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Jock Mahoney
1919-1989
Updated 4/24/2008.
biography
Born Jacques O'Mahoney in February 1919 in Chicago, Jock Mahoney grew into his 6'4" frame before attending the University of Iowa, where he excelled in football, basketball, and swimming, among other sports. As with many young men of the era, he enlisted in the Marines and became a fighter pilot and an instructor. After World War II, Mahoney made his way to Hollywood, where he quickly found work as a stuntman for such western stars as Charles Starrett and Randolph Scott. After signing a contract with Columbia in 1946, Mahoney appeared in a couple of serials and several short subjects, including a number of Three Stooges shorts. Moving to feature films in the late 1940s, in 1949 he auditioned to replace Johnny Weissmuller in the role of Tarzan but lost out to Lex Barker.
Mahoney in two western roles
Jock Mahoney worked as a stuntman and Charles Starrett's costar in Starrett's 'Durango Kid' series of films from 1947 until 1952. And in 1951, he accepted the part of The Range Rider, a syndicated 78-episode western TV series produced by Gene Autry that ran through 1953. Divorced from his first wife, Mahoney met actress Margaret Field, the mother of actress Sally Field, on the set of Range Rider, and they married in 1952. Mahoney and Field had a daughter, Princess, before their divorce in 1966. Mahoney married actress Autumn Russell in 1967.
In the mid 1950s, Mahoney left Columbia and signed with Universal, making scores of western films at that studio. He also starred in another western TV series, Yancy Derrigner, during the 1959-59 season. In 1961, signed with Sy Weintraub on to replace Gordon Scott as Tarzan. This casting made Mahoney the twelfth series Tarzan and was the oldest actor ever first cast as Tarzan, at the age of 42.
the films of jock mahoney
Pecos River (1951)
With Delores Sidener and Charles Starrett in Pecos River, one of Columbia's 'Durango Kid' series of films
Range Rider (1951-1953 Syndicated TV Series)
LEFT and CENTER: Stills from Range Rider featuring Mahoney as the Range Rider and Dickie Jones as Dick West. RIGHT: Cover from one of Dell's Range Rider comics from 1952
The Rough, Tough West (1952)
From the Columbia 'Durango Kid' entry The Rough, Tough West. LEFT: With Charles Starrett. RIGHT: With Charles Starrett and Carolina Cotton
Overland Pacific (1954)
With Peggie Castle and William Bishop in the western Overland Pacific
I've Lived Before (1956)
From the Universal-International drama I've Lived Before
Joe Dakota (1957)
Still from Universal-International's Joe Dakota
Money, Women and Guns (1959)
From the Universal-International western Money, Women and Guns
Tarzan the Magnificent (1960)
From Paramount's Tarzan the Magnificent. LEFT and CENTER: Mahoney is captured by Gordon Scott for committing a murder. RIGHT: Mahoney makes a play for Betta St. John
Three Blondes in His Life (1961)
With Greta Thyssen in the late film noir feature Three Blondes in His Life
Tarzan Goes to India (1962)
From MGM's Tarzan Goes to India. LEFT: With Mark Dana. CENTER and RIGHT: Promotional stills
Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963)
From MGM's Tarzan's Three Challenges. LEFT: Mahoney fell ill during his second and final outing as Tarzan and lost more than 40 pounds during filming. RIGHT: With Woody Strode
Mahoney did, however, appear in one more Tarzan feature, Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970) with Ron Ely and Woody Strode, which was actually a multi-part episode from the TV series edited together and released as a movie.
Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970)
Mahoney as the maniacal colonel who plans to capture an African village in Tarzan's Deadly Silence, which features Ron Ely as Tarzan
later years
By 1963, Weintraub was interested in casting a younger actor in the role of Tarzan, most likely due to yet another attempt at a Tarzan TV series. Former pro-football player Mike Henry was chosen as Mahoney's replacement and was scheduled to also star in a proposed TV series, but by the time the series was being cast, Henry had declined the role, which then went to Ron Ely in 1966. Suffering from injuries and illnesses during location shooring, Mahoney was happy to leave the role of Tarzan and readily agreed to breaking his contract with Weintraub.
Ron Ely took over the Tarzan role in 1966 for NBC's Tarzan series, in which Mahoney appeared several times. And continuing his association with the character in the 1980s, Mahoney served as stunt coordinator on John Derek's 1981 production of Tarzan, the Ape Man, starring Miles O'Keeffe and Bo Derek.
