Ty Hardin(1930-2017)

Though born in New York City, Ty was raised in Texas and, after military service during the Korean War, took some classes at Texas A&M. He then moved west to California and won some minor roles in B movies. When TV's Clint Walker insisted on improvements in his Cheyenne (1955) contract, Warner Brothers countered by bringing in Ty as a possible replacement. Soon, Ty had his own show, Bronco (1958), which ran from 1958 to 1962. From here, he moved into a brief flurry of film activity: Les maraudeurs attaquent (1962) and Les liaisons coupables (1962) in 1962, Patrouilleur 109 (1963), Sa dernière victoire (1963), and Les dingues sont lâchés (1963) in 1963, and La Bataille des Ardennes (1965) in 1966. After this, Ty's career drifted off into a series of forgettable movies made in Europe and, later, he worked in Prescott, Arizona, as an evangelistic preacher. Though often dismissed as just a hunk of "beefcake" -- he did a lot of bare-chest scenes -- Ty displayed a flair for light comedy in Les liaisons coupables (1962) and showed dramatic potential in the underrated Sa dernière victoire (1963).