Mead Howard "Robert" Horton Jr. (July 29, 1924 – March 9, 2016) was an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Flint McCullough in Wagon Train (1957–1962).
Early life
One of two sons, Mead Howard Horton Jr. was born on July 29, 1924, in Los Angeles. His parents were Mead Howard Horton Sr. and Chelta McMurrin.[1]
Horton said that he never felt he fitted into his proper Latter-day Saint household because at times he was rather impetuous.[2] He survived several surgeries in childhood, including hernia repair and treatment for an enlarged kidney. Horton attended California Military Institute in Perris, where he played football.[3] After graduation in 1943 at age 19, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, but was medically discharged because of his kidney.[4]
In 1945, a chance encounter with a talent scout led to an uncredited part in Lewis Milestone's film A Walk in the Sun (1945). He first studied dramatics at the University of Miami[1] but later changed schools and graduated cum laude from UCLA.[5]
Career
Horton's experience on stage included work with the American Theatre Wing in New York City, where he was the "resident leading man".[1] From that, he was signed to a contract with MGM Studios,[1] where he "appeared in numerous films."[6] His "first major TV role" was in Ford Theatre in the episode "Portrait of Lydia" on December 16, 1954.[7]: 297
In his six decades of television, Horton, who became known for his voice, was most noted for his role as the frontier scout Flint McCullough in the television series Wagon Train from 1957 to 1962. His co-stars were Ward Bond, John McIntire, Terry Wilson, and Frank McGrath. He eventually quit the series to pursue a career in musical theater.[8][9]
His role on Wagon Train was taken by Robert Fuller as the scout Cooper Smith. Fuller, a veteran of the western series Laramie, resembled Horton, and the two actors coincidentally shared the same birthday, albeit nine years apart.[10]
Horton performed for many years in theaters and nightclubs all over America, and in Australia as a singer (sometimes with his wife, the former Marilynn Bradley). In 1963, producer David Merrick hired him as the male lead in the musical version of N. Richard Nash's play The Rainmaker (titled 110 in the Shade).[6] The musical, with a score by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, ran for 330 performances on Broadway.[15]
Horton is also remembered for his offbeat role as an amnesiac in the 1965–1966 television series A Man Called Shenandoah.[11]: 649
In 1966, he starred in The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones, the first Western made specifically for television and simultaneous distribution to cinemas in Europe.[16] It was made by MGM and co-starred Sal Mineo and Diane Baker.[17]
In 1968, two years later, Horton co-starred in The Green Slime, a low-budget Japanese-American science fiction film, directed by Kinji Fukasaku and shot entirely in Japan, but with an American and European cast. His character Jack Rankin leads the crew of a space station in a battle for survival against one-eyed tentacled aliens that rapidly multiply as they feed on the station's sources of electricity.[18][19]
From 1983 to 1984, Horton took a turn in daytime soap operas, playing the part of Whit McColl on As the World Turns.[7]
Personal life
Horton was married to Mary Jobe from 1946 until 1950, and to Barbara Ruick from 1953 until 1956; both marriages ended in divorce.[20] In 1960, he married Marilynn Bradley, and they remained married until his death in 2016.[2]
Following his 85th birthday in 2009, Horton announced, through his publicist, that he no longer would be making any personal appearances because he had tired of traveling.[21]
Horton was a licensed pilot and aircraft owner.[22]
He was the recipient of several lifetime achievement awards for television, including the Golden Boot in 2004,[25] and also the Cowboy Spirit Award at the National Festival of the West. On his 90th birthday, he received the Western Legend Award.[26]
Death
Horton was injured in a fall in November 2015, and was placed in hospice care.[2] He died on March 9, 2016, at the age of 91 in a Los Angeles rehabilitation clinic.[27]
