John Doucette

Early years

Doucette was born in Brockton, Massachusetts. During his childhood, his family moved frequently as his father sought work during the Great Depression. He completed grammar school in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and graduated from Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California.

He gained acting experience with the Pasadena Playhouse.

Military service

During World War II, Doucette served as an infantry rifleman in the United States Army.

Career

Doucette's film debut came in Two Tickets to London (1943). He progressed to dramatic roles including a small part as an architect in The Fountainhead in (1949) and the 1970 epic Patton when he played 3rd Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Lucian K. Truscott. His other notable performances included bit parts in High Noon, The Robe, Sierra, and the mega-budget Cleopatra. More familiarly, Doucette appeared in the John Wayne films The Sea Chase, The Sons of Katie Elder, True Grit, and Big Jake.

Many baby boomers first saw John Doucette as the bad guy in several episodes of The Lone Ranger, a natural role considering his rough looks, commanding presence, and skill with a gun. He was considered by many to be one of the fastest draws in Hollywood. His roles, however, went well beyond that stereotype. He appeared on a variety of television shows, including The Range Rider, The Roy Rogers Show, The Fugitive, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Cisco Kid, City Detective, Annie Oakley, The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial, My Friend Flicka, Sky King, The Californians, Broken Arrow, The People's Choice, Sheriff of Cochise, Behind Closed Doors, The Texan, Lawman, The Everglades, Mackenzie's Raiders, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, The Virginian, Have Gun - Will Travel, Kung Fu, The Rat Patrol, Hogan's Heroes, Adventures of Superman, Sea Hunt, Science Fiction Theatre, Walt Disney Presents, and "Tales of Wells Fargo" (as Boone Helm in "Alder Gulch" and as Lemuel "Shorty" Bostwick in "Renegade").

Doucette portrayed police Lieutenant Tom Gregory on the television version of Big Town. Between 1959-1961, Doucette played police Lt. Weston on the TV series Lock-Up.^:617 He also played Aaron William Andrews in the comedy television program The Partners.^:813

In 1959, Doucette played the bounty hunter Lou Gore in the episode "Dead Aim" of the ABC/WB series, Colt .45, starring Wayde Preston. Ken Osmond, Eddie Haskell on Leave It to Beaver, played the part of "Tommy", and Bing Russell, another character actor, was cast as Jed Coy in the episode.

Twice Doucette played the Apache Chief Geronimo: (1) the 1958 episode "Geronimo" of the Pat Conway western series Tombstone Territory, and (2) in the 1961 episode "Gamble with Death" of the western anthology, Death Valley Days. Oddly, in both programs, his co-star was the character actor Tom Greenway.

In 1961, Doucette was cast as Captain Cardiff in The Americans, a 17-episode NBC series, starring Darryl Hickman, about how the American Civil War divided families.

Personal life

Doucette was married to opera singer Katherine Sambles. They had eight children.

Death

Doucette died at his home in Banning, California on Tuesday, August 16, 1994. He was 73 years old. His mausoleum is at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Television

Kolchak: The Night Stalker - episode - Vampire - Officer Sample (1974)