LEFT: A 1971 photo of most of the surviving Tarzans from The Mike Douglas Show. Pictured from left to right: Johnny Weissmuller, Mike Douglas, Gordon Scott, Totie Fields, Jock Mahoney, Buster Crabbe, Denny Miller, and James Pierce. CENTER: From the 1976 Memphis Film Festival taken by Larry Coyne. RIGHT: From the 1982 Memphis Film Festival taken by Dennis McHaney (thanks to Dennis McHaney)
Mahoney made several action pictures during the later 1960s, such as AIP's biker flick The Glory Stompers (1968; with Jody McCrea) and Bandolero! (1968; with Raquel Welch. In 1973, while guest-starring on an episode of Kung Fu, Mahoney suffered a stroke that sidelined his career. Sadly, Jock Mahoney passed away in December 1989 at the age of 70 from complications resulting from a stroke. He was survived by his wife, three children and two stepchildren.
The Range Rider, Vol. 1 [DVD] DVD
Includes "Crooked Fork," "Outlaw Territory," "Shotgun Stage," and "West of Cheyenne." 101 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
The Range Rider, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
Includes "Border City Affair," "Outlaw Pistols," "Blind Trail," and "The Chase." 99 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
The Range Rider, Vol. 3 [DVD] DVD
Includes "The Holy Terror," "Marshal from Madero," "Saga of Silver Town," and "Treasure of Santa Dolores." 100 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
The Range Rider, Vol. 4 [DVD] DVD
Includes "Bad Man of Rim Rock," "Hide Out," "Rustler's Range," and "Western Edition." 100 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
The Range Rider, Vol. 5 [DVD] DVD
Includes "The Buckskin," "Indian War Party," "The Contract," and "The Black Terror." 101 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
The Three Stooges: Merry Mavericks [DVD] DVD
Six-short collection includes "Merry Mavericks," "Cactus Makes Perfect," "Out West," "Vagabond Lovers," "Dopey Dicks" and "Punchy Cowpunchers." 99 min.
The Three Stooges: Three Stooges In History [DVD] DVD
The boys turn troubadour to help a blacksmith win a princess's hand in "Squareheads of the Round Table" (1948); In "Restless Knights" (1935), the Queen is kidnapped and her "stalwart" guards must find her; the fellas help Old King Cole find his missing daughter in "Fiddlers Three" (1948); a disguised Curly becomes the emperor's wife in Ancient Rome in "Matri-Phony" (1942); and cavemen Moe, Shemp and Larry get their clubs out to do some courting in "I'm a Monkey's Uncle" (1948). 85 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish.
Blazing Across The Pecos [DVD](1948) DVD
Southwest Texas is a hard place to do a bad day's work when Charles Starrett as the Durango Kid streaks in, with a gripe against all troublemakers. Co-stars Smiley Burnette and Chief Thundercloud. 54 min.
Cow Town [DVD](1950) DVD
Gene Autry plays Gene Autry in this documentary-style oater in which the famed singing cowboy responds to a rash of cattle rustling by putting up a fence around his ranch...a move the bad guys don't take a hankerin' to. Gunfights and romance ensue, as well as such songs as "Down in the Valley," "Buffalo Gals," and "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie." With Gail Davis. 70 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; photo gallery; radio show excerpts; theatrical trailer.
Santa Fe [DVD](1951) DVD
After the Civil War ends, Confederate soldier Randolph Scott and his three brothers seek their fortunes in the West, but when Scott gets a job with the Santa Fe railroad and his siblings fall in with crooks planning a train heist, a showdown is unavoidable. Top-notch actioner also stars Janis Carter, Roy Roberts, Jerome Courtland, Jock Mahoney. 87 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Japanese.
Rim Of The Canyon [DVD](1951) DVD
Gene Autry in a double role: as the marshal who corrals a gang of crooks, and as his son, who must face the same gang years later. A thrill-packed "change of pace" Western. 70 min.
Rim Of The Canyon(1951) VHS
Gene Autry in a double role: as the marshal who corrals a gang of crooks, and as his son, who must face the same gang years later. A thrill-packed "change of pace" Western. 70 min.
