Glenn Strange
Acting
Born 1899-08-16
Died 1973-09-20
Weed, New Mexico, USA
217 credits
Read 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
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Filmography
— top 60 of 217
Acting
51 credits
The Rifleman
Petticoat Junction
Rawhide
Thriller
Gunsmoke
The Lone Ranger
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Sugarfoot
The Abbott and Costello Show
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Last Train from Gun Hill
Red River
Calamity Jane
House of Dracula
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein
Marty
House of Frankenstein
The Spoilers
Action in the North Atlantic
Sinbad the Sailor
The Lusty Men
Dark Command
Alias Jesse James
Flash Gordon
The Fastest Gun Alive
Escape from Fort Bravo
Last Stagecoach West
General Electric Theater
Oklahoma Terror
Backlash
Saratoga Trunk
Alaska
The Desperadoes
Four Faces West
Rimfire
Mission to Moscow
The Sea of Grass
Cattle Queen of Montana
Bad Men of the Border
The Red Badge of Courage
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap
Dracula in the Movies
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Riders of Death Valley
The Star Packer
Comin' Round the Mountain
The Lone Ranger Rides Again
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
The Lawless Breed
The Mummy's Tomb
The Great Sioux Uprising
Other credits
9 credits
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
The Adventures of Jim Bowie
The Adventures of Kit Carson
26 Men
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
Hopalong Cassidy
Buffalo Bill Jr.
Frontier Doctor
Judge Roy Bean
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