Hubbry Logo
search
logo
2060399

Guy Madison

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Guy Madison

Guy Madison (born Robert Ozell Moseley; January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for having played Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958.

During his career, Madison was given a special Golden Globe Award in 1954 and two stars (radio, television) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Madison was born January 19, 1922, in Pumpkin Center, California. He attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Navy in 1942 during World War II. He had three brothers, Wayne, Harold, and David, and a sister, Rosemary. Wayne Moseley was an actor, using the stage name Wayne Mallory.

In 1944, Madison was visiting Hollywood on leave when his boyish good looks and physique caught the eye of Henry Willson, the head of talent at David O. Selznick's newly formed Vanguard Pictures. Willson was widely known for his stable of good-looking young actors with unusual names that he had bestowed upon them, and he immediately rechristened Moseley as Madison and cast him in a bit part as a sailor in Selznick's Since You Went Away (1944).

Although Madison was on the screen for only three minutes, the studio received thousands of letters from fans wanting to know more about him. He received extensive coverage in the influential fan magazines of the time, including Photoplay where his agent Henry Willson had once worked.

Madison returned to military service. When he got out, Selznick assigned his contract to RKO Pictures. RKO gave him a starring role in Till the End of Time, a drama about veterans returning after World War II (1946). The film was a big hit, although it was overshadowed by The Best Years of Our Lives, a film on a similar theme. However, Madison's acting was criticized as wooden.

Madison's second starring role paired him with fellow Selznick contract player Shirley Temple in Honeymoon (1947), which was a huge flop. His career began to suffer, in part because of his limited acting ability.

Madison was borrowed by William Castle for Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948). He also appeared in Massacre River (1949) and Drums in the Deep South (1951).

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.