Steve Forrest (born William Forrest Andrews; September 29, 1925 – May 18, 2013) was an American actor who was well known for his role as Lt. Hondo Harrelson in the hit television series ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

'' which was broadcast on ABC from 1975 to 1976. He was also known for his performance in '' Mommie Dearest'' (1981).

Early years

Forrest was born William Forrest Andrews in Huntsville, Texas, the 12th of 13 children of Annis (née Speed) and Charles Forrest Andrews, a Baptist minister. One of his older brothers was film star

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

. Forrest enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

at the age of 18 and fought in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1950, he earned a bachelor's degree with honors from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

, majoring in theater with a minor in psychology.

Career

Forrest worked as a stagehand at the

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

outside

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. There

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

discovered him, cast him in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

's production of ''Goodbye Again'', and then arranged for Forrest's first screen test with MGM, where he was signed to a contract. Among Forrest's notable films were '' So Big'', for which he won the

Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor The Golden Globe for New Star of the Year – Actor was an award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at their annual Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe Awards. History The award was first introduced at the 6th Golden Globe Awards in 1 ...

, '' The Longest Day'', '' North Dallas Forty'', and '' Mommie Dearest''. He had

cameo role A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s in the comedies '' Spies Like Us'' and '' Amazon Women on the Moon'', and the 2003 film version of ''

'' Forrest was also a trained vocalist, and he made his debut on Broadway as boxer Bob Stanton in the 1958 production of the Harnick and Bock musical '' The Body Beautiful'' opposite Mindy Carson, Jack Warden and Brock Peters. Forrest played later

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

William Borah William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 – January 19, 1940) was an outspoken Republican United States Senator, one of the best-known figures in Idaho's history. A progressive who served from 1907 until his death in 1940, Borah is often con ...

in the 1963 episode "The Lion of Idaho" of the

syndicated television Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

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

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television 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 progra ...

''. In the storyline, Borah as a young attorney defends a woman in Nampa,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

, on a murder charge. In 1965, Forrest and his family moved to London, where he starred as John Mannering in the title role of the British

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

The Baron Baron is a title of nobility. Baron, The Baron or Barons may also refer to: Places * Barons, Alberta, Canada * Baron, Gard, France * Baron, Gironde, France * Baron, Oise, France * Baron, Saône-et-Loire, France * Baron-sur-Odon, France * Bar ...

''. His other television credits included '' The DuPont Show with June Allyson'', '' Storefront Lawyers'', ''

'', '' Hollywood Wives'', and Rod Serling's hour-long '' Twilight Zone'' episode " The Parallel", as well as Serling's '' Night Gallery'' segment "The Waiting Room". On a 1969 episode of ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'' titled "Mannon", he portrayed Will Mannon (one of the very few men ever to outdraw Matt Dillon), then reprised the character 18 years later for the 1987 television film '' Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge'' with James Arness.

Jock Ewing John Ross "Jock" Ewing Sr. (1909–1982) is a fictional character in the American television series ''Dallas'' created by David Jacobs. Jock was played by Jim Davis in the show's first four seasons from 1978 to 1981, and as a young man by Dale ...

, the character played by Jim Davis in the television series ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' from 1978 to 1981, was presumed to have been killed in a helicopter crash during the 1981–82 season, although Jock's body was never found. This storyline was written into the series script on account of Davis' real-life death. In 1986 Lorimar Television, now renamed Lorimar Tele-Pictures, extended Forrest's contract from the 1985–1986 season of "Dallas" (the " Dream Season"), during which he had played the character Ben Stivers. They brought him back as a similar character renamed Wes Parmalee, who would be revealed to actually be Jock Ewing, in the 1986-87 season. While the season was still in production, the news leaked that Forrest would be playing the new Jock Ewing. Fans of the show believed the new storyline was disrespectful to the memory of Davis. Lorimar was forced to drop the Wes Parmalee character and change the story outcome. In 1953, he earned the Most Promising Newcomer award from the Golden Globes for his performance in the Warner Bros. film 'So Big'. In a career that spanned six decades, among films he appeared in were 'Prisoner of War' (1954), 'The Living Idol' (1957), 'Flaming Star' (1960), 'The Longest Day' (1962), 'Rascal' (1969), 'The Wild Country' (1970), 'North Dallas Forty' (1979), 'Mommie Dearest' (1981), 'Sahara' (1983), 'Amazon Women on the Moon' (1987) and 'S.W.A.T.' (2003). Among television series he was featured in were 'Playhouse 90', 'Outlaws', 'Death Valley Days', 'The Virginian', 'Rawhide', 'Bonanza', 'Insight', 'Alias Smith and Jones', 'Ironside', 'Night Gallery', 'Medical Center', 'The Rookies', 'Dallas', and 'Murder, She Wrote', however his most memorable TV role was that of Lt. Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson on 'S.W.A.T.' from 1975 through '76.

