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Lon Leonard Chapman (October 1, 1920 – October 12, 2007) was an American actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on television drama series.
Lonny Chapman | |
|---|---|
 Chapman in 1961 | |
| Born | Lon Leonard Chapman October 1, 1920 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | October 12, 2007 (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Joplin Junior College University of Oklahoma (BFA) |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, playwright |
| Years active | 1951–2001 |
| Spouse |
Erma Dean
(m. 1944) |
| Children | 2 |
Early years
editChapman was the son of Elmer and Eunice Chapman,[1] He was born on October 1, 1920,[2] in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but lived thereafter in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from Joplin High School and, in 1940, from Joplin Junior College. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served in the South Pacific during World War II.[3] In 1947, Chapman graduated with a BFA degree from the University of Oklahoma[4] at Norman. Then in 1947, he hitchhiked with Dennis Weaver, his best friend at the university, to New York City, where he landed the role of Turk in Come Back, Little Sheba.[3]
Television
editChapman's first role on television was in 1951 on the series Starlight Theatre, playing the part of an arrogant high-school football player in an episode titled "Miss Bruell". Throughout the remainder of the 1950s, he continued to be cast in other series and gain experience in supporting roles. In 1958 he portrayed detective Jeff Prior in the NBC series The Investigator.[5]: 509 He appeared twice on the CBS series The Defenders from 1961 to 1965. Seven years later, he played another detective, Frank Malloy, in the CBS series For the People.[5]
Some of the other series in which Chapman appeared in supporting roles or as a guest star include Gunsmoke, Harbourmaster, The Rifleman, The Lloyd Bridges Show, The Everglades, Decoy, Dundee and the Culhane, Mission: Impossible, Storefront Lawyers, Quincy, M.E., The A-Team, The Virginian, Matlock, NYPD Blue, Bonanza and Murder, She Wrote. In 1964 he also performed on Perry Mason, portraying a murderer, Jack Talley, in "The Case of the Tandem Target". He appeared as well in the 1966 episode "Lone Woman" of The Road West. Between 1972 and 1975, he guest-starred in three episodes of NBC's McCloud, which starred his friend Dennis Weaver, whom Chapman had originally urged to go into show business. In the late 1970s, he appeared in the episode "The Waterhole" on The Oregon Trail (1977), the episode "Now You see Her..." on The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978), and as the character L. Patrick Gray in the miniseries Blind Ambition (1979).
Film
editChapman first film role was "Ernie the plumber" in the 1955 movie Young at Heart. During his lengthy career, his appearances include roles in East of Eden (1955), Baby Doll (1956), The Birds (1963), The Cowboys (1972), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974), Norma Rae (1979), 52 Pick-Up (1986) and Reindeer Games (2000).
Stage
editChapman debuted as a professional actor on stage in Chicago, where he portrayed Wiley as in a company presenting Mr. Roberts.[4] His first Broadway appearance was as a guard in The Closing Door (1949).[6] He also portrayed Tom in a revival of The Time of Your Life on Broadway and at the Brussels World's Fair.[4]
From 1956 to 1961, he taught acting in New York.[2] In 1973, he became artistic director of the non-profit Group Repertory Theatre in North Hollywood, California. In 1999, its name was changed to the Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Theatre. During his tenure, the group presented more than 350 productions.[4]
Plays that he wrote included The Buffalo Skinner (1958), Cry of the Raindrop (1960), Hoot Sudie (1970), Go Hang the Moon (1974), Night at the Red Dog (1979), and Happy Days Are Here Again Blues (1979).[2]
During the summers of 1959 through 1967, Chapman directed and produced more than 80 plays in Fishkill, New York, and he acted in more than 30 of them.[4]
Recognition
editIn the fall of 2005, Chapman was named "Outstanding Alumnus" at Missouri Southern State University, in his hometown of Joplin.[7] Chapman's best friend since his university days, fellow actor Dennis Weaver, had previously received that honor.[7]
Personal life and death
editIn 1944, Chapman married the former Erma Dean Gibbons of Joplin, Missouri. The couple remained married for 63 years and had two children: a daughter, Linda Dean, and a son, Wyley.[1][3] On October 12, 2007, at the age of 87, Chapman died of complications from heart disease at a care facility in North Hollywood.[8]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Young at Heart | Ernie Nichols | |
| 1955 | East of Eden | Roy Turner - Automobile Mechanic | Uncredited |
| 1956 | Baby Doll | Rock | |
| 1963 | The Birds | Deke Carter - Diner Owner | |
| 1967 | A Covenant with Death | Musgrave | |
| 1967 | Hour of the Gun | Turkey Creek Johnson | |
| 1968 | The Stalking Moon | Purdue | |
| 1969 | Take the Money and Run | Jake - Convict | |
| 1969 | The Reivers | Maury McCaslin | |
| 1970 | I Walk the Line | Bascomb | |
| 1971 | Mission Impossible | Lt. Bill Orcott | |
| 1971 | Welcome Home, Soldier Boys | Danny's Father | |
| 1972 | The Cowboys | Homer's Father | |
| 1972 | Run, Cougar, Run | Harry Walker | |
| 1973 | Running Wild | Senator Frank Coombs | |
| 1973 | Cotter | Deputy Higgins | |
| 1974 | Where the Red Fern Grows | Sheriff | |
| 1974 | Hurricane | Pappy | |
| 1974 | Earthquake | L.A.P.D. Captain | Uncredited |
| 1976 | The Witch Who Came from the Sea | Long John | |
| 1976 | Moving Violation | Sheriff Rankin | |
| 1978 | The Bad News Bears Go to Japan | Louis the Gambler | |
| 1979 | Norma Rae | Gardner | |
| 1979 | Hanging by a Thread | Charles Minton | |
| 1980 | When Time Ran Out | Kelly | |
| 1980 | Running Scared | Pa Beecher | |
| 1981 | Amy | Virgil Goodloe | |
| 1982 | The Border | Andy | |
| 1983 | Cave-In! | Walt Charles | |
| 1986 | 52 Pick-Up | Jim O'Boyle | |
| 1997 | Nightwatch | Old Watchman | |
| 2000 | Reindeer Games | Old Timer | |
| 2003 | The Hunted | Zander | (final film role) |
References
edit- ^ a b Staff writers (1951-09-23). "Lonny Chapman, Joplin Actor, Gets New Role on Television". The Joplin Globe. p. 2A. Retrieved 2019-03-03 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Chapman, Lonny 1920(?)–". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ a b c Lonny Chapman, 87; theater company's artistic director Los Angeles Times via Internet Archive. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Lonny Chapman". thegrouprep. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- ^ "Lonny Chapman". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "Outstanding Alum Award". Missouri Southern State University. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
- ^ Simonson, Robert (2007-10-26). "Lonny Chapman, Broadway Actor and Theatre Leader, Dies at 87". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-03-03.