Friday, October 01, 2010

Happy Birthday, Mr. Peppard

Had he not perished of pneumonia back in 1994, actor George Peppard would today be celebrating his 82nd birthday. Thanks to his roles in the TV mystery series Banacek (1972–1974) and the underappreciated detective feature P.J. (1968), not to mention the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s  and the teleflick Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case, I’ve long been a Peppard fan. Even though he’s no longer with us, I shall be tipping a toast in his honor this evening.

5 comments:

datrappert said...

And you left out the A-Team. Stupid, but a lot of fun.

Winifred said...

Bless him, he was unforgettable. Loved the intro to Banacek where he was rowing. Very classy!

Saw a lot of him in the A Team which my children absolutely loved. Good fun.

Gary Phillips said...

He was damn good as the chilling intelligence puppet master in the Groundstar Conspiracy, and the driven bastard glory seeker in the Blue Max. Not too shabby in Bad Night in Jericho either.

Gar Anthony Haywood said...

Jeff:

Many, many moons ago, I used to usher and tear tickets at the Music Center downtown, which at the time was THE place for performing arts in Los Angeles. Peppard and his wife were subscribers to the L.A. Philharmonic, and he never failed to bail from every performance just after intermission to chat us kids up out in the lobby. He was a funny, down-to-earth Joe, who refused to take himself too seriously. Great actor, great guy.

J. Kingston Pierce said...

What a wonderful story, Gar. Thanks for sharing it.

Cheers,
Jeff