Jock Gaynor

Jock Gaynor (September 14, 1929 – April 2, 1998) was an American actor, producer, and writer, whose work was confined primarily to television. His series acting career began at the age of thirty-one, when he was cast in a supporting role as deputy marshal Heck Martin during the first season (1960-1961) of the NBC western series Outlaws,^[1] starring Barton MacLane and Don Collier, and in the second season, Collier and Bruce Yarnell. His character Heck Martin was the on-screen nephew to Collier's role of Will Foreman.^[2]

Gaynor was a native of New York City who sometimes used the stage names Jack Gaynor or Ward Gaynor. In 1960, he appeared as the character Joe Malone in NBC's Wichita Town with Joel McCrea. The then appeared in three ABC programs, Bourbon Street Beat as Mike Cherbourg, Colt .45 as Gabe Randall, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp as Lieutenant Grange. He appeared in David McLean's NBC summer western Tate as Tavibo weeks prior to appearing on Outlaws.^[1]

Career

Thereafter, Gaynor guest starred on Clint Walker's ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Cheyenne in the 1961 episode "Incident at Dawson Flats". In the story line, Cheyenne arrives at Dawson Flats to attend the wedding of his friend, Johnny McIntyre (Gaynor) to Selma Dawson (Joan O'Brien), daughter of an embittered paralyzed rancher, Cyrus Dawson (Morris Ankrum). Before the wedding takes place, however, McIntyre accidentally kills Selma's brother, Lafe Dawson (John Cliff). Hampton Fancher appears as the youngest Dawson brother, Jasper. Cheyenne proceeds to uncover secrets of the dysfuncitonal Dawson family.^[3]

Gaynor guest starred on other ABC/WB series, including Hawaiian Eye with Robert Conrad, and Surfside 6 with Troy Donahue. He appeared twice as "Ogalla" on CBS's Rawhide with Clint Eastwood. He guest starred in the lead role in the short-lived 1961 CBS western Gunslinger in one episode entitled "Johnny Sergeant".^[1]

Gaynor also guest starred on such series as Laramie, the NBC western with John Smith and Robert Fuller, and in two episodes each of ABC's Batman and The Iron Horse with Dale Robertson and CBS's Mission: Impossible.^[1] From 1963-1964, Gaynor appeared as Dr. William Scott in the soap opera The Doctors (1963-1982), the work of Orin Tovrov, who, according to the book Total Television had also created the old serial Ma Perkins.^[4] He voiced an alien and guest-starred as a villain in two episodes of 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea". After appearances on CBS's Mannix with Mike Connors and Cannon with William Conrad, both in 1973, Gaynor rarely acted thereafter.^[1]

He appeared in the 1974 thriller film The Deathhead Virgin in the role of Larry Alden. According to the story line, a treasure hunter finds a sunken Spanish galleon off the coast of a Philippine island, only to learn that the ship is influenced by the ghost of an ancient Moro princess.^[5] His last appearance was in the role of Paxton in 1986 on NBC's Knight Rider with David Hasselhoff.^[1]

He produced the film The Invitation in 1984 and twenty episodes from 1979-1980 of Gil Gerard's series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Gaynor died in Los Angeles, California, at the age of sixty-eight.^[1]

References