Pals Of The Saddle- John Agar

[ethanedwards]

JOHN AGAR

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INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Date of birth
31 January 1921
Chicago, Illinois, USA

Date of death
7 April 2002
Burbank, California, USA. (emphysema)

Height
6' 1" (1.85 m)

Sometimes Credited As:
John G. Agar

Spouse
Loretta Combs (1951 - 2000) (her death) 2 children
Shirley Temple (19 September 1945 - 1950) (divorced) 1 daughter

Trivia
In 1972 "Famous Monsters of Filmland" Magazine reported John Agar "Dead"!! Agar lived to autograph several copies of the articles.

His marriage to actress Shirley Temple started his film career in the 1940s.

The claim that he had done a "pink film" in Denmark was a gag. He starred in "Journey to the Seventh Planet" (1962), which was shot in Denmark, by writer/producer/director Sidney (Sid) Pink.
Personal quotes

"I don't resent being identified with B science fiction movies at all -why should I? Even though they were not considered top of the line, for those people that like sci-fi, I guess they were fun. My whole feeling about working as an actor is, if I give anybody any enjoyment, I'm doing my job, and that's what counts."


Mini biography
John Agar was born in Chicago, the eldest of four children of a local meat packer. His 1945 marriage to "America's Sweetheart" Shirley Temple put him in the public eye for the first time, and a movie contract with independent producer David O. Selznick quickly ensued.
Agar debuted opposite John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Temple in John Ford's _Fort Apache (1948)_, initial film in the famed director's "Cavalry Trilogy".
His marriage to Shirley Temple ended in 1949, while his movie career continued.
Popular with fans of Westerns and sci-fi flicks, Agar was a staple at film conventions and autograph shows.
IMDb mini-biography by Tom Weaver

Mini-Biography-2
from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Handsome, all-American leading man, mostly of inexpensive genre films of the 1950s. A World War 2 veteran, he won worldwide notoriety when he married Shirley Temple in 1946, and when John Ford cast her in Fort Apache (1948) he decided to use Agar as well. The following year he reteamed with Temple in Adventure in Baltimore and with John Wayne in Ford's She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Sands of Iwo Jima but his career stalled shortly thereafter. An acrimonious divorce and well-publicized bouts with booze relegated Agar to bland leading roles in B horror pictures such as Tarantula (1955), The Mole People (1956), and The Brain From Planet Arous (1958); his outrageous overacting in the latter film has made it something of a cult classic. He appeared with John Wayne in Chisum (1970) and Big Jake (1971) before taking minor roles in TV shows and doing promotional chores for Brunswick's Senior Bowling program. Young, TV influenced directors of sci-fi epics have cast Agar-mostly for nostalgia appeal- in such films as Miracle Mile (1989) and Nightbreed (1990), among others.
Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Filmography

