Whitman passed away early yesterday surrounded by his family. He was married three times and had five children, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren
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| Whitman as a young man |
Whitman starred in the highly regarded film The Mark, way back in around 1961. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the role of a child molester. He also had a prominent role in the John Wayne film, The Comancheros.
In his later years, he was involved in the release of Cimarron Strip to DVD. It made sense because he owned the series. In interviews, he seemed to be a genuinely nice man, easy-going and likable in nature, in somewhat contrast to his rugged exterior.
His much-younger brother is actor Kipp Whitman, who resembles Stuart.
Once again I am writing a part of an obituary without looking at sources but going by memory. Cimarron Strip debuted on CBS in 1967 as an answer to NBC's successful 90-minute western, The Virginian. The show was produced by the same people who made Gunsmoke. Cimarron Strip was also 90 minutes long, with high production values, boasting a great theme by the late Maurice Jarre of Lawrence of Arabia fame . The series took place in Oklahoma in the 1870s or thereabouts, but of course much of the filming took place near Lone Pine, California, near the Sierra Nevadas. One could tell this from the opening and closing credits. Oklahoma doesn't have the moon rocks and big mountain ranges of central or southern California. In those credits, Whitman rode his horse off to the sunset (in the closing), reclining way back in the saddle to the point it almost looked like he was going to fall over backwards. However, he knew what he was doing and didn't fall, at least on camera.
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| Whitman in later years |
It was a decent show. His co-stars included Percy Herbert, Jill Townsend, and Randy Boone, the latter who coincidentally was a regular on The Virginian in its early seasons (as an aside, he is related to both singer Pat Boone and the late actor Richard Boone). However, the series lasted a mere 23 episodes. As I remember it was canceled for a couple of reasons besides ratings. One is that it had a lot of violent scenes as television westerns did. However, this show aired in 1967-1968, and 1968 was the year of assassinations and other turbulence in the United States during that time. Under public pressure, television networks started to crack down on the violence in their shows. More important, however, was Cimarron Strip was very expensive to produce and couldn't be sustained because of the astronomical expense.
For Whitman, its cancellation was a disappointment, but he didn't starve to death. On the contrary, Whitman was one smart investor, making millions upon millions of dollars in various investments, reputedly becoming one of Hollywood's richest performers. He was reportedly a lifelong Democrat. He continued to act, but he didn't need the money. He said he did it because he enjoyed acting.
We all should be so fortunate.
Part one of a two-part interview he did that gives the reader a taste of what kind of person he was:
From the Hollywood Reporter:
Stuart Whitman was born Feb. 1, 1928 in San Francisco. When he was 3, he and his family moved to Brooklyn, and he eventually graduated from Hollywood High.
During a two-year stint with the U.S. Army Engineer Corps, the brawny Whitman won all but one of his 24 boxing matches as a light heavyweight, then played football and studied acting at Los Angeles City College. To help make ends meet, he bought, operated and hired out his own bulldozer.
At the Ben Bard Drama acting school, Whitman appeared as a prize fighter in a production of Here Comes Mr. Jordan and attracted the attention of Hollywood talent scouts.
Whitman had his movie debut in When Worlds Collide (1951), appeared on TV shows like Boston Blackie and Lux Video Theatre and made an impression opposite Ethel Barrymore and Carolyn Jones as the wild title character in Johnny Trouble (1957).
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