Pete duel cause of death

American actor (–)

Pete Duel
Alias Smith and Jones,
Born	Peter Ellstrom Deuel ()February 24, Rochester, New York, U.S.
Died	December 31, () (aged&#;31) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Oakwood Cemetery Penfield, New York, U.S.
Alma&#;mater	St. Lawrence University
Occupation	Actor
Years&#;active	–
Relatives	Geoffrey Deuel(brother), Pamela Duel

Peter Ellstrom Deuel (February 24, &#;– December 31, ), known professionally as Pete Duel, was an American stage, television, and film actor, best known for his starring role as outlaw Hannibal Heyes (alias Joshua Smith) in the television series Alias Smith and Jones.

Early life

Duel was born in Rochester, New York, the eldest of three children born to Dr. Ellsworth and Lillian Deuel (née Ellstrom). His&#;brother Geoffrey Deuel was also an actor, best known for his role in Chisum () and numerous episodic television appearances of the s and s; their sister's name was Pamela.

He attended Penfield High School, where he worked on the yearbook staff, campaigned for student government, and was a member of the National Thespians Society.

He graduated in and attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, where he majored in English. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He preferred performing in the drama department's productions to studying for his classes during his two years there.

Ben murphy biography Retrieved December 29, The Tampa Times. Vicci — September 5, - AM :. Peter always found it difficult to control his weaknesses.

When his father came to see him in The Rose Tattoo, he realized that his son was only wasting time and money at the university, and told him to follow a career in acting.

Moving to New York City, Duel landed a role in a touring production of the comedy Take Her, She's Mine. To find work in the movies, Duel and his mother drove across the country to Hollywood, California, in , with only a tent to house them each night.

Career

In Hollywood, he found work in television, making small guest appearances in comedies such as Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and dramas such as Channing, Combat!, and Bonanza.

In , he was cast in the comedy series Gidget as Gidget's brother-in-law, John Cooper; he appeared in 22 of the show's 32 episodes.

After Gidget's cancellation, Duel was quickly offered the starring role of Dave Willis, a newlywed apprentice architect, in the romantic comedy series Love on a Rooftop.

Although the show earned good ratings, ABC decided not to bring it back after its first season. Duel wished to move from sitcoms to more serious roles. Around , he changed the spelling of his last name from Deuel to Duel.^[7]

Duel appeared in The Psychiatrist, The Bold Ones, Ironside, and Marcus Welby, M.D.; he also made feature films during this time, beginning with The Hell with Heroes in , playing Rod Taylor’s best friend and co-pilot, Mike Brewer, followed the next year by Generation.

Peter deuel actor

The Tragic Truth Behind Pete Duel’s Suicide

After that film, he went to Spain to make Cannon for Cordoba (), a Western in which he played the mischievous soldier Andy Rice.

In , Duel was cast as the outlaw Hannibal Heyes, alias Joshua Smith, opposite Ben Murphy's Kid Curry, in Alias Smith and Jones, a light-hearted Western about the exploits of two outlaws trying to earn their amnesty.

During the hiatus between the first and second seasons, he starred in the television production of Percy MacKaye’s play The Scarecrow.

According to Quentin Tarantino, Duel was one of the inspirations for the character of Rick Dalton in the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.^[8][9] In Tarantino's novelization of the movie, Duel and Dalton worked together, "enjoyed&#; each other's company" and were both "undiagnosed bipolar."^[10]

Personal life

Duel became involved in politics during the primaries for the presidential election, campaigning for Eugene McCarthy, in opposition to the Vietnam War.^[11] He attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and witnessed the violence that erupted.

Death

In the early hours of Friday, New Years Eve , Duel died at his Hollywood Hills home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.^[13][14]

Duel's girlfriend Dianne Ray was at his home at the time of his death and discovered his body.

Ray later told police the couple had watched Duel's series Alias Smith and Jones the previous evening. She later went to sleep in another room while Duel stayed up. Sometime after midnight, Duel entered the bedroom, retrieved his revolver and told Ray "I'll see you later." Ray then said she heard a gunshot from another room and discovered Duel's body.^[13][14]

According to police, Duel's friends and family said he was depressed about his drinking problem.

He had been arrested and pleaded guilty to a driving under the influence accident that injured two people the previous June.^[13][14] Duel's death was later ruled a suicide.^[15]

Duel's funeral was held at the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple on January 2, , in Pacific Palisades.

Actor peter deuel biography That interview opened the doors to other people who Green needed for Deuel's biography. Retrieved December 29, In the foreword by Pamela Deuel Johnson, she writes Deuel was her "hero, champion, protector and loving brother. Filmography [ edit ].

At the service, his girlfriend Dianne Ray read a poem he wrote, titled "Love". An estimated 1, friends and fans attended.^[16][17] His body was flown to Penfield, New York, where he was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.^[18]

After his death, his role in Alias Smith and Jones was taken over by Roger Davis, who was previously the narrator over the opening theme of the show.^[19] The loss of Duel proved too great for the series to sustain and it was canceled in early

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
	Channing	Episode: "The Last Testament of Buddy Crown"
	Combat!	Szigeti	Episode: "Vendetta"
	Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.	1st Man	Episode: "Gomer and the Dragon Lady"
	Mickey	Crazy Hips McNish	Episode: "One More Kiss"
–	Twelve O'Clock High	Various roles	2 episodes
	The Fugitive	Buzzy	Episode: "Fun and Games and Party Favors"
	Diamond Jim: Skulduggery in Samantha	Wild Youth	Television movie
–	Gidget	John Cooper	22 episodes
–	The F.B.I.	Various roles	2 episodes
–	Love on a Rooftop	David Willis	30 episodes
	Ironside	Jonathan Dix	Episode: "Perfect Crime"
–	The Virginian	Various roles	2 episodes
–	The Name of the Game	Various roles	2 episodes
–	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Various roles	2 episodes
	The Young Country	Honest John Smith	Television movie
	Insight	Edward	Episode: "A Woman of Principle"
	Matt Lincoln	Father Nicholas Burrell	Episode: "Nick"
	The Interns	Fred Chalmers	Episode: "The Price of Life"
	The Young Lawyers	Dom Acosta	Episode: "The Glass Prison"
	The Bold Ones: The Lawyers	Jerry Purdue	Episode: "Trial of a Pfc"
	The Psychiatrist: God Bless the Children	Casey T. Poe	Television movie
–	The Psychiatrist	Casey Poe	2 episodes
	How to Steal an Airplane	Sam Rollins	Television movie
–	Alias Smith and Jones	Hannibal Heyes/Joshua Smith	33 episodes
	The Scarecrow	Richard Talbot	Television movie

Notes

Sources

External links