Battle Hymn [DVD](1957) DVD
Based on a true story, director Douglas Sirk's moving drama stars Rock Hudson as Dean Hess, an American WWII pilot who became a minister after the war and, during the Korean conflict, went to Asia to care for orphaned children. With Martha Hyer, Dan Duryea, Don DeFore. 109 min.
The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection, Vols. 1 & 2 [DVD] DVD
"Dr. Cyclops" (1940) stars Albert Dekker as a mad scientist who shrinks five people to miniature size and holds them prisoner. A group of American G.I.s stumbles on the secret rituals of the snake-worshipping "Cult of the Cobra" (1955). Faith Domergue, David Janssen star. A lab experiment unleashes a rapidly growing "Tarantula" (1955). John Agar, Leo G. Carroll star. Archeologists Agar and Hugh Beaumont discover a clawed, bug-eyed race called "The Mole People" (1956). Grant Williams is "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (1957) who begins to diminish in size after exposure to radiation. Meteorite fragments absorb water from everything around them (including people), creating "The Monolith Monsters" (1957). An expedition to Antarctica finds a prehistoric world, in "The Land Unknown" (1957) with Jock Mahoney. Earthquakes release a giant prehistoric insect from suspended animation, in "The Deadly Mantis" (1957). A college biology instructor is transformed into a Neanderthal man, in "Monster on the Campus" (1958). A native African ritual turn s a scientist's wife into "The Leech Woman" (1960). 13 hrs. total on six discs. Standard/Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English (SDH), French; theatrical trailers.
Runaway Girl [DVD](1962) DVD
A totally out-of-control exploitation item that begins as a story about wayward female teens picking fruit at a special detention camp and turns into a trashy titillator showcasing nude shower scenes, a Peeping Tom, naked underwater sequences, catfighting, gangsters, stripper Lili St. Cyr and Jock Mahoney.
California [DVD](1963) DVD
Exciting sagebrusher set against the backdrop of California's struggle for independence from Mexico and their quest for statehood. Don Francisco Hernandez leads the Mexican army in keeping a hold on the residents, but his half-brother serves as the revolutionaries' leader. With Jock Mahoney, Faith Domergue and Michael Pate. 86 min.
The Walls Of Hell [DVD](1964) DVD
When Japanese soldiers on the run in the Philippines take a group of civilians hostage in the ancient walled city of Intramuros, it's up to American officer Jock Mahoney to lead a band of Filipino guerrillas on a desperate rescue mission. Gripping war thriller also stars Fernando Poe, Jr., Cecelia Lopez. AKA: "Intramuros." 88 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; trailer; scene access; filmographies.
Bandolero! [DVD](1968) DVD
Western action boasts Dean Martin as an outlaw saved at the gallows by brother James Stewart, posing as the executioner. The siblings escape with their gang, but sheriff George Kennedy is in hot pursuit, while Martin is in hot pursuit of Raquel Welch, Kennedy's gal pal. All parties wind up in Mexico where they join forces to battle a group of bandits. Andrew Prine, Will Geer, Denver Pyle also star. 106 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; theatrical trailers.
The End [DVD](1978) DVD
In this funny dark comedy, Burt Reynolds plays a man who, after learning he has a fatal illness, tries over and over to kill himself. Eventually, he winds up in a psychiatric hospital, where he enlists the aid of fellow inmate Dom DeLuise, who seems a bit overzealous to complete the job. Sally Field, Robby Benson, Joanne Woodward and Kristy McNichol co-star. 100 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English mono, French mono, Spanish mono; Subtitles: French, Spanish; theatrical trailer; scene access.
