Person:Forrest Tucker (1)

Biographical Summary

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films.^[1] Tucker worked as a vaudeville straight man at the age of fifteen. A mentor provided funds and contacts for a trip to California, where party hostess Cobina Wright persuaded guest Wesley Ruggles to give Tucker a screen test because of Tucker's photogenic good looks, thick wavy hair and height of six feet, five inches. Tucker was a sight reader who needed only one take and his film career started well despite a perception in most Hollywood studios that blond men were not photogenic. He enlisted in the Army during World War II. After twenty years spent mainly in Westerns and action roles, he returned to his roots, showing versatility as a comedic and stage musical actor. In the television series F Troop, he became identified with the character of Cavalry Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke (a manipulative character quite similar to Phil Silvers' role as MSgt. Ernie Bilko). Tucker struggled with a drinking problem that began to affect his performances in the later years of his career.

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Promotion Photo for F-Troop

WWII Selective Service Registration Card (Front)

WWII Selective Service Registration Card (Back)

Promotion Photo for F-Troop

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} The New York Times (Early City Edition).

   Obituary. (1986, October 28). p. D. by Edward Hudson. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,cpid&custid=daytonmo&db=brb&AN=518190814&site=ehost-live

2. ↑ California. Department of Public Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Death Index, 1940-1997.

   Name: Forrest M Tucker
   Social Security #: 551206254
   Gender: Male
   Birth Date: 12 Feb 1919
   Birth Place: Indiana
   Death Date: 25 Oct 1986
   Death Place: Los Angeles
   Mother's Maiden Name: Herringlake
   Source Information
   Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
   
   Original data: State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} United States. 1930 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T626).

   Name: F Meredith Tucker [F Meredith Plucker]
   Birth Year: abt 1919
   Gender: Male
   Race: White
   Birthplace: Indiana
   Marital status: Single
   Relation to Head of House: Son
   Home in 1930: Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, USA
   Street address: Mondamin Ave
   Ward of City: Third
   Block: 30
   House Number: 1337
   Dwelling Number: 136
   Family Number: 151
   Attended School: Yes
   Able to Read and Write: Yes
   Father's Birthplace: Indiana
   Mother's Birthplace: Nebraska
   Able to Speak English: Yes
   Household Members:
   Name Age
   Chas A Heringlake 58
   Pauline Heringlake 58
   Doris H Tucker 33
   F Meredith Tucker 11
   Elizabeth J Tucker 9

4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 United States. Hinshaw Index to Selected Quaker Records, 1680-1940. (Ancestry.com [database on-line]).

   Name: Forrest Meredith Tucker
   Birth Date: 12 Feb 1919
   State: Iowa (Grandparents are in Iowa)
   Monthly Meeting: Des Moines Monthly Meeting
   Source Information
   Ancestry.com. U.S., Hinshaw Index to Selected Quaker Records, 1680-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
   
   Original data: Hinshaw, William Wade. William Wade Hinshaw's Index to Unpublished Quaker Records. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College.

5. ↑ Indiana, United States. Indiana, Birth Certificates, 1907-1940.

   Name: Forest Meridith Tucker
   Gender: Male
   Birth Date: 12 Feb 1919
   Birth Place: Plainfield, Hendricks, Indiana, USA
   Registration Year: 1919
   Father: Forest Albert Tucker
   Mother: Dorris Dimple Heringlake
   Certificate Number: 6366
   Roll Number: 002
   Agency: Indiana State Dept. of Health
   Volume Range: 8 - 14
   Source Information
   Ancestry.com. Indiana, Birth Certificates, 1907-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

6. ↑ California, United States. Voter Registrations, 1900-1968. (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008).

   Name: Forrest M Tucker
   Residence Year: 1940
   Street address: 3141 Coldwatcr Canyon Lane
   Residence Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
   Party Affiliation: Democrat
   Occupation: actor, D
   Source Citation
   California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968
   
   Source Information
   Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2017.

7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 United States. World War II Draft Registration Cards.

   Publication Title: Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Multiple Registrations
   Content Source: The National Archives
   Content Source: NARA
   Content Partner: NARA
   Fold3 Publication Year: 2012
   Fold3 Job: 12-029
   National Archives Catalog ID: See NARA
   National Archives Catalog Title: Pending
   Language: English
   Country: United States
   Record Group: 147
   Short Description: Draft registration cards compiled from multiple registrations beginning in 1940, for men 18 to 45 years old.
   Roll: 43995_11_00208

8. ↑ ^8.0 8.1 Forest M Tucker, in United States. 1920 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T625).

   Name: Forest M Tucker
   Age: 0
   Birth Year: abt 1920
   [abt 1919]
   Birthplace: Indiana
   Home in 1920: Guilford, Hendricks, Indiana
   Street: Mill Street
   Residence Date: 1920
   Race: White
   Gender: Male
   Relation to Head of House: Son
   Marital status: Single
   Father's name: Forest Tucker
   Father's Birthplace: Indiana
   Mother's name: Doris Tucker
   Mother's Birthplace: Nebraska
   Able to Speak English: Yes
   Neighbors: View others on page
   Household Members:
   Name Age
   Forest Tucker 23
   Doris Tucker 22
   Forest M Tucker 0

9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Find A Grave.

