# Guy Madison

Guy Madison (born Robert Ozell Moseley; January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for playing Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958.
During his career, Madison was given a special Golden Globe Award in 1954 and two stars (radio, television) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

## Early life

Madison was born January 19, 1922, in Pumpkin Center, California. He attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the U.S. Navy in 1942 during World War II. He had three brothers, Wayne, Harold, and David, and a sister, Rosemary. Wayne Moseley was an actor, using the stage name Wayne Mallory.

## Career
### David O. Selznick

In 1944, Madison was visiting Hollywood on leave when his boyish good looks and physique caught the eye of Henry Willson, the head of talent at David O. Selznick's newly formed Vanguard Pictures. Willson was widely known for his stable of good-looking young actors with unusual names that he had bestowed upon them, and he immediately rechristened Moseley as Madison and cast him in a bit part as a sailor in Selznick's Since You Went Away (1944).
Although Madison was on the screen for only three minutes, the studio received thousands of letters from fans wanting to know more about him. He received extensive coverage in the influential fan magazines of the time, including Photoplay where his agent Henry Willson had once worked.

### RKO

Madison returned to military service. When he got out, Selznick assigned his contract to RKO Pictures. RKO gave him a starring role in Till the End of Time, a drama about veterans returning after World War II (1946). The film was a big hit, although it was overshadowed by The Best Years of Our Lives, a film on a similar theme. However, Madison's acting was criticized as wooden.
Madison's second starring role paired him with fellow Selznick contract player Shirley Temple in Honeymoon (1947), which was a huge flop. His career began to suffer, in part because of his limited acting ability.
Madison was borrowed by William Castle for Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948). He also appeared in Massacre River (1949) and Drums in the Deep South (1951).

### The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok

Madison was eventually dropped by Selznick, along with most of Selznick's contract-players. In 1951 he was cast as the title character in the television series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951–58), co-starring Andy Devine as his pal, Pete "Jingles" Jones. During the run of the show, between 1952 and 1955, sixteen feature films were released by Monogram Pictures consisting of episodes combined into a continuous story.
During its run, Madison also continued to make features: Red Snow (1952), a war movie for Columbia; The Charge at Feather River (1953), a Warner Brothers Western for Fox in 3-D and a huge hit; The Command (1954), another popular Western for Warner; 5 Against the House (1955), for Columbia; The Last Frontier (1955), supporting Victor Mature; On the Threshold of Space (1955), a science fiction film for Fox; Hilda Crane (1956), a melodrama for Fox; The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1957), shot in Mexico; The Hard Man (1957), a Western; and Bullwhip (1958), another Western.

### Europe

Madison went to Britain for Jet Over the Atlantic (1959) then went to Europe, where he found greater success in sword-and-sandal, spaghetti Western and macaroni combat films. He went to Italy for Slave of Rome (1961), Sword of the Conqueror (1961), Women of Devil's Island (1962), and The Executioner of Venice (1963).
Madison went to Germany for Old Shatterhand (1964) then made a spaghetti Western, Desafío en Río Bravo (1964). He did Kidnapped to Mystery Island (1964), Gentlemen of the Night (1964), The Adventurer of Tortuga (1964), Legacy of the Incas (1965), Renegade Riders (1967), and Son of Django (1967).
He made Bang Bang Kid (1967), The Devil's Man (1967), Superargo and the Faceless Giants (1968), Long Days of Hate (1968), Hell in Normandy (1968), Battle of the Last Panzer (1969), and Reverend's Colt (1970).

## Personal life

Madison married the actress Gail Russell in 1949. They separated in 1953 and divorced in October 1954.
Later that month, Madison married actress Sheila Connolly in Juarez, Mexico. They had three daughters: Bridget, Erin, and Dolly. They separated in November 1960 and divorced in April 1963. He had an affair with Gia Scala and, before her death, she made him the beneficiary to her portion of the Screen Actors Pension Fund. He had a son, Robert Madison, who also became an actor.
He was a Republican who supported Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.

## Death

Following his retirement, Madison built a large ranch home in Morongo Valley, California. He died of emphysema at the Desert Hospital Hospice in Palm Springs, California, on February 6, 1996, at the age of 74. He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California. His friend, actor turned stockbroker Don Burnett, spoke at his funeral.

