Noah Beery, Jr.

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Noah Beery, Jr

Beery in The Rockford Files ca. 1970s
Born Noah Lindsey Beery
(1913-08-10)August 10, 1913
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died November 1, 1994(1994-11-01) (aged 81)
Tehachapi, California, U.S.
Cause of death
 Cerebral thrombosis
Resting place
 Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California
Occupation Actor
Years active 1920–1986
Spouse(s) Maxine Jones (1940–1966) (divorced) 3 children
Lisa Thorman (1968–1994, his death)

Noah Lindsey Beery (August 10, 1913 – November 1, 1994), known professionally as Noah Beery, Jr. or just Noah Beery, was an American actor specializing in warm, friendly character parts similar to the ones played by his uncle, Wallace Beery, although Noah Beery, Jr., unlike his uncle, seldom broke away from playing supporting roles.

His father, Noah Nicholas Beery (known professionally as Noah Beery or Noah Beery, Sr.), enjoyed a similarly lengthy film career as a supporting actor.

Beery was perhaps best known as James Garner's father, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, in the 1970s NBC television series The Rockford Files.

Life and career

Noah Beery, Jr. in 1940
Uncle Wallace Beery

Beery was born in New York City, New York, where his father was working as a stage actor. The family moved to California in 1915 when his father began acting in motion pictures. After attending school in Los Angeles, they moved to a ranch in the San Fernando Valley, a style of living he would maintain for the rest of his life.

At the age of seven, he appeared with his father in The Mark of Zorro and like his father, who immediately began billing himself as "Noah Beery, Sr.," he went on to become a respected character actor. His uncle, Oscar-winning screen phenomenon Wallace Beery, became the world's highest-paid actor by 1932, and while neither Noah nor his father ever approached that level, both had extremely long and memorable film careers. All three acting Beerys physically resembled each other rather closely, but Noah, Jr., lacked a thrillingly powerful voice like his father's and uncle's (which is ironic, since both older Beerys made major careers as supporting actors in silent movies).

Beery appeared in dozens of films, including a large early role as John Wayne's action partner in 1934's The Trail Beyond (Wayne was 27 years old and Beery was 21), 20 Mule Team with his uncle, and Red River with Wayne, but is best known for his role as Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, the father of Jim Rockford, James Garner's character on the popular television series The Rockford Files (1974–1980). Beery's television work also included a weekly stint as a clown in Circus Boy with Micky Dolenz in the mid-1950s.

In 1960, as the character Bill Blake, Beery replaced Burt Reynolds in the co-starring role in Riverboat, an NBC western series starring Darren McGavin. He appeared once on the religion anthology series Crossroads and on Walter Brennan's ABC sitcom, The Real McCoys. Three times he guest starred on the long-running NBC western series, The Virginian in the 1960s. In 1965, he made two guest appearances on Perry Mason starring Raymond Burr: he first played murderer Tony Claus in "The Case of the Golden Venom," then he played defendant Lucas Tolliver in "The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner."

Death

Beery, Jr., died in 1994 in Tehachapi, California, of a cerebral thrombosis and was interred in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery with his father and mother, Margarite Lindsey. His uncle, Wallace Beery is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Beery, Jr.'s first wife until 1966 was Maxine Jones, the only child of Western star Buck Jones. His second wife from 1968 until his death was Lisa Thorman. He was survived by his wife, Lisa; two daughters, Muffett and Melissa; a son, actor Bucklind Beery; and three step-children, Page, Sean, and Lorena. His television star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.

Partial filmography

External links

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