Although younger brother
Dean Stockwell
is perhaps the better known actor of the two, Guy Stockwell was a
strong, seriously handsome and highly reliable performer over the years, appearing in
over 30 films and 200 television shows. The son of Broadway singing baritone
Harry Stockwell, his mother, Elizabeth Margaret Veronica, a former chorus girl/dancer who once went by the stage name of "Betty Veronica," sent both Dean and Guy to an open call
for a 1943 Broadway show entitled "The Innocent Voyage," which was to
star famed acting teacher
Herbert Berghof. The play needed about a
dozen children and, by chance, both boys were cast. Dean went
immediately into films for MGM and became a popular post-war child star
while Guy had to wait until adulthood before coming into his own.
Following high school he attended the University of California where he
majored in psychology and philosophy.
Guy started his career off in minor film and TV bits, then was given
his big break in 1961 as a regular cast member of the outdoor sea
adventure
Adventures in Paradise (1959)
as first mate to star
Gardner McKay. He
played the role for one season. Following that in 1963 he became one of
11 performers who made up the company for
Richard Boone's television
anthology series. Guy became a Universal contract player in 1965 and
went straight into several standard tales of adventure and intrigue,
including
The War Lord (1965),
Tobruk (1967) and
Blindfold (1966). Initially promoted as
a dashing
Errol Flynn type in
swordplay adventures and outdoor epics, the studio had him star in the
remake of
Gary Cooper's French
Foreign Legion classic
Beau Geste (1966) opposite another
film up-and-comer
Doug McClure. He
co-starred with McClure again, this time as the villain, in
The King's Pirate (1967) while
vying for beauties
Jill St. John and
Mary Ann Mobley. He also earned the role
of Buffalo Bill Cody in a remake of Cooper's
The Plainsman (1966). Playing a
villain again in the glossy soaper
Banning (1967) with
Robert Wagner and Ms. St. John,
most of Guy's high-profile roles came off routine at best and the films
failed at the box office. He made his last picture for Universal
co-starring with
Anthony Franciosa in
In Enemy Country (1968) before
his contract ended.
Guy subsequently gravitated towards the small screen and local stage.
He created the Los Angeles Art Theater along the way where he played
leading roles in well-received productions of "Hamlet" and his own
adaptation of "Crime and Punishment.". Gaining respect in later years
as an acting teacher, he wrote a textbook for actors called Cold
Reading Advantage (1991) and taught acting (as an alumnus at the
University of California) for two years in their masters program.
Subsequent character parts in films were a bit offbeat to say the
least, having gained some weight over time. He was also involved in
extensive voice-over work.
Married and divorced three times, he had two children, Doug and
Victoria, by first wife Susan; an adopted son, Kerry, by second wife
Sandy; and had several stepchildren by his marriage to third wife Olga.
Guy suffered from diabetes in later years and died of complications in
2002. He was 68.
Columbo: Columbo Goes to College(1990)as Club Owner
Murder, She Wrote(1984)as Dorn Van Stotter, Elmo Banner, Ret. Det. Bert Kravitz
Unspeakable Acts(1990)as Dr. Underwager
Mick and Frankie(1989)as George
Santa Sangre(1989)as Orgo
De jaren stillekes(2009)as Zorro
8th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(2002)as Self
Voyagers!(1982)as Rev. Noise
