Don Pedro Colley

Don Pedro Colley (August 30, 1938 – October 11, 2017) was an American actor. Some of his better known roles include Gideon on '' Daniel Boone'', Ongaro in '' Beneath the Planet of the Apes'', SRT in George Lucas' '' THX 1138'', Joshua in '' The Legend of Nigger Charley'', and Sheriff Ed Little in the 1980s TV series '' The Dukes of Hazzard''.

Early life

Colley was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to Muriel and Pete Colley. He attended Klamath Union High School and actively played football and track and field, which led to an unsuccessful try-out for the 1960 Summer Olympics. He later attended the University of Oregon and studied architecture. Later, he became a theatre member and spent five years learning his craft in various productions in San Francisco.

Career

Colley appeared in several 1960s and '70s television Westerns that included ''The Wild, Wild West, Cimarron Strip, The Virginian, Nichols'', and ''Iron Horse''. He was a guest at the 2012 Memphis Film Festival's "A Gathering of Guns 4: A TV Western Reunion" at the Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

During the 1970s Blaxploitation era, Don appeared alongside Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, D'Urville Martin, and Gloria Hendry in such films as ''Legend of Nigger Charley, Black Caesar'', and ''Sugar Hill''.

Throughout his career, Don made several guest appearances in many popular TV series, including ''Adam 12, Night Gallery, Ironside, The Streets of San Francisco, Harry O, Little House on the Prairie, Starsky and Hutch, The Bionic Woman, Fantasy Island,'' and ''The A-Team''. However, he is probably best known for his roles of Gideon in the series ''Daniel Boone'', SRT in George Lucas' ''THX 1138'', in ''Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' as Ongaro, and as Sheriff Little in the TV series ''Dukes of Hazzard''.

Death

Colley died of cancer in his hometown of Klamath Falls, Oregon, on October 11, 2017, at the age of 79.

Filmography

*'' The Bill Cosby Show''(1969 TV series 1x24) - Big Bronson
*'' Daniel Boone'' (1968–1969, TV series) - Gideon
*'' The Virginian'' (1968, TV series) - Ira Diller
*'' Here Come the Brides'' (1968, TV series) - Ox
*'' Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' (1970) - Ongaro
*'' Believe in Me'' (1971) - Man
*'' THX 1138'' (1971) - SRT
*''Adam-12'' (1971, TV series) - T. Leeland Sabeth
*''Crosscurrent'' (1971, TV movie) - Freddie Trench
*'' The Legend of Nigger Charley'' (1972) - Joshua
*''Lapin 360'' (1972)
*'' The World's Greatest Athlete'' (1973) - Morumba
*'' Black Caesar'' (1973) - Crawdaddy
*''This Is a Hijack'' (1973) - Champ
*'' Sugar Hill'' (1974) - Baron Samedi
*'' Herbie Rides Again'' (1974) - Barnstorff
*'' Little House on the Prairie'' (1977, TV series) - Dr. Tane
*''Starsky and Hutch'' (1977, TV series) - Papa Theodore
*'' Space Academy'' (1977, TV series) - Dramon
*''Casino'' (1980, TV movie) - Sam
*'' The Dukes of Hazzard'' (1981–1984, TV series) - Sheriff Ed Little
*''The Blue Iguana'' (1988) - Boat Captain
*''Journey of Honor'' (1991) - Narrator (voice)
*''Quest of the Delta Knights'' (1993) - Black Spy
*''Cagney & Lacey: The Return'' (1994, TV movie) - Virgil
*''Piranha'' (1995) - Leonard
*''A Hollow Place'' (1998, short) - Office Stern
*''Midnight Massacre'' (2016) - President Tarquin

References

Further reading

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External links

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Don Pedro Colley
interview about working on '' THX 1138''
Don Pedro Colley
WFMU interview

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colley, Don Pedro
1938 births
2017 deaths
Male actors from Oregon
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male stage actors
African-American male actors
People from Klamath Falls, Oregon
University of Oregon alumni
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
African-American history of Oregon