the western series: "The Fear Merchants" (1960), "Calamity Over the Comstock" (1963) and "Showdown at Tahoe" (1967). Dark appeared in 1959 as Juan Carlos Morita in the episode "Death of a Gunfighter" on CBS' "Have Gun Will Travel" and as Trevor Jackson in the episode "Reunion" of CBS's '' The Texan'', starring

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...

; his fellow co-stars were Bethel Leslie and

Robert F. Simon Robert Frank Simon (December 2, 1908 – November 29, 1992) was an American character actor. Earlier years Simon began acting with Mansfield's Community Players organization when he worked as a clerk in a meat market. Following that experience ...

. That same year, he was cast as Henri Gaspard in "Double Fee" of Steve McQueen's

western series, '' Wanted: Dead or Alive''. In 1960, Dark was cast with Richard Rust in the episode "An Hour to Kill" of the half-hour syndicated crime drama, ''

The Brothers Brannagan ''The Brothers Brannagan'' is an American crime drama television series that aired in syndication from September 24, 1960, to July 15, 1961. Synopsis ''The Brothers Brannagan'' features fictitious detectives Mike and Bob Brannagan, portrayed, re ...

'', and he played a teacher falsely accused of murder in the ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'' episode "Death Watch". Another 1960 role was that of Dante in "Talent for Danger" on the ABC adventure series, '' The Islanders'', set in the South Pacific. In 1960, he was cast as Miguel Avarado in the episode "Bandido" of the syndicated western series, ''

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pi ...

'', starring Grant Sullivan. His fellow guest stars in the segment were Douglas Kennedy and Robert Ivers. In 1962 Dark appeared as Walt Gleason on '' The Virginian'' in the episode titled "The Accomplice." and in 1963 as Benny Caboose in the episode entitled "Brother Thaddeus" Dark played the role of Pike in the three-part 1964 episode, " The Tenderfoot", of NBC's '' Disney's The Wonderful World of Color''. Dark also appeared in 1965 on the fourth season of ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American so ...

'' as a German agent in the episode "9 Place Vendee". In 1970 Dark appeared as Mort in the TV western "The Men From Shiloh" (the rebranded name of '' The Virginian'') in the episode titled "Jenny."

Personal life

Dark died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on October 10, 1971. Dark was interred in

Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Holy Cross Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Los Angeles Archdiocese. It is partially in the Culver City city limits. Opened in 1939, Holy Cross comprises . It contains—amo ...

, California.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dark, Christopher 1920 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male Western (genre) film actors Male actors from New York City People from the Bronx Western (genre) television actors