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Sean Garrison
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Sean Garrison (October 19, 1937 – March 2, 2018) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He played Mark Dominic in the 1966 film Moment to Moment. He also starred in the short-lived American Western television series Dundee and the Culhane.[2]
Key Information
Early life
[edit]Garrison was born in New York, of Irish descent.[3] When Garrison was five his father died.[4] By the age of nine, Garrison was working as a shoeshiner. When a customer asked him to sing a song while giving him a shoeshine, Garrison sang the cowboy song "Home on the Range" and was given a $1.20 tip. Reasoning that this might give him a competitive edge in a crowded market, he became a singing shoeshiner. He expanded his repertoire to include songs appropriate to occasions such as Memorial Day and Mother's Day, when he also sang in bars.[4] Garrison later worked on a dairy farm in Upstate New York, leaving school at the age of fifteen.[4] He then moved south to Florida[1] and the Caribbean, where he did a variety of jobs before relocating to California in 1955 and finding work in a furniture and tile factory.[4]
Acting career
[edit]After a friend suggested that he look for work in television, Garrison took a job as a film librarian at the television broadcasting network ABC.[4] He was then signed to a short-term contract with Warner Bros., resulting in appearances in the 1958 films Darby's Rangers, Violent Road and Onionhead,[3] and in episodes of the television Western series Colt .45, Cheyenne, and Sugarfoot.[5] Deciding that he needed better acting skills, Garrison returned to New York the same year to study at the Actors Studio.[2] He supported himself with a series of part-time jobs,[3] including working as a Santa Claus at Gimbels[4] and Macy's department stores.[3]
In 1959 Garrison appeared in the film Up Periscope,[5] and in 1960 he made his Broadway debut in the play There Was a Little Girl,[1] which however ran on Broadway for only one week.[2] in 1961 he appeared in the films Splendor in the Grass and Bridge to the Sun.[5]
In 1962 to 1963 he again appeared on the Broadway stage in The Beauty Part.[6] From October 1963 to December 1964 Garrison was a member of the touring cast of Camelot,[4] playing the role of "Lancelot"[6] in over 300 performances.[1] Warner Brothers were casting for a film production at the time, and were considering Garrison for the same role, but his performance didn't impress them sufficiently and he wasn't cast, almost stalling his film career.[3] In 1965 he appeared in Boston in the musical Hot September.[1] In 1962 he was honored with the Theatre World Award, for his performance on the Off-Broadway play Half-Past Wednesday.[citation needed]
In 1966, Garrison returned to film work, starring opposite Jean Seberg in Moment to Moment,[1][4] and in 1967 Garrison co-starred with John Mills in the short-lived CBS western television program Dundee and the Culhane.[2][6] He also guest starred in television series including Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Cheyenne, The Big Valley, Police Woman, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Love, American Style.[3][5] Later film appearances included Banning and Midway. [3][5] He retired from acting in the early 1980s to work in the swimming pool construction industry.[3][5]
Personal life and death
[edit]Garrison married while living in New York in the late 1950s,[4] but later divorced. He had one son.[1]
Garrison died in Morongo Valley, California on March 2, 2018, at the age of 80.[3][6]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Darby's Rangers | Young Soldier | Uncredited |
| 1958 | Violent Road | Ken Farley | |
| 1958 | Onionhead | Yeoman Kaffhamp | |
| 1959 | Up Periscope | Seaman Floyd | |
| 1961 | Splendor in the Grass | Glenn | |
| 1961 | Bridge to the Sun | Fred Tyson | |
| 1966 | Moment to Moment | Mark Dominic | |
| 1967 | Banning | Richard Tyson | |
