Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1899-08-16
Day of Death
1973-09-20
Place of Birth
Weed, New Mexico, USA
Glenn Strange
Biography
At various times in his life a rancher, deputy sheriff and rodeo performer, this huge, towering (6' 5") beast of a man was born George Glenn Strange in Weed, New Mexico, on August 16, 1899, but grew up a real-life cowboy in Cross Cut, Texas. Of Irish and Cherokee Indian descent, he taught himself (by ear) the fiddle and guitar at a young age and started performing at local functions as a teen. In the late 1920s, Glenn and his cousin, Taylor McPeters, better known later as the western character actor Cactus Mack, joined a radio singing group known as the "Arizona Wranglers" that toured throughout the country. Gunsmoke Strange first appeared on Gunsmoke in 1960 after James Arness asked him, "When are you going to do a Gunsmoke? I like to work with big guys." During Gunsmoke's sixth season, Strange played a Long Branch customer in "Old Faces" and a cowboy in "Melinda Miles". Strange began playing Sam Noonan during the seventh season and continued in the role for 222 episodes. In 1972 Strange was diagnosed with lung cancer but worked as long as he was able. Five of his episodes were broadcast after his death. His last appearance was on the November 26, 1973, episode "The Hanging of Newly O'Brien". Death On September 20, 1973, at age 74, Strange died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, California. Singer Eddie Dean, with whom Strange had collaborated on various songs and opening themes for films, sang at Strange's funeral service as a final tribute. Strange is interred at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery. CLR
Filmography (199)
I Was a Teenage Movie Maker: Don Glut's Amateur Movies
2006
The Many Faces of Dracula
2000
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
1999
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994
Dracula in the Movies
1992
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991
The Horror Show
1979
Spaceship to the Unknown
1966
The Adventures of the Spirit
1963
Last Train from Gun Hill
1959
Alias Jesse James
1959
Quantrill's Raiders
1958
Gunfire at Indian Gap
1957
