| Lang Jeffries | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lang Jeffries June 7, 1930 Ontario, Canada |
| Died | February 12, 1987 (aged 56) Huntington Beach, Orange County, California, USA |
| Occupation | Actor: Rescue 8 |
| Spouse | Rhonda Fleming (1960-1962) |
Lang Jeffries (June 7, 1930—February 12, 1987)[1] was a Canadian-American actor of television and film who was married to actress Rhonda Fleming (born 1923) from 1960-1962.
Jeffries was born in Ontario, Canada. He was living in Michigan at the time he procured his Social Security number.[1] Jeffries served in the United States Army during the Korean War and was among only three survivors of his 177-man unit that landed in Inchon, South Korea, in the fall of 1950, in a mass landing conducted by general Douglas MacArthur.[2]
From 1958-1960, Jeffries procured his first and most successful acting role, that of Skip Johnson, in all seventy-three episodes of the syndicated adventure series Rescue 8, with co-star Jim Davis (1909-1981) as Wes Cameron. The Screen Gems program offered heart-warming accounts of difficult rescues completed by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.[3] Davis was later cast as the indomitable Jock Ewing of CBS's prime time soap opera Dallas.
In 1960, Jeffries and John McIntire, later of Wagon Train, guest starred in the episode "The Most Dangerous Gentleman" in the short-lived NBC western series, Overland Trail starring William Bendix (1906-1964) and Doug McClure (1935-1995).[2]
On October 9, 1961, only three months before their divorce, Jeffries and wife Rhonda Fleming appeared as themselves, married for sixteen months, with Helen O'Connell in the interview program, Here's Hollywood. Jeffries, seven years Fleming's junior, was the third of her six husbands.[4]
Jeffries starred as Vibio in the foreign film, La Rivolta degli schiavi, or The Revolt of the Slaves, with Rhonda Fleming cast as Fabiola. In the film, Fabiola gives the order that Vibio be whipped on the back. In a 1962 film, Solo contro Roma, or Vengeance of the Gladiator, Jeffries, in the role of Brenno, was again whipped on the back.[4]
In 1962, after the breakup of his marriage, Jeffries guest starred in the episode "Elegy of a Hero" in the syndicated series Ripcord starring Larry Pennell and Ken Curtis, who was later cast as Festus Haggen on CBS's Gunsmoke.[2]
From 1964-1971, Jeffries appeared in nearly twenty films in France, Spain, West Germany, Italy, and Romania. He played science fiction hero Perry Rhodan in Mission Stardust. His last three American film appearances were in Mean Mother (1974), as Arthur Wheeler in The Junkman (1982), and as Lieutenant Arthur in Deadline Auto Theft (1983).[2]
Beginning in the mid-'70s Jeffries managed an art gallery in Huntington Beach owned with his wife Mary. He died at the age of fifty-six in Huntington Beach in Orange County, California.