Known For
Acting
Born
Aug 16, 1899
Died
Sep 20, 1973
Place of Birth
Weed, New Mexico, USA
Credits
217 titles
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
Known For
Filmography
I Was a Teenage Movie Maker: Don Glut's Amateur Movies
Self
The Many Faces of Dracula
The Monster (archive footage)
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Self (archive footage)
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
Self (archive footage)
Dracula in the Movies
(archive footage)
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
The Monster (archive footage)
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
The Monster (archive footage)
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
Spaceship to the Unknown
Robot / Ming soldier / Gocko (archive footage) (uncredited)
Petticoat Junction
Hawley
The Adventures of the Spirit
Frankenstein Monster
Thriller
Indian (scenes deleted)
Last Train from Gun Hill
Gun Hill Bouncer
Alias Jesse James
James Gang Member
Rawhide
Bartender
The Rifleman
Stage Driver
Frontier Doctor
Quantrill's Raiders
Todd
Gunfire at Indian Gap
Matt
26 Men
Sugarfoot
Red Wing
Last Stagecoach West
Sheriff
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Pierce Henchman in Saloon (uncredited)
The Halliday Brand
Townsman
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
The Fastest Gun Alive
Sheriff in Silver Rapids (uncredited)
Backlash
Milliken, Stage Driver (uncredited)
The Vanishing American
Beleanth
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
Gunsmoke
Sam Noonan
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Judge Roy Bean
The Road to Denver
Big George
Marty
(uncredited)
Buffalo Bill Jr.
Cattle Queen of Montana
Indian Chief (uncredited)
Escape from Fort Bravo
Sergeant Compton (uncredited)
Calamity Jane
Prospector (uncredited)
The Veils of Bagdad
Mik-Kel
Devil's Canyon
Marshal (uncredited)
The Great Sioux Uprising
Stand Watie
Born to the Saddle
Tom Roper
General Electric Theater
Red Herring
The Lawless Breed
Ben Hanley
The Abbott and Costello Show
Tessie's Steady Boyfriend
The Lusty Men
Rig Ferris - Foreman (uncredited)
Hopalong Cassidy
Wagons West
Marshal Jim
The Legend Of The Lone Ranger
Butch Cavendish
Callaway Went Thataway
Cowboy Actor on Saloon set (uncredited)