filmography
FILM
The End (1978) with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field
Their Only Chance (1975)
The Bad Bunch (1973), with Greydon Clark, Aldo Ray, and Jacqueline Cole
Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970) with Ron Ely and Woody Strode
The Love Bug (1968) with Dean Jones, Michele Lee, Buddy Hackett, and Joe Flynn
Bandolero! (1968) with Dean Martin, James Stewart, and Raquel Welch
Portrait of Violence (1968) with Scott Brady
The Glory Stompers (1968) with Jody McCrea, Chris Noel, and Dennis Hopper
Once Before I Die (1965) with Ursula Andress, Ron Ely, and John Derek
The Walls of Hell (1964) directed by Eddie Romero
Moro Witch Doctor (1964) with Vic Diaz and Reed Hadley
California (1963) with Faith Domergue and Susan Seaforth Hayes
Marine Battleground (1963)
Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963) with Woody Strode
Tarzan Goes to India (1962) with Leo Gordon and Mark Dana
Runaway Girl (1962) with Lili St. Cyr and June Jocelyn
Three Blondes in His Life (1961) with Anthony Dexter and Jesse White
Tarzan the Magnificent (1960) with Gordon Scott, John Carradine, Betta St. John, and Lionel Jeffries
Money, Women and Guns (1959) with Kim Hunter, Lon Chaney Jr., William Campbell, and Phillip Terry
A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958) with John Gavin and Don DeFore
The Last of the Fast Guns (1958) with Gilbert Roland, Edward Platt, and Linda Cristal
Battle Hymn (1957) with Rock Hudson, Martha Hyer, Dan Duryea, and Don DeFore
Joe Dakota (1957) with Lee Van Cleef, Luana Patten, Charles McGraw, and Claude Akins
The Land Unknown (1957) with William Reynolds
Slim Carter (1957) with Julie Adams, Barbara Hale, William Hopper, Joanna Moore, Bill Williams, and Margaret Field
Away All Boats (1956) with George Nader, Lex Barker, Julie Adams, Jeff Chandler, and Keith Andes
A Day of Fury (1956) with Mara Corday and Dale Robertson
I've Lived Before (1956) with Leigh Snowden and Raymond Bailey
Showdown at Abilene (1956) with Grant Williams and Martha Hyer
Gunfighters of the Northwest (1954) with Clayton Moore and Phyllis Coates
Knutzy Knights (1954) with the Three Stooges
Overland Pacific (1954) with Adele Jergens and Peggie Castle
The Kid From Broken Gun (1952) with Charles Starrett and Myron Healey
Laramie Mountains (1952) with Charles Starrett
The Rough, Tough West (1952) with Charles Starrett
Junction City (1952) with Charles Starrett
Smoky Canyon (1952) with Charles Starrett
The Hawk of Wild River (1952) with Charles Starrett and Clayton Moore
Pecos River (1951) with Charles Starrett
Roar of the Iron Horse (1951)
Santa Fe (1951) with Randolph Scott
The Texas Rangers (1951) with George Montgomery, Gale Storm, and Myron Healey
Lightning Guns (1950) with Charles Starrett
Frontier Outpost (1950) with Charles Starrett
The Kangaroo Kid (1950) with Martha Hyer and Veda Ann Borg
David Harding, Counterspy (1950) with Willard Parker
Hoedown (1950) with Eddie Arnold and Jeff Donnell
Texas Dynamo (1950) with Charles Starrett
Roar of the Iron Horse (1950) a 15-chapter Columbia serial
Cow Town (1950) with Gene Autry and Gail Davis
Cody of the Pony Express (1950) with Dickie Moore; a 15-chapter Columbia serial
The Nevadan (1950) with Randolph Scott and Dorothy Malone
Renegades of the Sage (1949) with Charles Starrett
Horsemen of the Sierras (1949) with Charles Starrett
Bandits of El Dorado (1949) with Charles Starrett and Clayton Moore
Rim of the Canyon (1949) with Gene Autry and Nan Leslie
Blazing Trail (1949) with Charles Starrett
The Doolins of Oklahoma (1949) with Randolph Scott, Louise Allbritton, and John Ireland
Smoky Mountain Melody (1948) with Roy Acuff
Trail to Laredo (1948) with Charles Starrett
South of the Chisholm Trail (1947) with Charles Starrett
The Fighting Frontiersman (1946) with Charles Starrett
SHORTS
The following short subjects are all with the Three Stooges (thanks to Sean)
Hot Stuff (1956)
Knutzy Knights (1954)
Punch Cowpunchers (1950)
Fuelin' Around (1949)
Squareheads of the Round Table (1948)
Out West (1947)
TELEVISION SERIES
Yancy Derringer, TV series, 1958-59, 34 episodes
The Range Rider, TV series, 1951-52, 78 episodes
In addition, Mahoney made numerous TV appearances in the 1950s through the 1980s on popular series, such as Batman, Banacek, The Streets of San Francisco, and The Fall Guy.
jock mahoney links
Bob Callaghan's Jock Mahoney Site
Visit the site of Winnipeg's biggest Jock Mahoney fan for more photos and information about this western actor and former Tarzan.
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This page premiered April 16, 1999.
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