# Rockne Tarkington

William Rockne Tarkington, Jr. (July 15, 1931 – April 5, 2015) was an American stage, film and television actor.

## Career

Born in Junction City, Kansas, Tarkington began his career as a stage actor, and made the transition to television with guest appearances in episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ben Casey, Mission: Impossible, Bewitched, and many others. Tarkington was also the first credited black actor to appear on The Andy Griffith Show.
Tarkington made recurring appearances on Tarzan (as Young Chief / Ramahit / Ahmid / Rao) and starred as Elihu Morgan on Danger Island on Hanna-Barbera's Banana Splits Adventure Hour. He also played "Too Mean" Malone on the 1983–84 season of Matt Houston and made appearances in episodes of Bearcats!, MacGyver, Baretta and other shows in the 1970s and 1980s.
As a film actor, Tarkington played the title role in the blaxploitation picture Black Samson (1974), and co-starred with Richard X. Slattery in The No Mercy Man (1973) and Zebra Force (1976). He also appeared in films such as Soldier in the Rain (1963); Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965); The Great White Hope (1970); Beware! The Blob (1972), Melinda (1972); The Baltimore Bullet (1980); National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1983); The Ice Pirates (1984), Uphill All the Way (1986) and Death Before Dishonor (1987), and had parts in many television films.
Tarkington was the first choice to play the part of Williams in Enter the Dragon (1973), but just before the start of filming he was replaced by Jim Kelly.