Actor
1. The Naked Monster (2005) .... Dr. Clete Ferguson
2. The Vampire Hunters Club (2001) (V) .... Reggie
3. The Pandora Directive (1996) (VG) .... Thomas Malloy
4. Body Bags (1993) (TV) .... Dr. Lang (segment "Eye")
... aka John Carpenter Presents 'Body Bags'
... aka John Carpenter Presents 'Mind Games' (USA: cable TV title)
5. Invasion of Privacy (1992) (TV) .... Old Convict
6. The Perfect Bride (1991) (TV) .... Gramps
7. Fear (1990) (TV) .... Leonard Scott Levy
8. Nightbreed (1990) .... Special Appearance
... aka Clive Barker's Nightbreed (UK: complete title)
9. Miracle Mile (1988) .... Ivan Peters
10. Perfect Victims (1988) .... Neighbor walking his dog
... aka Hidden Rage
11. "The Twilight Zone"
- A Day in Beaumont/The Last Defender of Camelot (1986) TV Episode .... Pops (segment "A Day in Beaumont")
12. "Highway to Heaven"
- Return of the Masked Rider (1984) TV Episode .... Morton Clay
13. Divided We Fall (1982) .... Yankee Officer
14. Mr. No Legs (1981) .... Police Captain
... aka The Amazing Mr. No Legs (UK)
15. King Kong (1976) .... City Official
16. "Charlie's Angels"
- Target: Angels (1976) TV Episode .... Col. Blaylock
17. "Police Story"
- The Long Bull (1976) TV Episode .... Hammack
18. "Chase"
- Remote Control (1974) TV Episode
19. Big Jake (1971) .... Bert Ryan (McCandles Ranch foreman)
20. How's Your Love Life? (1971) .... Police Lt. Rafferty
21. Chisum (1970) .... Amos Patton
22. The Undefeated (1969) .... Christian
23. "The Virginian"
... aka The Men from Shiloh (new title)
- The Mustangers (1968) TV Episode .... Joe Williams
- Walk in Another's Footsteps (1964) TV Episode .... Tom Anders
24. "The Name of the Game"
- Nightmare (1968) TV Episode .... Bert Walker
25. Hell Raiders (1968) (TV) .... Maj. Ronald Paxton
26. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) .... Dion O'Bannion
27. "Family Affair"
- What Did You Do in the West, Uncle? (1967) TV Episode .... Gabe
28. Night Fright (1967) .... Sheriff Clint Crawford
... aka Fright Night (TV title)
... aka The Extraterrestrial Nasty (UK)
29. Waco (1966) .... George Gates
30. Women of the Prehistoric Planet (1966) .... Dr. Farrell
... aka Prehistoric Planet Women
31. Johnny Reno (1966) .... Ed Tomkins
32. "Combat!"
- The Mockingbird (1966) TV Episode .... Captain Thorpe
33. Curse of the Swamp Creature (1966) (TV) .... Barry Rogers
34. Zontar the Thing from Venus (1966) (TV) .... Dr. Curt Taylor
... aka Zontar: Invader from Venus (USA: video box title)
35. "Branded"
- $10,000 for Durango (1965) TV Episode .... Sheriff
36. Young Fury (1965) .... Dawson
37. Stage to Thunder Rock (1964) .... Dan Carrouthers
38. Law of the Lawless (1964) .... Pete Stone
... aka Invitation to a Hanging
39. Cavalry Command (1963) .... Sgt. Judd Norcutt
... aka The Day of the Trumpet
40. Of Love and Desire (1963) .... Gus Cole
41. The Young and the Brave (1963) .... Intelligence Captain
42. "Death Valley Days"
... aka Call of the West (USA: syndication title)
... aka The Pioneers (USA: syndication title)
... aka Trails West (USA: syndication title)
... aka Western Star Theater (USA: syndication title)
- Pioneer Doctor (1963) TV Episode .... Dr. Edwards
43. "Lawman"
... aka The Lawman (USA: alternative title)
- The Witness (1962) TV Episode
44. Hand of Death (1962) .... Alex Marsh
... aka Five Fingers of Death (USA)
45. Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) .... Capt. Don Graham
46. "Bat Masterson"
- Farmer with a Badge (1961) TV Episode .... Sam Phelps
47. "The Best of the Post"
- Band of Brothers (1961) TV Episode
48. Fall Girl (1961) .... Joe McElroy
... aka A Crowd for Lisette (USA)
... aka Lisette (USA)
49. "Ripcord"
- Chuting Stars (1961) TV Episode .... Warrant Officer Frank Pierson
50. "Rawhide"
- Incident of the Slavemaster (1960) TV Episode .... Mike Anderson
- Incident at the Buffalo Smokehouse (1959) TV Episode .... Longrant
51. Raymie (1960) .... Ike
52. Invisible Invaders (1959) .... Maj. Bruce Jay
53. "Perry Mason"
- The Case of the Caretaker's Cat (1959) TV Episode (as John G. Agar) .... Kenneth Baxter
54. Destination Space (1959) (TV) .... Col. Matthews
55. Frontier Gun (1958) .... Sheriff Jim Crayle
56. "The Gale Storm Show"
... aka Oh! Susanna
- Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (1958) TV Episode .... Lt Arnold Van Dyke
57. Attack of the Puppet People (1958) .... Bob Westley
... aka Six Inches Tall (UK)
... aka The Fantastic Puppet People
58. Jet Attack (1958) .... Capt. Tom Arnett
... aka Jet Alert (USA)
... aka Through Hell to Glory (UK)
59. "Flight"
- Vertijet (????) TV Episode
60. Ride a Violent Mile (1957) .... Jeff Dunning
61. "General Electric Theater"
... aka G.E. Theatre (USA)
- Thousand Dollar Gun (1957) TV Episode .... Marvin Potter
62. The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) .... Steve March
63. Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) .... George Hastings
64. Joe Butterfly (1957) .... Sgt. Dick Mason
65. "Whirlybirds"
... aka Copter Patrol (USA: syndication title)
- Four Little Indians (????) TV Episode .... Danny Flynn
66. Flesh and the Spur (1957) .... Lucius 'Luke' Random/Matt Random, his slain twin
67. The Mole People (1956) .... Dr. Roger Bentley
68. Star in the Dust (1956) .... Sheriff Bill Jorden
... aka Law Man (USA)
69. Tarantula (1955) .... Dr. Matt Hastings
70. Hold Back Tomorrow (1955) .... Joe Cardos
... aka No Tomorrow (USA)
71. The Lonesome Trail (1955) .... Johnny Rush
72. Revenge of the Creature (1955) .... Prof. Clete Ferguson
73. "Climax!"
... aka Climax Mystery Theater (USA)
- The First and the Last (1955) TV Episode .... Larry Dorrant
74. The Golden Mistress (1954) .... Bill Buchanan
75. Shield for Murder (1954) .... Det. Sgt. Mark Brewster
76. "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"
... aka Herald Playhouse (USA: syndication title)
... aka Schlitz Playhouse (USA: new title)
... aka The Playhouse (USA: syndication title)
- Little War at San Dede (1954) TV Episode
77. The Rocket Man (1954) .... Tom Baxter
78. Bait (1954) .... Ray Brighton
79. Man of Conflict (1953) .... Ray Compton
... aka My Dad, J.R. (USA)
80. "Letter to Loretta"
... aka The Loretta Young Show (USA: new title)
... aka The Loretta Young Theatre (USA: rerun title)
- Earthquake (1953) TV Episode .... Lloyd
81. "The Ford Television Theatre"
... aka Ford Theatre (USA: short title)
- The Old Man's Bride (1953) TV Episode
82. "The Unexpected"
... aka Times Square Playhouse
- Desert Honeymoon (1952) TV Episode
83. "Hollywood Opening Night"
- Delaying Action (1952) TV Episode
84. Woman of the North Country (1952) .... David Powell
85. The Magic Carpet (1951) .... Abdullah al Husan/Dr. Ramoth/The Scarlet Falcon
86. Along the Great Divide (1951) .... Billy Shear
... aka The Travelers (USA)
87. Breakthrough (1950) .... Lt. Joe Mallory
88. Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) .... Pfc. Peter Conway
89. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) .... Lt. Flint Cohill
90. I Married a Communist (1949) .... Don Lowry
... aka The Woman on Pier 13 (UK)
91. Adventure in Baltimore (1949) .... Tom Wade
... aka Bachelor Bait (UK)
92. Fort Apache (1948) .... 2nd Lt. Michael Shannon O'Rourke
... aka War Party