   Forrest Tucker
   Birth: 12 Feb 1919 Plainfield, Hendricks County, Indiana, USA
   Death: 25 Oct 1986 (aged 67) Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
   Burial: Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
   Plot: Court of Remembrance, Columbarium of Radiant Dawn
   Memorial #: 2047
   Bio: Actor. Born Forrest Meredith Tucker, he is best remembered for his role of Sergeant Morgan O'Rourke on the television comedy series "F Troop" (1965-1967). At 6 foot 5 inches and 200 pounds, he was both a hero and a villain in numerous action films throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Born in Plainfield, Indiana, he graduated from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia in 1938, and for a short time, he played semi-pro football there. During a vacation to California in 1940, he auditioned for a movie role, mostly as a lark, and was cast in "The Westerner" (1940), staring Gary Cooper, playing a heavy and was noticed for his fight scene with Cooper. He was quickly signed to Columbia Pictures, and played in "Emergency Landing" (1941) and "Keeper of the Flame" (1942). Joining the US Army during World War II, he served in the Cavalry from 1942 to 1945, returning to his acting career upon his release from military service. His next film was "The Yearling" (1946), and he made a breakthrough role as Lance Corporal Al Thomas, a Marine with a dislike for Sergeant Stryker (played by actor John Wayne) in "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949). He then began to get better roles, including the films "Rock Island Trail" (1950) and "California Passage" (1950), but during the later part of the 1950s he made a number of forgettable horror flicks, including "The Abominable Snowman" (1957), "The Cosmic Monster" (1958), and "The Crawling Eye" (1958). When he was cast as Beauregard Burnside in "Auntie Mame" (1958), he showed a flair for comedy, and he was soon cast as Professor Harold Hill in the stage version of "The Music Man," playing that role for the next five years. In 1965, he was cast in perhaps his most famous role, that of enterprising capitalist cavalryman Sergeant O'Rourke in "F Troop" with Larry Storch as his flunky sidekick. Following the run of F Troop, he made a few more films, and appeared often on television, playing the regular role of the estranged father of character Flo on the sitcom "Alice" (1976-1985), and showing up on such television shows as "Gunsmoke," "Dusty's Trail," "Marcus Welby, MD," "Ironside," "Kojak," "SWAT," "Police Woman," "Fantasy Island" and "Love Boat." Married four times, he fathered three children (one by his first wife Sandra Jolley and two by his third wife Marilyn Fisk). Tucker died in Woodland Hills, California, of throat cancer at the age of 67.
   Inscription: My Beloved HusbandMy Eternal Love...Sheila
   Family Members
   Parents
   Forrest Albert Tucker 1896-1925
   Doris Simons Tucker Patton 1897-1988
   Spouse
   Marilyn Lois Johnson 1922-1960
   Siblings
   Elizabeth Jean Tucker Hitchcock 1920-2003
   Maintained by: Find A Grave
   Added: 1 Jan 2001
   URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2047
   Citation: Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 February 2019), memorial page for Forrest Tucker (12 Feb 1919–25 Oct 1986), Find A Grave Memorial no. 2047, citing Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .

10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Forrest Tucker, in Des Moines Register: Famous Iowans
    article by Tom Longden.

    Forrest Tucker, blond, athletic and 6-feet-5, was the perfect actor for the western, war and action movies that brought him fame. Tucker was born in Plainfield, Ind., but moved to Iowa as a child when his father died. His mother, Doris, a singer, brought Tucker and his sister, Elizabeth, to Des Moines to live in the Drake University area with her parents, the Charles Heringlakes. Tucker attended Casady Elementary and North High, where he played football. Friends called him Tuck, although he also went by his middle name, Meredith. He sang at amateur nights at Des Moines' Casino Theater before becoming a performer on the burlesque stage.On vacation in Los Angeles in 1938, he was signed by Samuel Goldwyn for his first movie, "The Westerner" (1940), leading to about 50 movies. Only a handful were "A" movies, including "The Yearling" in 1947 and "The Sands of Iwo Jima" in 1950. His breakout role came in the comedy "Auntie Mame" in 1958, when he played opposite Rosalind Russell. On TV, he appeared in five series, some short-lived. It was "F Troop" from 1965 to 1967 that most fans recall. He played Morgan O'Rourke in the off-the-wall sitcom about a raggedy cavalry troop. Tucker, who never lacked for work, turned to the stage, playing the lead over 2,000 times in road show versions of "The Music Man." Later he played Captain Andy in the musical "Show Boat." Tucker, three times wed and with three children, died in Los Angeles of lung cancer.