## Recognition

For his contribution to the radio and television industries, Madison has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star for his contributions to radio is located at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard; the star for his television contributions is located at 6333 Hollywood Boulevard
In 1996, a Golden Palm Star was dedicated to Madison on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1944 | Since You Went Away | Sailor Harold E. Smith | |
| 1946 | Till the End of Time | Cliff W. Harper | |
| 1947 | Honeymoon | Corporal Phil Vaughn | |
| 1948 | Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven | Eddie Tayloe | Alternative title: The Girl from Texas |
| 1949 | Massacre River | Lieutenant Larry Knight | |
| 1951 | Drums in the Deep South | Major Will Denning | |
| 1952 | Smoky Canyon | Henchman | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Red Snow | Lieutenant Phil Johnson | |
| 1953 | The Charge at Feather River | Miles Archer | |
| 1954 | The Command | Captain Robert MacClaw | |
| 1955 | 5 Against the House | Al Mercer | |
| 1955 | The Last Frontier | Capt. Glenn Riordan | Alternative title: Savage Wilderness |
| 1956 | On the Threshold of Space | Capt. Jim Hollenbeck | |
| 1956 | Hilda Crane | Russell Burns | |
| 1956 | The Beast of Hollow Mountain | Jimmy Ryan | |
| 1956 | Reprisal! | Frank Madden aka Neola | Executive producer |
| 1957 | The Hard Man | Steve Burden | |
| 1958 | Bullwhip | Steve Daley | |
| 1959 | Jet Over the Atlantic | Brett Murphy | |
| 1961 | Slave of Rome | Marco Valerio | Alternative titles: La schiava di Roma, Slave Warrior |
| 1961 | Sword of the Conqueror | Amalchi | Alternative title: Rosmunda e Alboino |
| 1962 | Women of Devil's Island | Henri Vallière | Alternative title: Le prigioniere dell'isola del diavolo |
| 1963 | The Executioner of Venice | Rodrigo Zeno | Alternative titles: Il boia di Venezia Blood of the Executioner |
| 1964 | Old Shatterhand | Capt. Bradley | Alternative titles: Shatterhand Apaches' Last Battle |
| 1964 | Sandokan to the Rescue | Yanez | |
| 1964 | Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak | Yanez | Alternative title: Throne of Vengeance |
| 1964 | Gunmen of the Rio Grande | Wyatt Earp / Laramie | |
| 1964 | Kidnapped to Mystery Island | Souyadhana | Alternative title: I misteri della giungla nera |
| 1964 | Gentlemen of the Night | Massimo Tiepolo | Alternative title: Il vendicatore mascherato |
| 1965 | The Adventurer of Tortuga | Alfonso di Montélimar | Alternative title: L'avventuriero della tortuga |
| 1965 | Legacy of the Incas | Jaguar / Karl Hansen | Alternative titles: Das Vermächtnis des Inka Viva Gringo |
| 1966 | Five for Revenge | Tex | Alternative title: I cinque della vendetta |
| 1967 | LSD Flesh of Devil | Rex Miller | Alternative title: LSD – Inferno per pochi dollari |
| 1967 | Renegade Riders | Col. Thomas Blake | Alternative title: Sette winchester per un massacro |
| 1967 | Son of Django | Father Fleming | Alternative titles: Il figlio di Django Return of Django |
| 1967 | Bang Bang Kid | Bear Bullock | Alternative titles: The Bang-Bang Kid Bang, Bang |
| 1968 | Superargo and the Faceless Giants | Prof. Wendland Wond | Alternative title: The King of Criminals |
| 1968 | Long Days of Hate | Martin Benson | Alternative title: I lunghi giorni dell'odio |
| 1968 | Hell in Normandy | Capt. Jack Murphy | Alternative title: Testa di sbarco per otto implacabili |
| 1969 | Battle of the Last Panzer | Lofty | Alternative title: La Battaglia dell'ultimo panzer |
| 1969 | Un posto all'inferno | Major Mac Graves | Alternative title: Raiders of the Bloody Beach |
| 1969 | Hell Commandos | Major Carter | Alternative title: Comando al infierno |
| 1969 | The Devil's Man | Mike | Alternative title: Devilman Story |
| 1969 | I diavoli della guerra | Capt. George Vincent | |
| 1971 | Reverend's Colt | Reverend Miller | Alternative title: Reverendo Colt |
| 1973 | The Silkworm | Robert | Alternative title: The Silk Worm |
| 1975 | The Pacific Connection | The Old Man | |
| 1976 | Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Star at screening | |
| 1978 | Where's Willie? | Tony Flore | Alternative titles: Computer Kid Computer Wizard |
| 1979 | The Hughes Mystery | | |
| 1989 | Crossbow: The Movie | Gerrish | Direct-to-video release |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1951–1958 | The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok | U.S. Marshal James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok | 112 episodes |
| 1955–1956 | The Ford Television Theatre | Various roles | 2 episodes |
| 1955–1957 | Climax! | | 2 episodes |
| 1957 | Wagon Train | Riley Gratton | Episode: "The Riley Gratton Story" |
| 1958 | General Electric Theater | Adam Tenney | Episode: "Bold Loser" |
| 1959 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | | Episode: "You Can't Win 'Em All" |
| 1959 | The Ann Sothern Show | | Episode: "Katy and the Cowboy" |
| 1959 | The Red Skelton Show | Prospector | Episode: "San Fernando's Treasure Hunt" |
| 1960 | Death Valley Days | Luke Short | Episode: "Extra Guns" |
| 1961 | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater | Jericho | Episode: "Jericho" |
| 1979 | Fantasy Island | Brick Howard | Episode: "Yesterday's Love/Fountain of Youth" |
| 1979 | The Rebels | Lieutenant Mayo | Television film |
| 1987–1988 | Crossbow | Gerrish | 3 episodes |
| 1988 | Red River | Bill Meeker, rancher | Television film, (final film role) |

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category |
| 1954 | Golden Globe Award | Special Award (Best Western Star) |
| 1986 | Golden Boot Awards | Golden Boot |