Himself
1. 100 Years of Horror: Freaks (1996) (V) .... Himself
2. 100 Years of Horror: Giants and Dinosaurs (1996) (V) .... Himself
3. 100 Years of Horror: The Double Demons (1996) (V) .... Himself
4. 100 Years of Horror: The Walking Dead (1996) (V) .... Himself
5. The Making of 'Sands of Iwo Jima' (1993) (V) .... Himself

Archive Footage
1. The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003) (TV) .... Himself (Memorial Tribute)
2. The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002) (TV) .... Himself (Memorial Tribute)

[ethanedwards]

Good looking, John Agar, who seemed to be more famous,
as husband of Shirley Temple,made a credible 6 films with Duke,

John made 2 movies, as part of the
John Wayne Stock Company

Big Jake (1971) .... Bert Ryan (McCandles Ranch foreman)
Chisum (1970) .... Amos Patton
The Undefeated (1969) .... Christian
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) .... Pfc. Peter Conway
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) .... Lt. Flint Cohill
Fort Apache (1948) .... 2nd Lt. Michael Shannon O'Rourke

In Fort Apache, John's first picture he became John Ford's, fall guy.
Ford complained of his faulty delivery of lines, his awkwardness on a horse,
and almost everything else that he did.
Agar recalled,

I was petrified..knowing as little as I did, about movies,
and working with all those superstars

Duke took him aside, and said

He's just trying to get a performance, out of you.