| 1976 | Midway | Lt. Cmdr. Ken Cunningham | Uncredited |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "Actor Sean Garrison Won't Forget Florida". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. January 15, 1966. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Sean Couldn't Kick Varsity So He Aimed At The Stars". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. January 26, 1966. p. 33. Retrieved November 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rettenmund, Matthew (March 15, 2018). "Sean Garrison, 'Dundee and the Culhane' TV Actor, Dies 80". Gr8erDays. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Thomas, Bob (February 18, 1965). "Irishman Looking To Be Box Office Commodity". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, Virginia. p. 11. Retrieved November 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f Lentz, Harris (June 3, 2019). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2018. McFarland. p. 134. ISBN 9781476670331 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d "Sean Garrison". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
External links
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Sean Garrison
View on Grokipediafrom Grokipedia
Early Life and Background
Family and Childhood
Sean Garrison was born on October 19, 1937, in New York City.[1] Garrison was of Irish descent through his mother.[3][4] His father worked as a serviceman and died during World War II when Sean was five years old.[2][3]Education and Pre-Acting Employment
Garrison's formal education ended early when he dropped out of high school at the age of 15, a decision influenced by family hardships after his father's death during World War II when Garrison was five years old, which compelled him to contribute financially to his household from a young age.[3][2] To make ends meet, he held a series of manual labor positions, beginning at age nine with shining shoes and singing for tips on the streets of New York City, where he once earned $1.20 performing "Home on the Range." He subsequently worked as a dairy farmhand in Upstate New York, a bowling pin-boy, a sponge fisherman in Florida and the Caribbean, a construction worker, and a ranch hand.[3][2] In 1955, at age 18, Garrison relocated to California in pursuit of opportunities in the entertainment field, initially taking a job in a furniture and tile factory.[3] Soon after arriving in Hollywood, he secured employment storing film equipment at ABC studios, during which time he was noticed by talent scouts.[2]Acting Career
Stage Work
Sean Garrison received his early theater training at the Actors Studio in New York City, where he honed his craft alongside other aspiring performers.[1] This foundational experience equipped him with the skills necessary for professional stage work and contributed to his development as a dramatic actor. Garrison made his Broadway debut in 1960, appearing in the short-lived play There Was a Little Girl at the Cort Theatre, where he performed alongside a young Jane Fonda.[5] The production, directed by Sidney Lumet, opened on February 29, 1960, and closed after just 16 performances on March 12, 1960, marking an early challenge in his nascent Broadway career.[6] In 1962, Garrison took on a leading role in the Off-Broadway musical Half-Past Wednesday (also known as Rumpelstiltskin), a whimsical adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale presented at the Orpheum Theatre.[7] His performance earned him the Theatre World Award, recognizing outstanding Off-Broadway debuts and affirming his emerging talent in musical theater.[8] That same year, Garrison returned to Broadway in the comedy The Beauty Part at the Henry Miller's Theatre, where he portrayed Rob Roy Fruitwell in a satirical production by S. J. Perelman that ran from December 1962 to March 1963.[9] Garrison further solidified his stage presence from October 1963 to September 1964 as Lancelot du Lac in the second national tour of the Lerner and Loewe musical Camelot, opposite leads including Biff McGuire as King Arthur and Jeannie Carson as Guenevere.[10] The tour, which spanned numerous venues across the United States and Canada, showcased his strong baritone voice and romantic leading-man qualities in the iconic role.[11] These stage accomplishments, from intimate Off-Broadway productions to expansive national tours, built Garrison's reputation as a reliable and charismatic performer, ultimately opening doors to opportunities in film.[12]Film Roles
