Bill Schenley
2007-11-06 04:29:44 UTC
Ward Bond Dead; TV And Film Actor;
Star of 'Wagon Train' Series on N.B.C.
Had Appeared in More Than 200 Movies
Photo: Loading Image...
FROM: The New York Times (November 6th 1960) ~
By The Associated Press
DALLAS, Tex., Nov. 5
Ward Bond, movie and television star, died in a
motel here today of a heart attack. He was 57
years old.
Mr. Bond, who was the star of the television series
"Wagon Train," was to have made a personal
appearance tomorrow in the Cotton Bowl at
halftime of the game between the Dallas Cowboys
and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football
League.
His wife, Mary Lou, made the trip to Dallas with him.
In Films 30 Years
It took television to make Mr. Bond a nation-wide
star after nearly thirty years as one of the
better-known supporting actors in Hollywood.
The vehicle that carried him to the top was "Wagon
Train," which rolls across the country's home
screens each Wednesday evening over the National
Broadcasting Company network.
As Major Seth Adams, the wagonmaster,
Mr. Bond presided over adventures set in the Old
West that brought entertainment to millions of
American viewers. The show was reported to have
been the favorite TV import in England.
Three years ago, when "Wagon Train" first went
on TV, Mr. Bond was less enthusiastic about its
possibilities than he was later when it became a
proven success that mercilessly destroyed
competition on other channels.
"Heck, I'm ready to be Major Seth Adams the rest
of my life," he was quoted in a recent interview.
The 6 foot 4 inch 215-pounder was a natural for
Westerns. White-haired, grizzled and rugged, he
was an outdoor type who did his own horseback
riding and disdained stand-ins. He was so much
at home in his role that he altered the scripts when
he felt the writers had not captured the spirit of his
part.
Despite his love of the open spaces, his outdoor
activities were confined to hours on camera as
television's pressures kept him from sailing his
thirty-seven-foot boat or going hunting.
Mr. Bond was born in Bendelmen, Neb. When
he was 20, he entered the Colorado School of
Mines but dropped out soon after to go to work
for several years. He returned to college at the
University of Southern California from which he
was graduated in 1931.
It was college football that made an actor out of
the student. He was a tackle on Coach Howard
Jones' Trojans. A teammate was John Wayne.
John Ford, the motion picture director, came over
to look at the team to cast some of its members
for a film he was making. Mr. Bond and
Mr. Wayne were among the chosen.
In future years, Mr. Bond appeared in all
Ford-directed movies that starred Mr. Wayne.
He was busy in other movies, too. Between
college and television lay more than 200 parts that
made him a familiar figure in motion picture
houses. He was perhaps best known for Westerns,
and he fired lethal barrages both for the good and
bad sides in more than a hundred of the breed.
He appeared in "Fort Apache," "The Quiet Man,"
"It Happened One Night," "Fugitive," "Johnny
Guitar" and "Mister Roberts," among many others.
Mr. Bond was bitterly anti-Communist and became
embroiled in many of the industry disputes over
Communism in the movies and in the fight over
McCarthyism. When Premier Khrushchev visited
Hollywood in 1959 during his United States tour,
the actor flew the American flag over his home at half
staff.
---
Photos: Loading Image...
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(w/Robert Horton)
Ward Bond in art:
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(w/John Wayne)
The Searchers (trailer)
Wagon Master [1] (as Elder Wiggs)
[1] Jim Thorpe's last movie
Star of 'Wagon Train' Series on N.B.C.
Had Appeared in More Than 200 Movies
Photo: Loading Image...
FROM: The New York Times (November 6th 1960) ~
By The Associated Press
DALLAS, Tex., Nov. 5
Ward Bond, movie and television star, died in a
motel here today of a heart attack. He was 57
years old.
Mr. Bond, who was the star of the television series
"Wagon Train," was to have made a personal
appearance tomorrow in the Cotton Bowl at
halftime of the game between the Dallas Cowboys
and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football
League.
His wife, Mary Lou, made the trip to Dallas with him.
In Films 30 Years
It took television to make Mr. Bond a nation-wide
star after nearly thirty years as one of the
better-known supporting actors in Hollywood.
The vehicle that carried him to the top was "Wagon
Train," which rolls across the country's home
screens each Wednesday evening over the National
Broadcasting Company network.
As Major Seth Adams, the wagonmaster,
Mr. Bond presided over adventures set in the Old
West that brought entertainment to millions of
American viewers. The show was reported to have
been the favorite TV import in England.
Three years ago, when "Wagon Train" first went
on TV, Mr. Bond was less enthusiastic about its
possibilities than he was later when it became a
proven success that mercilessly destroyed
competition on other channels.
"Heck, I'm ready to be Major Seth Adams the rest
of my life," he was quoted in a recent interview.
The 6 foot 4 inch 215-pounder was a natural for
Westerns. White-haired, grizzled and rugged, he
was an outdoor type who did his own horseback
riding and disdained stand-ins. He was so much
at home in his role that he altered the scripts when
he felt the writers had not captured the spirit of his
part.
Despite his love of the open spaces, his outdoor
activities were confined to hours on camera as
television's pressures kept him from sailing his
thirty-seven-foot boat or going hunting.
Mr. Bond was born in Bendelmen, Neb. When
he was 20, he entered the Colorado School of
Mines but dropped out soon after to go to work
for several years. He returned to college at the
University of Southern California from which he
was graduated in 1931.
It was college football that made an actor out of
the student. He was a tackle on Coach Howard
Jones' Trojans. A teammate was John Wayne.
John Ford, the motion picture director, came over
to look at the team to cast some of its members
for a film he was making. Mr. Bond and
Mr. Wayne were among the chosen.
In future years, Mr. Bond appeared in all
Ford-directed movies that starred Mr. Wayne.
He was busy in other movies, too. Between
college and television lay more than 200 parts that
made him a familiar figure in motion picture
houses. He was perhaps best known for Westerns,
and he fired lethal barrages both for the good and
bad sides in more than a hundred of the breed.
He appeared in "Fort Apache," "The Quiet Man,"
"It Happened One Night," "Fugitive," "Johnny
Guitar" and "Mister Roberts," among many others.
Mr. Bond was bitterly anti-Communist and became
embroiled in many of the industry disputes over
Communism in the movies and in the fight over
McCarthyism. When Premier Khrushchev visited
Hollywood in 1959 during his United States tour,
the actor flew the American flag over his home at half
staff.
---
Photos: Loading Image...
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(w/Robert Horton)
Ward Bond in art:
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
(w/John Wayne)
The Searchers (trailer)
Wagon Master [1] (as Elder Wiggs)
[1] Jim Thorpe's last movie