Victor French

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Victor French

Born	Victor Edwin French December 4, 1934(1934-12-04) Santa Barbara, California, USA
Died	June 15, 1989 (aged 54) Los Angeles, California, USA
Years active	1954-1989
Spouse(s)	Julie Cobb (1976-1978) Judith Schenz (1959-?; 2 children)

Victor French (December 4, 1934 - June 15, 1989) was an American actor.

Born in Santa Barbara, California, French began his television career as a stuntman in mostly westerns and anthology shows, and guest starred in over 39 series between 1965-1989. He guest starred in "Gunsmoke" thirteen times, often playing a crook, whether dangerous or bumbling. He is most widely known for costarring with Michael Landon on two television series:

Little House on the Prairie (1974-1977, 1981-1983, 1984) as Isaiah Edwards (French also directed some episodes of Little House).
Highway to Heaven (1984-1989) as Mark Gordon

From 1977-79, he left "Little House" to star as a sheriff in Carter Country. When the series ended, the actor was surprised that Michael Landon was agreeable to returning the character of Mr. Edwards (although now as a divorced alcoholic). He played the recurring character "Agent 44" in the series Get Smart! in 1965-1966, where he portrayed an undercover spy who showed up in the most unlikely of places (like a mailbox or a porthole in a boat).

His father Ted French was also an actor. Ted French was also a stuntman and appeared in westerns in the 1940's. He also appeared with his son Victor in one episode of Gunsmoke entitled "Prime Of Life" in 1966, as well as a war film in 1963 called "The Quick And The Dead." Ted French died in 1978.

After years of heavy smoking, Victor died of lung cancer on June 15, 1989 in Los Angeles, California. He died at age 54 (as did Landon in 1991).

In 1998, French was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.