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Title: Stephen Oliver RIP


Robert Plante - April 22, 2008 10:27 PM (GMT)
http://imdb.com/name/nm0647005/

Stephen Oliver, the scowling, pompadoured Vic Morrow lookalike who
starred in Russ Meyer's "Motorpsycho" and played the town thug Lee
Webber on "Peyton Place," is dead. Life imitated art: Oliver was
married to Lana Wood, who played Lee's town-tramp wife on the show,
for about five minutes.

After "Peyton Place" he moved on to co-star in another soapy Fox
series, "Bracken's World," as one of the aspiring acting students at a
fictitious movie studio.

From Sunday's LA Times:

Stephen Oliver
Known for role on 'Peyton Place'

Stephen Oliver, 66, an actor best known for his role as Lee Webber on
the 1960s soap opera "Peyton Place," died of gastric cancer April 5 at
his home in Big Bear, his brother Ross Massbaum said.

A handsome, brooding screen presence, Oliver went on to make guest
appearances on popular television shows through the 1980s. He also
appeared in movies, including "Tom Horn," a 1980 western starring
Steve McQueen.

Born Stephen Oliver Welzig on Nov. 29, 1941, in Philadelphia, he came
to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career in the early 1960s.

Variety:
Actor Stephen Oliver, best known as Lee Webber in the television series "Peyton Place," died of cancer March 5 in Big Bear Lake, Calif. He was 68.

Oliver specialized in roles as hotheads and tough guys in films such as "Motor Psycho," "Angels from Hell" and Rita Hayworth starrer "The Naked Zoo." He played boxer Gentleman Jim Corbett in the Steve McQueen Western "Tom Horn."

He also appeared in TV shows including "Brackens World," in which he had a recurring role, "Streets of San Francisco," "Starsky and Hutch" and "CHIPS."

Born Steve Welzig in Philadelphia, he grew up in Riverside, Calif. Prior to becoming an actor, he did everything from boxing to bounty hunting and had a small stint in the Navy serving on a mine sweeper while serving in Vietnam.

He is survived by a sister and three brothers.


Robert Richardson - April 22, 2008 10:55 PM (GMT)
What, no mention of WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS? Or that he played Dugan in both THE VAN and MALIBU HIGH?

Patrick Lefcourt - April 22, 2008 11:00 PM (GMT)
I liked him as Dugan the beach bully in THE VAN and MALIBU BEACH. He's also in WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS, SAVAGE ABDUCTION and THE RUNAWAYS (with Sondra Currie, sister of Cherie Currie from the Runaways -- coincidence or not?!).

Marty McKee - April 22, 2008 11:15 PM (GMT)
Sorry to see "that big dumb turd Dugan" go. He's a great comic heavy in THE VAN and MALIBU BEACH, even though you do somewhat root for the guy (and he ends the picture with the girl in MALIBU BEACH). He's a pretty good foil for Alex Rocco too in MOTORPSYCHO. I suspect the two actors competed against one another for parts many times over the years, adding some interest to their on-screen rivalry.

Robert Plante - April 22, 2008 11:58 PM (GMT)
This one hurt, since I called to interview him a few weeks ago, and talked to him literally hours after he learned he had cancer and had weeks to live. I offered my sincere sympathies (as much as I could for someone I never talked to before) and insisted on calling it off, but he was very gracious in what was obviously a devastating moment and wanted to talk. Maybe he just wanted someone there. He discussed people he worked with like Russ Meyer, Steve McQueen, and William Smith. I guess it was his last interview. I had planned on giving him a couple of weeks and calling back to see how he was, but he was gone before I got the chance. I'm pretty sore about it, he seemed like a cool guy.




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