Jerome Courtland (December 27, 1926 – March 1, 2012) was an American actor, director and producer. He acted in films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and in television in the 1950s and 1960s. Courtland also appeared on Broadway in the musical '' Flahooley'' in the early 1950s. He directed and produced television series in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He served in the Pacific Theater of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Actor

Jerome "Jerry" Courtland was born Courtland Jourolmon Jr. on December 27, 1926, in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. At 17, he attended a Hollywood party with his mother, a professional singer. A chance meeting with director Charles Vidor led to a screen test at Columbia Pictures and a seven-year contract. Courtland's feature debut was in Vidor's 1944 screwball comedy ''Together Again'', before he joined the U.S. Army, serving in the Pacific Theatre of

. After the War, Courtland starred opposite Shirley Temple in ''Kiss and Tell'', followed by appearances in more than a dozen films including ''The Man From Colorado'' (1948), ''Battleground'' (1949), ''The Palomino'' (1950), ''The Barefoot Mailman'' (1951), and ''Take the High Ground'' (1953). He was a licensed pilot and trained in stunt flying. In 1951 Courtland starred on Broadway as the romantic lead in the short-lived musical '' Flahooley'' with Barbara Cook. Returning to California, he was frequently seen in guest roles on Westerns including ''The Rifleman'', ''Death Valley Days'' and ''The Virginian''. In 1957, he starred in six episodes of ABC's ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

'' in the

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

''The Saga of Andy Burnett'', the story of a

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, man who comes west to the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. This was an attempt by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

to follow up on the success of the first television miniseries, ''

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

''. In 1958, Courtland guest starred in an episode of the television Western series ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

''. His voice was heard singing the title song during the credits in the movie '' Old Yeller''. In 1959 he played the role of Army Lt. Henry Nowlan in the Disney film ''

Tonka Tonka is an American brand and former manufacturer of toy trucks. The company was founded in 1946 and operated as an independent manufacturer of popular steel toy construction type trucks and machinery, until its sale to Hasbro in 1991. Histor ...

''. Also that year he narrated the Disney short ''Noah's Ark'', nominated for an Oscar the following year for Best Short Subject (Cartoon). Courtland starred in the 1959-1960 television series ''

Tales of the Vikings ''Tales of the Vikings'' is an American first-run syndicated television series, first telecast on September 8, 1959 and ran through June 2, 1960. The series was produced by Kirk Douglas' production company, Brynaprod. Plot Set in tenth century S ...

'', as the lead character, Leif. He dyed his hair and beard blonde for the role. The series was produced by

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

' film production company Brynaprod, was filmed in Germany, and ran for 39 episodes. Courtland was cast as newspaperman William Byers in the 1965 episode, "The Race at Cherry Creek", on the syndicated television

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', hosted by

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. In the story line, Byers races against time to put out the first newspaper in the

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized ...

during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

year of 1859. His ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. the Monday–Friday ...

'' became the first publication in the territory. Though strongly encouraged in the pursuit by his wife Elizabeth ( ancy Rennick), Byers' pressman, Andy Kate (Alvy Moore), is pessimistic about their chances of publishing first.

Producer

In the 60s, Courtland gave up acting to produce for Disney, Screen Gems, and others. In 1975, he produced the Walt Disney film, '' Ride a Wild Pony''. He was one of two producers of the Live-action animated film, partly animated 1977 Disney movie ''Pete's Dragon (1977 film), Pete's Dragon''. He was the producer of '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' in 1975, and ''The Devil and Max Devlin''.

Director

In 1968 Courtland made his directorial debut with several episodes of ''The Flying Nun''. In the 1980s he directed episodes of Aaron Spelling's ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

'', ''Fantasy Island'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'' and ''The Colbys''."SCV’s Jerome Courtland, Actor-Director-Producer, Dies at 85", SCVTV News, March 5, 2012
/ref> In the early 1990s he made guest appearances on ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'' and ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

''. In 1997 he moved to the Chicago area, where for five years he taught acting and directing for the camera at Columbia College. Courtland died on March 1, 2012, of heart disease in the Santa Clarita, California.

Partial filmography

*'' Together Again'' (1944) - Gilbert Parker *'' Kiss and Tell'' (1945) - Dexter Franklin *'' The Man from Colorado'' (1948) - Johnny Howard *'' Make Believe Ballroom'' (1949) - Gene Thomas *'' Tokyo Joe'' (1949) - Danny *'' Battleground'' (1949) - Abner Spudler *'' A Woman of Distinction'' (1950) - Jerome *'' The Palomino'' (1950) - Steve Norris *'' When You're Smiling'' (1950) - Gerald Durham *'' Santa Fe'' (1951) - Terry Canfield *'' The Texas Rangers'' (1951) - Danny Carver, alias Bonner *'' Sunny Side of the Street'' (1951) - Ted Mason *'' The Barefoot Mailman'' (1951) - Steven Pierton *'' Cripple Creek'' (1952) - Larry Galland *'' Take the High Ground!'' (1953) - Elvin C. Carey *'' The Bamboo Prison'' (1954) - Arkansas *''

'' (1958, TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 5: "The Brother-in-Law") - Johnny Gibbs *''

'' (1958) - Lieutenant Henry Nowlan *' (1960) - Teddy Hill *'' Queen of the Seas'' (1961) - Peter Goodwin *'' Café Oriental'' (1962) - Michael *'' Tharus Son of Attila'' (1962) - Tharus *'' Black Spurs'' (1965) - Sam Grubbs *'' The Restless Ones'' (1965) *'' Escape to Witch Mountain'' (1975, Produced) *'' Ride a Wild Pony'' (1975, Produced) *'' The Wonderful World of Disney'' (1974-1980) (8 episodes) **(Season 20 Episode 14: "Hog Wild: Part 1") (1974, TV series, Co-Produced) **(Season 20 Episode 15: "Hog Wild: Part 2") (1974, TV series, Co-Produced) **(Season 24 Episode 17: " The Young Runaways") (1978, TV Series, Produced) **(Season 25 Episode 13: "Shadow of Fear: Part 1") (1979, TV series, Produced) **(Season 25 Episode 21: "The Sky Trap / Trampa en el Cielo") (1979, TV series, Produced) **(Season 27 Episode 5: " The Ghosts of Buxley Hall: Part 1") (1980, TV Series, Produced) **(Season 27 Episode 6: " The Ghosts of Buxley Hall: Part 2") (1980, TV Series, Produced) **(Episode: " Sultan and the Rock Star") (1980, TV Series, Produced)

References

External links

* * * Staff (March 5, 2012).
"Jerome Courtland dies at 85 Directed Episodes of Aaron Spelling Dramas"
'' Variety''. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
Jerry Courtland Movie Memorial

Theme song from "'Old Yeller"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtland, Jerome 1926 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers Male actors from California Male actors from Tennessee American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors American television directors American military personnel of World War II Film directors from California Film directors from Tennessee Film producers from California Singers from Tennessee People from Knoxville, Tennessee Singers from California Television producers from California 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers Television producers from Tennessee