## Personal life

Tarkington lived in Los Angeles for the majority of his career where he was married to fellow screen actor Joan Blackman from July 1968 to October 1970. In the 1990s he returned home to Kansas when his mother became ill. He eventually became a Mormon after seeing a television commercial for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1963 | Soldier in the Rain | First Sergeant William Booth | |
| 1965 | Major Dundee | Jefferson | Uncredited |
| 1965 | Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion | Juma | |
| 1965 | Tell Me in the Sunlight | Rocky | |
| 1968 | PJ | Cato | Uncredited |
| 1969 | The Dream of Hamish Mose | Hamish Mose | Unreleased |
| 1970 | The Great White Hope | Rudy | |
| 1972 | Beware! The Blob | Deputy Williams | |
| 1972 | Melinda | "Tank" | |
| 1973 | The No Mercy Man | Prophet | |
| 1973 | Enter the Dragon | Williams | Unexpected Exit, Replaced by Jim Kelly |
| 1974 | Home Grown | Hank | |
| 1974 | Black Samson | Samson | |
| 1974 | Black Starlet | Ben | |
| 1976 | The Zebra Force | Earl Lovington | |
| 1977 | The Great Gundown | Sutton | |
| 1980 | The Baltimore Bullet | Gunner | |
| 1982 | National Lampoon's Movie Madness | Black Cop, 'Municipalians' | |
| 1982 | Showdown at Eagle Gap | "Enterprise" Jackson | |
| 1984 | The Ice Pirates | "Patch" | |
| 1986 | Uphill All the Way | Leon | |
| 1987 | Death Before Dishonor | "Jihad" | |
| 1988 | Under the Gun | Leon | |
| 1989 | Fists of Steel | Rijar | |
| 1994 | Wyatt Earp | Stable Hand | |
| 1994 | The Desperate Trail | Packo | |
| 1995 | Outlaws: The Legend of O.B. Taggart | Bartender | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Pete the Police Officer | Season 2 Episode 7: "Starring the Defense" |
| 1964 | Kraft Suspense Theatre | Henry | Season 1 Episode 12: "A Truce to Terror" |
| 1964 | The Great Adventure | Corporal Banks | Season 1 Episode 17: "The Special Courage of Captain Pratt" |
| 1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Mr. Morgan | Season 1 Episode 4: "The Shark Affair" |
| 1965 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Sergeant Fanning | Season 2 Episode 12: "Exit from a Plane in Flight" |
| 1966 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Poet | Season 3 Episode 11: "After the Lion, Jackals" |
| 1966 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Domestic | Season 2 Episode 22: "The Foreign Legion Affair" |
| 1966 | Bewitched | Tommy Carter | Season 2 Episode 21: "Fastest Gun on Madison Avenue" |
| 1966 | Ben Casey | | 1 episode |
| 1966 | Daktari | | 1 episode |
| 1966 | Tarzan | Rao | Season 1 Episode 1: "Eyes of the Lion" |
| 1966 | Tarzan | Rao | Season 1 Episode 3: "Leopard on the Loose" |
| 1966 | Tarzan | Rao | Season 1 Episode 4: "A Life for a Life" |
| 1966 | Tarzan | Rao | Season 1 Episode 7: "The Prodigal Puma" |
| 1966 | Tarzan | Ahmid | Season 1 Episode 12: "The Day of the Golden Lion" |
| 1967 | Tarzan | Ramahit | Season 2 Episode 2: "The Voice of the Elephant" |
| 1967 | Tarzan | Young Chief | Season 2 Episode 11: "Mountains of the Moon: Part 1" |
| 1967 | Tarzan | Young Chief | Season 2 Episode 12: "Mountains of the Moon: Part 2" |
| 1967 | The Andy Griffith Show | Flip Conroy | Season 7 Episode 26: "Opie's Piano Lesson" |
| 1967 | Mission: Impossible | Paul Giroux | Season 2 Episode 8: "The Money Machine" |
| 1967 | Cowboy in Africa | Jacob | Season 1 Episode 10: "Lake Sinclair" |
| 1968 | The High Chaparral | Sergeant Washburn | Season 1 Episode 22: "Ride the Savage Land" |
| 1968–1969 | Danger Island | Elihu Morgan | 26 episodes |
| 1968–1970 | The Banana Splits | Elihu Morgan | 10 episodes |
| 1970 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Frank Davidson | Season 1 Episode 25: "Enid" |
| 1971 | Bearcats! | Lukas | Season 1 Episode 9: "Bitter Flats" |
| 1973 | Assignment Vienna | Alan Roberts | Season 1 Episode 8: "Soldier of Fortune" |
| 1974 | Police Story | Leonard Gardner | Season 1 Episode 11: "Chain of Command" |
| 1975 | Police Story | Andrew Carver | Season 2 Episode 18: "The Execution" |
| 1975 | Police Story | Stuckley | Season 3 Episode 7: "Test of Brotherhood" |
| 1976 | Police Story | Ripley | Season 3 Episode 21: "Officer Dooly" |
| 1976 | City of Angels | George | Season 1 Episode 7: "Palm Springs Answer" |
| 1976 | Big John, Little John | Magiconi | Season 1 Episode 13: "Abracadabra" |
| 1977 | Days of Our Lives | Kenny's Friend | 4 Episodes: 2947, 2948, 2949, 2950 |
| 1978 | Baretta | Captain Johnson | Season 4 Episode 17: "The Stone Conspiracy" |
| 1978 | Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry | Morrison | Television film |
| 1979 | Charleston | Reverend Duchamp | Television film |
| 1979 | The Ordeal of Patty Hearst | Death Row | Television film |
| 1979 | Disaster on the Coastliner | | Television film |
| 1980 | Tenspeed and Brown Shoe | Mucker | Season 1 Episode 9: "It's Easier to Pass an Elephant Through the Eye of a Needle Than a Bad Check in Bel Air" |
| 1980 | Roughnecks | Lenny Booker | Television film |
| 1981 | The Intruder Within | Mark | Television film |
| 1982 | Gavilan | Joe | Season 1 Episode 8: "Best Friend Money Can Buy" |
| 1982 | Matt Houston | 'Too Mean' Malone | Season 1 Episode 4: "Killing Isn't Everything" |
| 1983 | Matt Houston | 'Too Mean' Malone | Season 2 Episode 6: "Marilyn" |
| 1983 | Matt Houston | Too Mean Malone | Season 2 Episode 8: "China Doll" |
| 1983 | Women of San Quentin | Big William | Television film |
| 1984 | Matt Houston | Malone | Season 2 Episode 14: "Waltz of Death" |
| 1984 | Matt Houston | Too Mean Malone | Season 2 Episode 19: "Blood Ties" |
| 1984 | Matt Houston | Too Mean Malone | Season 2 Episode 20: "The Secret Admirer" |
| 1984 | Matt Houston | Malone | Season 3 Episode 6: "Return to Nam: Part 1" |
| 1985 | Hollywood Beat | | Season 1 Episode 13: "Connections" |
| 1985 | Handsome Harry's | Tank | Television film |
| 1986 | The Redd Foxx Show | Earl | Season 1 Episode 13: "High Noon" |
| 1987 | MacGyver | Jules | Season 2 Episode 21: "D.O.A.: MacGyver" |
| 1988 | Ohara | Randall | Season 2 Episode 15: "X" |
| 1992 | Lucky Luke | Harp | Season 1 Episode 4: "Chi è Mr. Josephs?" |