Peter Breck

Joseph Peter Breck (born March 13, 1929 in Rochester , New York , † February 6, 2012 in Vancouver , Canada ) was an American character actor in theater , film and television . The rugged and dark-haired Breck became famous as Doc Holliday on the Maverick series . He is best known, however, for his role as Nick Barkley , the second son of matriarch Victoria Barkley in the American western series Big Valley known.

life and career

After serving in the US Navy on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42), Breck studied drama at the University of Houston . He made his debut in a film produced by Bert Freed, which was released under the title The Beatniks . In addition to theater appearances, Breck also had some guest roles in several popular series, for example in Adventure Under Water , in some episodes of the US series Wagon Train , Have Gun Will Travel , Perry Mason and in Smoking Colts . In 1956 he appeared with David Janssen in John Bromfield's series Sheriff of Cochise in the episode The Turkey Farmers . He also appeared in other series, such as the episode The Deserter of the US Civil War drama Gray Ghost , in which Death Andrews played the title role.

When Robert Mitchum saw him in George Bernard Shaw's play The Man of Destiny in Washington, DC , he offered Breck a role as Rival Driver (as the nameless role was called) in Thunder Road (1958). Mitchum made sure that Breck could settle in Los Angeles and lent the actor his Jaguar , as he did not own a car. Mitchum also introduced him to Dick Powell , who eventually tied him to Four Star Productions and used him in Dick Powell's Zane Gray Theater . Breck appeared in 1958 with Diane Brewster as a guest star in the episode The Lady Gambler of the western series Wild West Arizona with Pat Conway and Richard Eastham in the lead roles.

From 1959 to 1960 he played the role of Clay Culhane , a gunslinger and lawyer in the western series Black Saddle , along with Russell Johnson , J.Pat O'Malley and Walter Burke in supporting roles. Breck was later signed to Warner Brothers Television , where he played Doc Holliday on the series Maverick , a role that had appeared twice before, both in Maverick initially played by Gerald Mohr and in the series Lawman , played by Adam West . Breck also starred on other Warner series at the time, including 77 Sunset Strip , The Roaring Twenties and The Gallant Men .

The first film with Breck as the highest paid star was Lad, A Dog . The following year he starred in Samuel Fuller's cult film Shock Corridor and in the sci-fi - horror film The Crawling Hand . During this time he also appeared in episodes of various television series such as The Outer Limits , Bonanza , Perry Mason or The People of Shiloh Ranch .

Big Valley

Between 1965 and 1969 Breck played the role of Nick Barkley , son of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck ) in the western series Big Valley . The second of four children, Nick was known to be hot-headed and easily irritable. Always ready for a fight and often wearing leather gloves, Breck's character took the smallest occasion personally and often showed his displeasure with his fists as often as with furious scolding. This often turned out to be a mistake, and only due to the calm influence of his mother or his more level-headed brothers Jarrod (played by Richard Long ), Eugene ( Charles Briles ) and his half-brother Heath ( Lee Majors ) and youngest sister Audra ( Linda Evans ) a difficult situation was cleared up again. Breck, who had been a fan of his serial mother Barbara Stanwyck as a teenager in the 1940s, developed a wonderful relationship with her, both in front of and behind the camera, practicing long lines of dialogue with her, and was even known as a ranch foreman on set. Even after the series was canceled, the two remained on friendly terms until Stanwyck's death.

To Big Valley

Most of his roles in the 1970s and 1980s consisted of guest roles on television series such as Alias ​​Smith and Jones , Cobra, Take Over , McMillan & Wife , The Badass Five , The Six Million Dollar Man (with Lee Majors ), The Incredible Hulk and Ein Duke rarely comes alone , as well as roles in which he played himself like in Fantasy Island and Ein Colt just in case , in which his little "brother" from Big Valley , Lee Majors, also played.

In the mid 1980s, Breck moved with his wife and son to Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada . He was offered a job teaching a week-long film technology course for young actors. This week-long course eventually became a full-time drama school, the Breck Academy, which was in operation for 10 years. In 1990 Breck appeared in the Canadian cult film Terminal City Ricochet .

In 1996 he starred in an episode of Outer Limits - The Unknown Dimension , the remake of The Outer Limits . His last television appearance was in an episode of John Doe in 2002. In his younger years he appeared mainly in films that were not released and only shown at film festivals. In June 2010, Breck's wife Diane announced on the official website that the actor was suffering from dementia and could no longer sign autographs, even though he was still reading letters and enjoying them.

Filmography (selection)

• 1955: Lamp Unto My Feet (TV series, an episode)
• 1958: Milestone 375 (Thunder Road)
• 1958: Let me live (I Want to Live!)
• 1958–1962: 77 Sunset Strip (TV series, 4 episodes)
• 1959: Tomorrow's Your Turn (The Wild and the Innocent)
• 1959–1960: Black Saddle (TV series, 44 episodes)
• 1960–1962: Maverick (TV series, six episodes)
• 1960: The Beatniks
• 1962: My Best Friend (Lad: A Dog)
• 1963: The Outer Limits (TV series, episode)
• 1963: Shock Corridor (Shock Corridor)
• 1963: The Crawling Hand
• 1964/1970: The People from Shiloh Ranch ( The Virginian ; TV series, two episodes)
• 1965: The Glory Guys (The Glory Guys)
• 1965–1969: Big Valley ( The Big Valley ; TV series, 112 episodes)
• 1972: Cobra, Take Over ( Mission: Impossible ; TV series, episode Crack-Up )
• 1974: Benji - On a hot track (Benji)
• 1978: Black Beauty (TV miniseries)
• 1981–1985: A Colt for All Cases ( The Fall Guy ; TV series, 4 episodes)
• 1982: Talon fighting the Empire (The Sword and the Sorcerer)
• 1991: Highway 61
• 1991: ... and Santa Claus does exist ( Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus ; TV movie)
• 1992: The Unnamable II ( The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter )
• 1995: Decoy (Decoy)
• 1996: Outer Limits ( The Outer Limits , TV series, an episode)
• 1999: Enemy Action
• 2004: Jiminy Glick in Gagawood

Web links

• Peter Breck in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Peter Breck in the German dubbing file

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mike Barnes: Boot Hill: RIP Peter Breck. In: westernboothill.blogspot.com. February 10, 2012, accessed October 21, 2019 .