Garrison made his film debut in 1958, portraying a young soldier in the war drama Darby's Rangers, directed by William A. Wellman. This uncredited role marked his entry into Hollywood under a Warner Bros. contract, leveraging his athletic build for military parts.[13] In 1961, he took on a supporting role as Glenn, a high school friend of the protagonist, in Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass, a coming-of-age drama starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty that explored themes of adolescent turmoil.[14] The film, adapted from William Inge's screenplay, showcased Garrison's early versatility beyond action genres, though his screen time was limited. Garrison achieved a rare lead role in 1966's Moment to Moment, a psychological thriller directed by Robert Parrish, where he played Mark Dominic, a U.S. Navy ensign entangled in a romantic intrigue with Jean Seberg on the French Riviera. The Universal Pictures production highlighted his charisma and physical presence opposite Seberg's enigmatic performance, though it received mixed reviews for its suspense elements.[15] Later, in 1976, Garrison appeared as Lt. Cmdr. Ken Cunningham in the epic war film Midway, directed by Jack Smight, which depicted the pivotal World War II Battle of Midway with an all-star cast including Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda.[16] His role as a naval officer aligned with the film's military focus, underscoring his frequent casting in such productions.[2] Throughout his film career, Garrison was predominantly typecast in Westerns and military-themed pictures due to his strong, imposing physique, which suited rugged, authoritative characters—a pattern that mirrored his television portrayals of servicemen.[13]Television Appearances
Sean Garrison's television career began in the late 1950s with guest appearances in Western series, capitalizing on his initial film roles in military dramas like Up Periscope (1959). His early TV work included portraying a youth in the episode "A Time to Die" of Colt .45 (1957) and Chuck Dudley in "Circle of Fear" (1958), as well as Andy Gibson in "The Canary Kid" of Sugarfoot (1958) and Mike Fullerton in Cheyenne. These roles established him in the genre, highlighting his rugged, youthful persona amid frontier settings.[17][18][19][20] Throughout the 1960s, Garrison continued to build momentum with additional guest spots in prominent Westerns, such as a featured role in "The Young Marauders" episode of The Big Valley (1965) and Rev. John Porter in "Sanctuary" of Gunsmoke (1966). His most significant television commitment came in 1967 with the co-starring role of Nick Culhane in the CBS Western series Dundee and the Culhane, where he played an impulsive, hot-tempered gunslinger and lawyer partnering with John Mills' seasoned attorney Dundee. The series, created by Sam Rolfe, ran for 13 episodes over one season, blending legal drama with Old West action and allowing Garrison to demonstrate versatility in high-stakes confrontations.[21][22] Garrison's television work extended into the 1970s and early 1980s, shifting toward action and drama series while maintaining ties to tough, authoritative characters reminiscent of his film military roles. Notable later appearances include Detective Robert Scott in the "Violent Homecoming" episode of Police Story (1973) and Carl Belford in "The 18-Wheel Rip-Off" of B.J. and the Bear (1980), an action-adventure show involving trucking and crime-fighting. He also guest-starred as a V.A. Doctor in the 1981 CHiPs episode "The Hawk and the Hunter," portraying a medical professional in a high-tension pursuit narrative. Overall, Garrison's TV career spanned from his 1957 debut to 1981, with a strong emphasis on Westerns early on and action-oriented guest spots later, totaling over two dozen appearances across broadcast series.[23][24][1]Later Years and Legacy
Retirement and Business Ventures
After a successful period in the 1960s, Garrison retired from acting in the early 1980s at the conclusion of a 23-year career spanning stage, film, and television.[25] His last screen role was an uncredited appearance in Midway (1976).[1] Seeking greater professional stability, he entered the swimming pool construction industry, where he founded and operated his own company, focusing on building and maintaining residential and commercial pools in California.[26] He lived his later years in Morongo Valley, California, and remained active in the business until his death.[2]Personal Life
Garrison was divorced and fathered one son, Torin Garrison, with whom he remained involved following the divorce.[27] Throughout his career, Garrison kept his personal life largely private, sharing few details about his family dynamics or hobbies with the public.[27]Death