During the making of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,
Agar said about Duke,

There wasn't any subterfuge with him....he was right out there in front...
if he didn't agree with you, he'd let you know, quick.!

In the making of Sands of Iwo Jima ,
Agar said,

Sergeant Stryker, was right down Duke's alley....
it showed the tough part about him,
and it was very much like him , in my opinion..

Most evenings Duke used to drink at a bar near the Marine base at Oceanside,.
One Saturday night, John Agar and Duke stayed late,
Agar recalled,

There was some people in there who suggested, we go over to their place..
and we were there, 'til maybe 4, maybe 5 in the morning..
Duke had an appointment that morning, with a bunch of Marine Corps Officers at eight, and by gosh, he was there!

However, other members of the cast could not keep up,
with Duke's capacity for drinking,
and were put through their paces, with a drill Sergeant the next morning.

Alan Dwan the director said,

Not one of them stayed up late again..they avoided Duke like the plague,
even Agar straightened out, and he was a tough one, cause he liked the bottle.

[Senta]

Keith,
Were did you get this wonderful Agars and Dwan's comments about filming The Sands...?
Regards,
Vera

[chester7777]

There was a fair amount out there about John Agar -

http://www.johnagar.com/index.htm
http://www.classicimages.com/1998/april98/johnagar.html
http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/johnagar.html
http://www.meekermuseum.com/agar.html
http://www.nndb.com/people/150/000065952/
http://www.wildestwesterns.com/john_agar.htm
http://www.msu.edu/user/holuta/agar.htm

Mrs. C

[Hondo Duke Lane]

Hey thanks for the great information, Keith and Mrs. C!

Cheers B)

[ethanedwards]

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the links, it all helps!

[The Ringo Kid]

Did you guys know that he was also used as a model in a few WWII Military recruting posters? He rose to the rank of Sergeant. I would almost bet that most people here have seen a picture of this poster at one time or another. If I can find a link to one online, ill send it to Keith and see if he can post it here.

My first exposure to John Agar was of course in: Big Jake. Darn shame that he did not make it on the "A" list. I thought he was a good actor.

[alamo221]

It would have been nice to see him in bigger roles too, in some of Duke's later films. I think his biggest part during that time in a Duke film was in Big Jake.

[Lt. Brannigan]

My favorite role of his was Cohill in She Wore A Yellow Ribbon. But now I gotta go watch Big Jake just so I can see him as the ranch foreman in that, I never realized that was him till now talk about clueless.

[alamo221]

I liked him in Big Jake. A small role for sure, but a heroic character-standing up to Boone and his gang unarmed.

[WaynamoJim]

When you see Agar in those bit roles in The Undefeated, Chisum and, Big Jake, he looked old, like he was in his 60's. Yet, he was really only around 50 at the time. I really liked him in those early roles in Sands Of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon and he did another good war movie back then called Breakthrough and, for me, he seemed to disappear from the screen. I don't remember seeing him in anything else till he did a bit part as Dion O'Bannion in St. Valentines Day Massacre. Again, he looked older than his 46 yrs. But, you look on IMDb, and he did alot of roles in both movies and tv. I must have missed all those because I don't remember them.

[alamo221]

Hmm-I never thought he looked older than his actual age in those films. He was a hard drinker at one time, but I think he had stopped sometime in the early 60s. The drinking and his messy divorce from Shirly Temple IMHO had alot to do with his career problems.

[alamo221]

Actually in Big Jake, I thought he looked great, in fine shape. Wish he'd gotten some larger roles in these films-especially Undefeated and Big Jake. I would have preferred him in Rio Lobo as the Sheriff too.

[ringo kid]

he also made a good western star in the dust as a sheriff,and he was good in along the great divide with kirt douglas.he was excellent in fort apache,she wore a yellow ribbon and sands of imo jima.it's a pity he didnt get a real chance in hollywood.he just faded away and onlly for john wayne had him in few of his later film he would have faded away completely

[The Tennesseean]

Well...he did make some "B" movies throughout the 50's in the Sci-Fi genre.

He had issues that got the better of him (happens to a lot of people - not just celebs), but he worked hard and seemed to overcome them.

Such a waste of talent.