| Doug McClure | |
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Doug McClure during his years as Trampas in The Virginian. |
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| Born | Douglas Osborne McClure May 11, 1935 Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Died | February 5, 1995 (aged 59) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1956–1995 |
| Spouse | Faye Brash (m. 1957–1961) (divorced) Barbara Luna (m. 1961–1963) (divorced) Helen Crane (m. 1965–1968) (divorced) Diane Soldani (m. 1970–1979) (divorced) Diane Furnberg (m. 1979–1995) (his death) |
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure (May 11, 1935 – February 5, 1995) was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s. Born in Glendale, California, to Donald Reed McClure and the former Clara Clapp, he is best known for his appearances as Trampas in the NBC western series The Virginian.
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One thing that stood in McClure's favor with directors was that he was so easygoing and fun to be with. James Drury (his Virginian co-star) once said of him, "Anytime I laid eyes on Doug, I couldn’t help smiling. He was the finest guy I ever knew." As quoted in Trail Dust magazine, ""He will always remain a very special and gutsy man. A man who brought his version of "Trampas" into the living rooms every week. A boyish cowhand with a devil-may-care attitude. Doug playing Doug." McClure was also great with horses, which was a factor in his later success as Trampas in The Virginian. To put it in his own words, "I love being around horses and the kind of guys who work in westerns. I guess I’ve done so much of it it’s like being home." McClure's acting career included such movies as The Enemy Below, South Pacific, The Unforgiven, and Because They're Young, before landing the part of Trampas on The Virginian - a part that would make him famous. He also starred in three other series: (1) as Frank "Flip" Flippen on NBC's western, Overland Trail (1960), with co-star William Bendix, (2) as Jed Sills on the CBS detective series Checkmate (1960–1962) opposite Anthony George as Don Corey and Sebastian Cabot as Dr. Carl Hyatt, and finally in the sci-fi/detective series Search (1972-73) in which he rotated the lead with Hugh O'Brian and Tony Franciosa as a high-tech PROBE agent. In 1958 and 1959, McClure appeared in three episodes of the syndicated western series 26 Men, stories of the Arizona Rangers. He appeared as Adam Davis in 1959 in the episode "The Court Martial of Trooper Davis" of the syndicated series Mackenzie's Raiders starring Richard Carlson. He was in the third episode of The Twilight Zone, "Mr. Denton on Doomsday". Then in 1962, he got the part of Trampas in NBC's The Virginian. McClure's The Virginian co-stars throughout the series were James Drury, Roberta Shore, Lee J. Cobb, Randy Boone, Gary Clarke, Clu Gulager, Diane Roter, Charles Bickford, and John McIntire.
After the show ended in 1971, McClure starred in science fiction films such as At the Earth's Core, The Land That Time Forgot and The People That Time Forgot, all three based on the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In 1967, he played the Errol Flynn role in a re-make of Against All Flags titled The King's Pirate. He also played the lead in two World War II adventures, The Longest Hundred Miles and The Birdmen. In the 1970s and 80s McClure appeared in commercials for Hamms Beer.[1]
In 1994, McClure was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 7065 Hollywood Blvd. It was unveiled in what proved to be his final public appearance.
On February 5, 1995, McClure died from lung cancer in Sherman Oaks, California. He was 59 and is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery. In addition to his fifth wife, he is survived by three daughters, including Valerie and Tane McClure, who is an actress. (A popular misconception is that fellow actor Marc McClure, who portrayed Jimmy Olsen in the Superman movies, is Doug's son; actually, the two are not related.)
The character of Troy McClure on The Simpsons was designed after him along with Troy Donahue. Mike Reiss, executive producer of The Simpsons, said that Doug McClure's daughter informed him that Doug was a big fan of The Simpsons. She said that while watching an episode Doug saw the character Troy McClure on the show and said, "Are they making fun of me?" Doug said he thought the parody was funny and his kids would call him Troy McClure behind his back as a joke.[2]