Final Years
Garrison resided in Morongo Valley, California, during his retirement years.[2] He died on March 2, 2018, at the age of 80, in Morongo Valley.[2]Burial and Memorial
Following his death, Sean Garrison's remains were cremated by The Neptune Society.[2] His ashes were subsequently entrusted to his surviving son, Torin Garrison.[2] Instead, remembrances have taken the form of ongoing fan tributes, including over 135 virtual flowers and messages left on his online memorial page since 2018.[2]Works
Filmography
Sean Garrison's filmography encompasses a series of feature film appearances primarily from the late 1950s to the 1970s, often in supporting roles as military personnel or young men.| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Darby's Rangers | Young Soldier (uncredited) |
| 1958 | Violent Road | Ken Farley |
| 1958 | Onionhead | Yeoman Kaffhamp |
| 1959 | Up Periscope | Seaman Floyd |
| 1961 | Splendor in the Grass | Glenn |
| 1961 | Bridge to the Sun | Fred Tyson[28] |
| 1966 | Moment to Moment | Mark Dominic |
| 1967 | Banning | Richard Tyson[29] |
| 1976 | Midway | Lt. Cmdr. Ken Cunningham (uncredited)[30] |
Television Credits
Sean Garrison's television career spanned from the late 1950s to the early 1980s, featuring guest roles in Westerns, dramas, and action series, as well as leads in short-lived shows and TV movies. His credits, drawn from verified production records, are listed below in chronological order.[1]| Year | Title | Episode (if applicable) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Colt .45 | "A Time to Die" | Youth[17] |
| 1958 | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | "Stealing Rick's Girl" | George[31] |
| 1958 | Colt .45 | "Circle of Fear" | Chuck Dudley[18] |
| 1958 | Cheyenne | "The Empty Gun" | Mike Fullerton[32] |
| 1958 | Sugarfoot | "The Canary Kid" | Andy Gibson[19] |
| 1967 | Dundee and the Culhane | (series regular, 13 episodes) | Culhane[22] |
| 1967 | The Outsider (TV movie) | N/A | Collin Kenniston III[33] |
| 1968 | The Name of the Game | "Ordeal" | Buck Hambleton[34] |
| 1969 | Seven in Darkness (TV movie) | N/A | Mark Larsen[35] |
| 1970 | Love, American Style | "Love and Double Trouble" | Ali Cooper[36] |
| 1970 | To Rome with Love | "The Pied Piper of Rome" | George Dougal[37] |
| 1970 | Breakout (TV movie) | N/A | Frank McCready[38] |
| 1970 | The Challengers (TV movie) | N/A | Cody Scanlon[39] |
| 1971 | Alias Smith and Jones | "The 5th Victim" | Harvey Bishop[40] |
| 1972 | Mannix | "Harvest of Death" | Clint Carpenter |
| 1972 | The Adventures of Nick Carter (TV movie) | N/A | Lloyd Deams |
| 1973 | Police Story | "The Violent Homecoming" | Detective Robert Scott[41] |
| 1980 | The Young and the Restless | (multiple episodes) | John Abbott #1[42] |
| 1977 | The Rockford Files | "Second Chance" | Lanark |
| 1977 | Police Woman | "Guns" | Turner[43] |
| 1977 | Black Sheep Squadron | "The Hawk Flies on Sunday" | Major Walter Layton[44] |
| 1977 | Cover Girls (TV movie) | N/A | Sven |
| 1979 | The Secret Empire | (5 episodes) | Yannuck |
| 1979 | Power (miniseries) | N/A | Tex |
| 1980 | Fantasy Island | "PlayGirl/Smith's Valhalla" | Captain Buck Tanner[45] |
| 1980 | B.J. and the Bear | "The 18-Wheel Rip-Off" | Carl Belford[23] |
| 1981 | CHiPs | "The Hawk and the Hunter" | V.A. Doctor |
Stage Credits
Sean Garrison's stage career primarily spanned the early 1960s, with appearances on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national tours. His notable roles included dramatic and musical theater productions, earning him recognition through the Theatre World Award. Below is a chronological list of his verified stage credits.- 1960: There Was a Little Girl - Broadway (Cort Theatre); role: Neill Johns.[12]
- 1962: Half-Past Wednesday - Off-Broadway (Orpheum Theatre); role: The Prince. This performance earned Garrison the Theatre World Award.[12][46][47]
- 1962–1963: The Beauty Part - Broadway (Henry Miller's Theatre); role: Rob Roy Fruitwell.[12]
- 1963–1964: Camelot (2nd National Tour) - Various venues across the United States and Canada; role: Lancelot du Lac. Garrison performed in over 300 shows during this tour.[10][48]
- 1965: Hot September - Boston tryout (Shubert Theatre); role: Hal Carter. The musical closed during its pre-Broadway run.[11][49][50]