Guy Madison

Guy Madison (January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American film and television actor.

Early life

Born Robert Ozell Moseley in Pumpkin Center, California, Madison attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Navy in 1942.

Career

In 1944, while visiting Hollywood on leave from the U.S. Navy, Madison's boyish good looks and physique caught the eye of Henry Willson, the head of talent at David O. Selznick's newly formed Vanguard Pictures. Willson was widely known for his stable of good-looking, marginally talented actors with unusual names he bestowed upon them, and he immediately cast the rechristened Madison in a bit part as a sailor in Selznick's Since You Went Away. Following the film's release in 1944, the studio received thousands of letters from fans wanting to know more about him.

Madison was signed by RKO Pictures in 1946 and began appearing in romantic comedies and dramas. In 1951 he was cast as the title character in The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, co-starring Andy Devine as his pal, Pete "Jingles" Jones. The series ran for seven years. During the run of the show sixteen feature films were released by Monogram Pictures between 1952 and 1955 that consisted of combined episodes of the series. Following his television series, he appeared in several more films before leaving for Europe, where he found greater success in sword and sandal, spaghetti western and macaroni combat films.

Personal life

Madison married actress Gail Russell in 1949. They separated in 1953 and divorced in October 1954.

Later that month, Madison married actress Sheila Connolly in Juarez, Mexico. They had three daughters: Bridget, Erin and Dolly. They separated in November 1960 and divorced in April 1963. He had an affair with Gia Scala; before her death, she made him beneficiary to her portion of the Screen Actors Pension Fund. He also had a son Robert Madison (born in Rome in 1967), who also became an actor.

Death

On February 6, 1996, Madison died of emphysema at the Desert Hospital Hospice in Palm Springs, California at the age of 74. He was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California.His friend, the actor turned stock broker, Don Burnett spoke at his funeral.

For his contribution to the radio and television industries, Guy Madison has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star for radio contributions is located at 6933 Hollywood Blvd and the star for his television contributions is located at 6333 Hollywood Blvd.

In 1996, a Golden Palm Star was dedicated to Madison on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars.