# Stephen McNally

Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and other villains.

## Early years

Stephen McNally was born Horace McNally in New York City. McNally attended Fordham University School of Law and was an attorney in the late 1930s before he pursued his passion for acting.

## Career

He started his stage career using his real name, Horace McNally, and began appearing uncredited in many World War II-era films. In 1948, he changed his stage name to Stephen McNally (taking the name of his then-2-year-old son) and began appearing credited as both movie villains and heroes. In 1940, as "Horace McNally", he played Dr. Richardson in the Broadway stage production of Johnny Belinda. As Stephen McNally, he played the villainous Locky McCormick in the film version of Johnny Belinda (1948).
He appeared in Winchester '73 (1950) and co-starred in Criss Cross (1949). Notable 1950s films included No Way Out (1950), Split Second (1953), Violent Saturday (1955) and Johnny Rocco (1958).
McNally was cast in three episodes of the ABC religion anthology series Crossroads. He portrayed Monsigneur Harold Engle in "Ringside Padre" (1956) and Father Flanagan of the Boys Town orphanage in Nebraska in "Convict 1321, Age 21" (1957). In between, he was cast as United States Army General George S. Patton, in "The Patton Prayer" (also 1957). McNally also appeared in the episode "Specimen: Unknown" from the anthology series The Outer Limits. He co-starred on the 1958 episode, "The Ben Courtney Story" on Wagon Train as a former Union soldier turned sheriff. In 1959, he portrayed Clay Thompson, a bounty hunter, with Myron Healey as a sheriff, in the CBS Western series, The Texan.
In the 1960 episode "The Mormons" on the CBS Western, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre McNally played Matt Rowland, who tries to block a wagon train of Mormons from entering his town, as they are suspected of carrying cholera. Things change quickly, when Rowland's son, Tod (Mark Goddard), becomes interested in a young lady on the train, Beth Lawson (Tuesday Weld).
In 1967, he started as Dal Neely, a murderous outlaw who tries to take his daughter away with him in the (S12E23) episode "The Lure" on Gunsmoke. In 1971, he appeared as Gus Muller in "The Men From Shiloh" (rebranded name for the TV Western The Virginian) in the episode titled "The Angus Killer". During the 1970s, McNally guest starred on television programs such as Fantasy Island, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files, and Police Story.

## Death

McNally died of heart failure June 4, 1994, at age 82, at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He and his wife, Rita, had eight children.

## Partial filmography

* Grand Central Murder (1942) – 'Turk'
* The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) – Peters
* Eyes in the Night (1942) – Gabriel Hoffman
* For Me and My Gal (1942) – Mr. Waring
* Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942) – Howard Allwinn Young
* Keeper of the Flame (1942) – Freddie Ridges
* Air Raid Wardens (1943) – Dan Madison
* The Man from Down Under (1943) – 'Dusty' Rhodes
* An American Romance (1944) – Teddy Roosevelt Dangos / Narrator
* Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) – 'Doc' White
* Dangerous Partners (1945) – Co-pilot
* Bewitched (1945) – Eric Russell
* The Harvey Girls (1946) – 'Goldust' McClean
* Up Goes Maisie (1946) – Tim Kingby
* Magnificent Doll (1946) – John Todd
* Johnny Belinda (1948) – Locky McCormick
* Rogues' Regiment (1948) – Carl Reicher
* Criss Cross (1949) – Pete Ramirez
* City Across the River (1949) – Stan Albert
* The Lady Gambles (1949) – Horace Corrigan
* Sword in the Desert (1949) – David Vogel
* Woman in Hiding (1950) – Selden Clark IV
* Winchester '73 (1950) – Dutch Henry Brown
* No Way Out (1950) – Dr. Dan Wharton
* Wyoming Mail (1950) – Steve Davis
* Air Cadet (1951) – Major Jack Page
* Apache Drums (1951) – Sam Leeds
* Iron Man (1951) – George Mason
* The Lady Pays Off (1951) – Matt Braddock
* The Raging Tide (1951) – Lieutenant Kelsey
* Diplomatic Courier (1952) – Colonel Mark Cagle
* The Duel at Silver Creek (1952) – Marshal Lightning Tyrone
* Battle Zone (1952) – Sergeant Mitch Turner
* The Black Castle (1952) – Count Karl von Bruno
* Split Second (1953) – Sam Hurley
* The Stand at Apache River (1953) – Lane Dakota
* Devil's Canyon (1953) – Jessie Gorman
* Make Haste to Live (1954) – Steve Blackford
* A Bullet Is Waiting (1954) – Sheriff Munson
* The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955) – Alec Black
* Violent Saturday (1955) – Harper (bank robber)
* Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) – McNulty
* Hell's Crossroads (1957) – Victor 'Vic' Rodell
* Hell's Five Hours (1958) – Mike Brand
* The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958) – Marshal Frank Emmett
* Johnny Rocco (1958) – Tony Rocco
* Hell Bent for Leather (1960) – Deckett
* Requiem for a Gunfighter (1965) – Red Zimmer
* Panic in the City (1968) – James Kincade
* Once You Kiss a Stranger (1970) – Police Lieutenant Tom Gavin
* Black Gunn (1972) – Laurento
* The Lives of Jenny Dolan (1975, TV movie) – Lieutenant Nesbitt
* Hi-Riders (1978) – Mr. Lewis

## Radio appearances

| Year | Program | Episode/source |
| 1952 | Hollywood Sound Stage | Ivy |

## Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | Wagon Train | Sheriff Ben Courtney | Season 2 Episode 17: "The Ben Courtney Story" |
| 1959 | The Texan | Clay Thompson | Season 1 Episode 32: "Badlands" |
| 1960 | Laramie | Luke Wiley | Season 2 Episode 2: "The Track of the Jackal" |
| 1961 | Rawhide | Sky Blackstorm | Season 3 Episode 28: "Incident of the Blackstorms" |
| 1961-1962 | Target: The Corruptors! | Paul Marino | 35 episodes |
| 1963-1971 | The Virginian | (1) Sheriff Avedon (2) Gus Muller | (1) Season 2 Episode 3: "No Tears for Savannah" (1963) (2) Season 9 Episode 18: "The Angus Killer" (1971) |
| 1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Captain Tolman | Season 2 Episode 18: "Final Escape" |
| 1964 | The Fugitive | Jack Glennon | Season 2 Episode 13: "The Iron Maiden" |
| 1967 | Gunsmoke | Dal Neely | Season 12 Episode 23: "The Lure" |
| 1969-1972 | Mission: Impossible | (1) Kruger Schtelman (2) Carl Reid | (1) Season 4 Episode 7: "Submarine" (1969) (2) Season 7 Episode 6: "Cocaine" (1972) |
| 1971 | Mannix | Lawrence Powers | Season 5 Episode 9: "A Choice of Evils" |
| 1974 | The Rockford Files | Police Chief Austen Bailey | Season 1 Episode 4: "Exit Prentiss Carr" |
| 1975-1977 | Starsky & Hutch | George Prudholm | (1) Season 1 Episode 8: "Pariah" (1975) (2) Season 2 Episode 19: "Starsky's Lady" (1977) |
| 1979 | Charlie's Angels | Joseph Thurgood | Season 4 Episode 3: "Avenging Angel" |