John Doucette

By Greg Parker

He had the type of face and deep voice that everyone remembers but seemingly no one remembers his name. He was a versatile actor in many genres who appeared in over 280 movies and television shows spanning 46 years. He has the distinction few actors have by appearing in four movies with John Wayne. His name is John Arthur Doucette – a character actor that has played roles in westerns, crime dramas, war, classic, science fi ction and ust about every other genre for two generations. Lone Pine has had the honor of hosting Doucette when he came there to co-star in four movies over the years. He was here beginning in 1950 making Border Treasure (one of this year’s festival screenings and tours) with Tim Holt. In this picture Doucette plays the part of Bat, a bad guy who is ailed and then, after he escapes, has to contend with not only Tim Holt but other members of his gang, as well, who have double-crossed him. Holt wants him in Arizona for robbing a caravan of valuables intended for earthquake victims across the nearby border in Mexico. ut while in ail Bat’s partner-in-crime and girlfriend, played by House Peters, Jr. and Jane Nigh, plan to run off together with the loot. The fi lm’s climatic shoot-out features locations at the historic Lubken Ranch in Lone Pine. Next came Desert Pursuit (1952) with Wayne Morris, Virginia Grey and Bactrian camels! Doucette, along with Anthony Caruso and George Tobias, plays Kafan, one of three Arabs villains in 1870’s Nevada with camels. They stalk gold miner Ford Smith (Morris) who is packing his valuable ore and Mary (Grey) who is traveling with the Smith after losing her ob in arson City. The fi lm contains an interesting scene when the Arab men with their camels are mistaken for the biblical three wise men when they enter a Christian Native American camp on Christmas Eve. After Desert Pursuit was The Lonely Man (1957) with Jack Palance and Anthony Perkins in which Doucette plays Sundown Whipple, a cohort of adversary, Blackburn (Claude Akins), from Jacob Wade’s (Palance) gun slinging past. During the course of the fi lm Wade loses his eye sight and has to rely on the sight of his estranged son, Riley (Perkins) to help him shoot it out with main Border Treasure

adversary, King Fisher (Neville Brand), during the fi nal scenes. oucette’s fi nal Lone Pine area fi lm was Nevada Smith (1966) with Steve McQueen and Karl Malden. He played the kindhearted Uncle Ben McCanles who off ered to take Smith c ueen in after his parents were killed and his home burned. n the fi rst three of these pictures oucette played the antagonist – a role he seemed to typecast in well. Doucette was the eldest of three children who was born January 21, 1921 in Brockton, MA. By the time he was in high school his family moved to Los Angeles, CA. where he performed on stage in school plays. After graduating from Lincoln High School in LA Doucette began pursuing a professional acting career and performed at the Pasadena Playhouse before getting his fi rst uncredited role in the movie Footsteps in the Dark (1941). Just when it seemed that his career was about to take off World War intervened. During the war Doucette served in the S rmy as an infantry ri eman and participated in the infamous Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. After the war Doucette resumed his acting trade and was cast in several low-budget fi lms in the late 1 0’s. The 1950’s started with better roles for him including parts in Winchester ’73 (1950), Broken Arrow (1950), High Noon (1952), The Robe (1953) and The John Doucette

Sea Chase (1955). The 1960’s were equally as kind to Doucette when he was cast in Cleopatra (1963), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Nevada Smith (1966) and True Grit (1969). Doucette’s career reached its apogee in 1970 when he was called on to play a or eneral Lucian Truscott under the command of George C. Scott’s title character in Patton, a fi lm that won an Academy Award® for Best Picture and a Best Actor award for Scott. Later in his career Doucette made the successful transition into the television genre and appeared in dozens of shows including many episodes of The Lone Ranger and Wagon Train. e fi nally retired from acting in 1 8 . Doucette was married to opera singer Katherine Sambles from 1948 until her passing in 1991. They had eight children together. Doucette died of cancer at his home in Banning, CA. on August 16, 1994 at age 73.

We are remembering John Doucette’s contribution to Lone Pine fi lmography this weekend with the screening and tour of Border Treasure.