John Bramwell Alderson (10 April 1916 – 4 August 2006) was an English actor noted for playing the lead in the 1957-58 syndicated

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 ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, '' Boots and Saddles'', which ran for thirty-eight episodes in a single season, and many supporting roles in films in a career spanning almost forty years, from 1951 to 1990. Alderson was cast as the rugged trail guide Hugh Glass, an historical figure, in the 1966 episode "Hugh Glass Meets the Bear" of the syndicated series, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

''. Others in the episode were

Morgan Woodward Thomas Morgan Woodward (September 16, 1925 – February 22, 2019) was an American actor who is best known for his recurring role as Marvin "Punk" Anderson on the television soap opera ''Dallas'' and for his portrayal of Boss Godfrey, the sungla ...

as Thomas Fitzpatrick,

Victor French Victor Edwin French (December 4, 1934 – June 15, 1989) was an American actor and director. He is remembered for roles on the television programs ''Gunsmoke'', ''Little House on the Prairie'', ''Highway to Heaven'', and '' Carter Country''. ...

as Louis Baptiste and

Tris Coffin Tristram Chockley Coffin (August 13, 1909 – March 26, 1990) was a film and television actor from the latter 1930s through the 1970s, usually in westerns or other B-movie action- adventure productions. Early years Coffin's mother was act ...

Biography

Alderson was born to a mining family in the village of Horden, County Durham, England. After a brief teenage career at the

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

he opted to instead join the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, rising to the rank of Major. Upon leaving the services he married a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

citizen and immigrated to the US, where he began his acting career.''Northern Echo''
/ref>

Filmography

Film

Selected television appearances

*''

Black Saddle ''Black Saddle'' is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original backdoor ...

'' (1959) - Big Sam Davis *''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'' (1958-1959, Episodes: " The Swamp Fox" and " Texas John Slaughter") - Sgt. Duncan MacGregor / Sergeant McDonald *''

Yancy Derringer ''Yancy Derringer'' is an American action/ adventure series that was broadcast on CBS from 1958 to 1959, with Jock Mahoney (1919–1989) in the title role. The show was produced by Derringer Productions and filmed in Hollywood by Desilu Produ ...

'' (1958) - Marble Fingers *'' Lawman'' (1959) - Jack Brace *'' Border Patrol'' (1959) - Curley *'' Colt .45'' (1959) - Captain *'' Hudson's Bay'' (1959) - Boggs *'' Adventures in Paradise'' (1960-1961) - Sean Casey / Darcy / Palsson / Harry Pine *'' Follow the Sun'' (1961) - Mervin Taggert *''

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was rated number t ...

'' (1958-1962) - Rusty Doggett / Max Clay *''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'' (1959-1962) - Simon Girty / Captain Bly / Zindler / Ben Chapman *'' Tales of Wells Fargo'' (1960-1962) - Gage / Clay Arvin *''

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

'' (1962) - Francis Randolph *''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest tak ...

'' (1963) - Mr. Larkin *'' Gunsmoke'' (1955-1963) - Canby / Ab Laster / Nash *''

Arrest and Trial ''Arrest and Trial'' is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 pm Eastern. Overview The majority of episodes consists of two segments. Set in Los Angeles, the fi ...

'' (1963) - Bartender *'' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' (1964) - The 3rd Guard *''

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 ...

'' (1964) - Sgt. Rawlings *'' The Rogues'' (1965) - Bill *'' Bonanza'' (1961-1966) - Hugh Gwylnedd / Montague *'' Blue Light'' (1966) - Gorlek / Gorleck *'' Doctor Who'' (1966, in the serial ''

The Gunfighters ''The Gunfighters'' is the seventh serial of the third season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 April to 21 May 1966. The serial is set in and around the tow ...

'') - Wyatt Earp *''

'' (1964-1966) - John Tunstall / Hank Butterford / Hugh Glass / Joe Meek / Big Mac *'' The Wild Wild West'' (1967) - Clive Marchmount *''

The Guns of Will Sonnett ''The Guns of Will Sonnett'' is a Western television series set in the 1870s that was broadcast in color on the ABC television network from 1967 to 1969. The series, which began with the working title, "Two Rode West", was the first production c ...

'' (1968) - Sheriff *'' Mission: Impossible'' (1970) - Follet *''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is an action-comedy series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the cycle of adventure ser ...

'' (1971) - Kyle Sandor *'' Rod Serling's Night Gallery'' (1972) - Granger (segment "Lindemann's Catch") *''

Philip Marlowe, Private Eye ''Philip Marlowe, Private Eye'' is an American mystery series that aired on HBO in the United States from April 16, 1983 through June 3, 1986, and on ITV in the United Kingdom. The series features Powers Boothe as Raymond Chandler's title char ...

'' (1983) - Gaff Talley In 1966, the first four episodes of ''Blue Light'' were edited together to create the theatrical film ''

I Deal in Danger ''I Deal in Danger'' is a 1966 American DeLuxe Color spy film compiled from the first four episodes of a television series, ''Blue Light'', which aired on ABC-TV in early 1966. Directed by Walter Grauman, it starred Robert Goulet as David Mar ...

''. Alderson's ''Blue Light'' appearance was included in the film.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alderson, John English male film actors English male television actors 1916 births 2006 deaths Actors from County Durham English emigrants to the United States People from Horden British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers Western (genre) television actors