Personal life

Forrest married Christine Carilas on December 23, 1948. They had three sons: Michael, Forrest, and Stephen. Forrest was also an avid and accomplished golfer, Forrest often played in charity tournaments. He competed in 1976, for example, on the U.S. team at the

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Great Britain vs. U.S.A. Tournament, which was held that year in Scotland at Gleneagles. Forrest died of natural causes on May 18, 2013, in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak trees ...

, aged 87.

Partial filmography

*''

The Ghost Ship ''The Ghost Ship'' is a 1943 American black-and-white psychological thriller film, with elements of mystery and horror, directed by Mark Robson, starring Richard Dix and featuring Russell Wade, Edith Barrett, Ben Bard and Edmund Glover, along ...

'' (1943) as Sailor (uncredited) *''

Sealed Cargo ''Sealed Cargo'' is a 1951 American war film about a fisherman, played by Dana Andrews, who gets tangled up with Nazis and their U-boats. Other major cast members are Claude Rains, Carla Balenda and Philip Dorn. Andrews' brother Steve Forrest ha ...

'' (1951) as Holtz (uncredited) *'' Geisha Girl'' (1952) as Rocky Wilson *''

The Bad and the Beautiful ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' is a 1952 American melodrama that tells the story of a film producer who alienates everyone around him. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, written by George Bradshaw and Charles Schnee, and starring Lana T ...

'' (1952) as Actor in Georgia's Screen Test (uncredited) *'' The Clown'' (1953) as Young Man *'' Last of the Comanches'' (1953) as Lt. Floyd (uncredited) *'' Battle Circus'' (1953) as Sergeant *'' I Love Melvin'' (1953) as Photographer on Crane (uncredited) *'' Dream Wife'' (1953) as Louis *''

The Band Wagon ''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway theatre, Broadway show will ...

'' (1953) as Passenger on Train (uncredited) *'' So Big'' (1953) as Dirk DeJong *'' Take the High Ground!'' (1953) as Lobo Naglaski *'' Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) as Prof. Paul Dupin *''

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

'' (1954) as Cpl. Joseph Robert Stanton *'' Rogue Cop'' (1954) as Eddie Kelvaney *'' The Long Gray Line'' (1955) as Sergeant (uncredited) *'' Bedevilled'' (1955) as Gregory Fitzgerald *'' Meet Me in Las Vegas'' (1956) as Steve Forrest (uncredited) *''

The Living Idol ''The Living Idol'' is a 1957 film American horror film directed and written by Albert Lewin. The plot is about an archaeologist who believes that a Mexican woman is a reincarnation of an Aztec princess. Reception According to MGM records the fil ...

'' (1957) as Terry Matthews *''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'' (1957, TV Series) as Steve Archer / Joe Rogers *'' It Happened to Jane'' (1959) as Lawrence Clay 'Larry' Hall *'' Heller in Pink Tights'' (1960) as Clint Mabry *'' Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' (1960, TV Series) as Mike Bagley *'' Five Branded Women'' (1960) as Sargeant Paul Keller *'' Flaming Star'' (1960) as Clint Burton *'' The Second Time Around'' (1961) as Dan Jones *'' The Longest Day'' (1962) as Captain Harding *''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television program, television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dysto ...

'' (1963, TV Series) as Major Robert Gaines *'' The Yellow Canary'' (1963) as Hub Wiley *'' The Virginian'' (1963–1964, TV Series) as James Templeton / Roger Layton *'' Twelve O'Clock High'' (1965, TV Series) as Maj. Peter Gray *'' Rawhide'' (1965, TV Series) as Cable *'' The Fugitive'' (1965, TV Series) as Barry Craft *'' Burke's Law'' (1965, TV Series) as Jocko Creighton *''

'' (1966–1967, TV Series) as John Mannering 'The Baron' *'' Cimarron Strip'' (1967–1968, TV Series) as Clayton Tyce / Wiley Harpe *''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'' (1967-1969, TV Series) as Dan Logan / Josh Tanner *''

Rascal Rascal or rascals may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Rascal'' (book), a 1963 children's book by Sterling North ** ''Rascal'' (film), a 1969 Walt Disney adaptation of Sterling North's book * ''Rascals'' (1938 film), an American comedy-dra ...

