Lane Bradford

Lane Bradford (born John Myrtland Le Varre, Jr.; August 29, 1922 – June 6, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predominantly in Westerns but also in more contemporary crime dramas such as Dragnet, The Fugitive, and Hawaii Five-O.

Early life Lane Bradford was born in 1922, the son of John Merton.

Career Bradford appeared in many television series and "B" western films. On stage, he co-starred in Desperadoes' Outpost (1952), The Great Sioux Uprising (1953, and Apache Warrior (1957).

Bradford played the historical figure Sequoyah, the namesake of Sequoia National Park, in the 1954 episode "Sequoia" of the western anthology series Death Valley Days hosted by Stanley Andrews. The segment covers Sequoyah from earliest years to his development of the Cherokee alphabet. Carol Thurston and Angie Dickinson played Sali and Ayoka, respectively. In a 1959 Death Valley Days episode, "The Blonde King," Bradford played California pioneer Jim Savage, a friend of the Indians who works to stop a threat to the peace of the Yosemite Valley.

In the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, Bradford guest-starred on nearly all of the Western series broadcast on American television. He was cast on the ABC/Warner Brothers series, Colt .45 as Pete Jesup in the 1959 episode "The Devil's Godson". He also appeared on Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger (fifteen times), Buffalo Bill, Jr. (six times), Laredo (five times), The Cisco Kid, Tales of the Texas Rangers (twice), Jefferson Drum, Death Valley Days (twelve times), Johnny Ringo, Maverick, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (five times), Lassie (TV series) (1965), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (six times), Cheyenne (seven times), Wagon Train (eight times, including his role as Binnes in "The Jarbo Pierce Story" S8 E26 1965), The High Chaparral (twice), The Restless Gun (four times), Bat Masterson, Bonanza (fourteen times), Gunsmoke (thirteen times), Rawhide (five times), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Storefront Lawyers, Ripcord, and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.

Bradford guest-starred on the religion anthology series, Crossroads. He made two appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, including the role of Detective Arnold Buck in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Absent Artist."

His last television appearance was in 1973 on an episode of the CBS private-detective series Cannon, with William Conrad. The episode, titled "Press Pass to the Slammer", aired that year on March 13, just three months before Bradford's death.

Death In early June 1973, Bradford collapsed while boating in Hawaii. Rushed to Kaiser Memorial Hospital in Honolulu, the 50-year-old actor died at that facility four days later of a cerebral hemorrhage. Although most biographical profiles of Bradford cite his death date as June 7, 1973, that date is actually incorrect. His official death certificate, which was issued by Kaiser Memorial Hospital, documents that he died on June 6, 1973. In accordance with Bradford's wishes, the Oahu Cemetery Association administered the cremation of his remains.

Selected filmography

1940: Frontier Crusader - Cowhand (uncredited) 1940: Riders of Black Mountain - Deputy (uncredited) 1946: Silver Range - Browning 1946: Overland Riders - Deputy 1947: Prairie Raiders - Stark 1947: Return of the Lash - Dave 1947: Shadow Valley - Cowhand Bob 1947: Black Hills - Henchman Al Cooper 1947: Ghost Town Renegades - Waco 1948: Dead Man's Gold - Mayor Evans 1948: Check Your Guns - Slim Grogan 1948: Adventures of Frank and Jesse James - Henchman Bill 1949: Death Valley Gunfighter - Snake Richards 1949: Prince of the Plains - Henchman Keller 1950: The Arizona Cowboy - Henchman Curley Applegate 1951: Wanted: Dead or Alive - Henchman Utah Grant 1951: Oklahoma Justice - Henchman Deuce Logan 1951: Wells Fargo Gunmaster - Saloon Gunman 1952: Man from the Black Hills - Sheriff Moran 1952: Texas City - Hank 1952: Waco - Wallace 1953: Law and Order - Rider announcing Sheriff return (uncredited) 1953: Savage Frontier - Henchman Tulsa Tom 1953: Kansas Pacific - Max (uncredited) 1953-1956: Adventures of Superman (TV Series) - Al / Guree the Bear / Capt. Chris White 1954: Drums Across the River - Ralph Costa 1954: The Golden Idol - Joe Hawkins 1955: Stranger on Horseback - Kettering Henchman (uncredited) 1955: Seven Angry Men - Ruffian on Train (uncredited) 1955: The Spoilers - Second Sourdough (uncredited) 1955-1959: Fury (NBC, TV series) - Verne / Vern Bates / Bart - aka Verne Clancy 1956: The Conqueror - Chieftain #4 (uncredited) 1956: The Steel Jungle - Guard 1956: Red Sundown - Mike Zellman (uncredited) 1956: The Rawhide Years - River Pirate (uncredited) 1956: Gun Brothers - Deputy (uncredited) 1956: Showdown at Abilene - Loop 1957: The Phantom Stagecoach - Langton (uncredited) 1957: Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend - Stone (uncredited) 1957: Gun Glory - Ugly (uncredited) 1957: Apache Warrior - Sgt. Gaunt 1956-1957: Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (TV Series) - Bart Larson / Jason Bowhead / Big Ike Bancroft 1958: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (CBS-TV, Series) - Sol Noonan 1958: The Sheepman - Ranch Hand (uncredited) 1958: The Toughest Gun in Tombstone - Curly Bill Brosius 1958: The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold - Wilson 1959: Have Gun – Will Travel - Frank Tanner 1959-1960: The Texan (CBS, TV Series, with Chill Wills) - Buck Tanner / Jed Burdette / Gabe Kiley / Spike Taylor 1959-1972: Gunsmoke (TV Series) - Dump Hart / Joe Eggers / Bradford / Reese / Dan O'Hare / Davis / Lige / Gant / Bob / Rawlins / Tush / Jay 1959: Rawhide – Crofts in S2:E7, "Incident at the Buffalo Smokehouse" 1960: Rawhide – Matt Holden in S2:E22, "Incident of ther Champagne Bottles" 1960: Bourbon Street Beat (ABC-TV, Series) - Bailey 1960: Bat Masterson (TV Series) - Rob Bradbury 1960: Tate (NBC-TV, with Robert Redford) - William Essey 1961: Sea Hunt (TV Series) - Capt. Jonathan Moss / Frank Judd 1961: Rawhide – Dorn in S3:E16, "Incident on the Road Back" 1961: Rawhide – Baines in S4:E6, "The Inside Man" 1962: Rawhide – George Ash in S4:E27, "House of the Hunter" 1963: The Gun Hawk - Joe Sully 1963: The Dakotas (ABC-TV Series) - Sergeant Abel Round 1964: A Distant Trumpet - Maj. Miller 1964: Perry Mason - The Case of the Nautical Knot as a rider on horseback 1965: Shenandoah - Tatum (uncredited) 1965: The Slender Thread - Al McCardle 1965: Lassie (TV Series) - Sam 1965: Wagon Train - TV Series - Biggers 1965: Gunsmoke - TV Series - Dan O’Hare 1966: Batman (ABC-TV Series) - Cordy Blue 1967: Rango (ABC-TV Series) - Cole Colton (Episode: "Shootout at Mesa Flats") 1967: Dragnet (NBC-TV Series) - Champ Ridgely 1968: Journey to Shiloh - Case Pettibone 1971: Shoot Out - Prison Warden (uncredited) 1971-1973: Hawaii Five-O (CBS-TV Series) - Manola / Moose Oakley 1973: Cannon (CBS-TV Series) - Walt Morgan