'' (1969) as Willard North *''

'' (1970–1973, TV Series) as Scott Coltrane / Cord Wrecken / Cole Morgan / Will Mannon *''

The High Chaparral ''The High Chaparral'' television series, which was broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971, is an American Western action adventure drama set in the 1870s. It stars Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell. The series was made by Xanadu Productions in ...

'' (1970, TV Series) as Johnny Rondo *'' The F.B.I.'' (1970) as Lee Barrington *''

The Wild Country ''The Wild Country'' is a 1970 American adventure film, adventure Western (genre), western film directed by Robert Totten and starring Steve Forrest (actor), Steve Forrest and Vera Miles. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Produ ...

'' (1970) as Jim Tanner *'' The Late Liz'' (1971) as Jim Hatch *'' Mission: Impossible'' (1971, TV Series) as Edward Granger *'' Nichols'' (1971, TV Series) as Sam Yeager *''

Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are tr ...

'' (1972, TV Series) as Jake Halloran *'' Night Gallery'' (1972, TV Series) as Grant Wilson (segment "Hatred Unto Death") / Sam Dichter (segment "The Waiting Room") *''

The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient ( Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released ...

'' (1972, TV Series) as Glenn Tuttle *'' Ghost Story'' (1972, TV Series) as Andrew Alcott *''

Hec Ramsey ''Hec Ramsey'' is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1972 to 1974, starring Richard Boone. The series was created by Jack Webb's production company, Mark VII Limited in association with Universal's television productions. The ...

'' (1972, TV Series) as Wes Durham *''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...

'' (1973, TV Series) as Art Styles *'' The Hanged Man'' (1974) (TV pilot) as James Devlin *''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is r ...

'' (1974, TV Series) as Quail *''

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

'' (1974, TV Series) as Arthur Rogers *''

'' (1975–1976, TV Series) as Lieutenant Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson *''Testimony of Two Men'' (1977, TV Series) as Martin Eaton *''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfind ...

'' (1977, TV Movie) as Hawkeye *''Maneaters Are Loose!'' (1978) as David Birk *''The Deerslayer'' (1978) as Hawkeye *''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1 ( cover dated March 1941) from T ...

'' (1979, TV Movie) as Lou Brackett *'' North Dallas Forty'' (1979) as Conrad Hunter *''

Condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

'' (1980, TV Movie) as Gus Garver *'' Mommie Dearest'' (1981) as Greg Savitt *''

Hotline A hotline is a point-to-point communications link in which a call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the user when the end instrument goes off-hook. An example would be a phone that aut ...

'' (1982, TV Movie) as Tom Hunter *'' Malibu'' (1983, TV Movie) as Rich Bradley *''

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

'' (1983) as Gordon *'' Hollywood Wives'' (1985, TV Series) as Ross Conti *'' Spies Like Us'' (1985) as General Sline *''

'' (1985 & 1986, TV Series) as Ben Stivers (1985) & Wes Parmalee (1986) *'' Amazon Women on the Moon'' (1987) as Capt. Steve Nelson (segment "Amazon Women on the Moon") *'' Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge'' (1987, TV Series) as Will Mannon *'' Dream On'' (1990, TV Series) as Eden Pilott *'' Storyville'' (1992) as Judge Quentin Murdoch *'' Columbo: A Bird in the Hand'' (1992) as Big Fred *'' Killer: A Journal of Murder'' (1995) as Warden Charles Casey *''

'' (2003) as SWAT Truck Driver (cameo) (final film role)

Radio appearances

References

External links

* * *
Obituary - Hollywood Reporter

Obituary - Dignity Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Steve (actor) 1925 births 2013 deaths Male actors from Texas American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors Baptists from Texas People from Huntsville, Texas United States Army personnel of World War II New Star of the Year (Actor) Golden Globe winners Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players UCLA Film School alumni 20th-century American male actors United States Army soldiers 21st-century American male actors Western (genre) television actors Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park 20th-century Baptists