Actor Stuart Whitman, star of ‘The Mark’ and ‘Cimarron Strip’, dies at 92
Actor Stuart Whitman, notable for his performance as Marshal Jim Crown in the American Western television series ‘Cimarron Strip’ died at the age of 92 on March 16.
Whitman’s son Justin told The Hollywood Reporter that the veteran actor died of natural causes at his home in Montecito, California.
Justin told TMZ, “Old Hollywood lost another one of its true stars. Stuart Whitman was known for his rugged roles and handsome charm. We were proud of him for his TV, film roles and his Oscar nomination, but what we will really remember is his exuberant love of his family and friends.”
As per IMDb, Whitman was born in San Francisco, California, on February 1, 1928, the elder of two sons of Cecilia (Gold), a Russian Jewish immigrant, and Joseph Whitman, a realtor.
He graduated from high school in Los Angeles and spent three post-war years with the Army Corps of Engineers. In the army, he won 32 fights as a light-heavyweight boxer. Upon his discharge from service, he attended Los Angeles City College. This was the beginning of his interest in acting. Whitman studied at the Los Angeles Academy of Dramatic Art.
In his heyday, noted filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock considered him, along with Cliff Robertson, Robert Loggia and Tom Tryon, for the role of Sam Loomis in his 1960 psychological thriller ‘Psycho’. The role eventually went to John Gavin. Whitman earned an Academy Award nomination for his leading role as a child molester in the 1961 film ‘The Mark’.
Whitman starred opposite John Wayne in two films. One, as the New Orleans gambler Paul Regret in ‘The Comancheros’, and two, as an army lieutenant in the all-star World War II epic ‘The Longest Day’.
Some of his more iconic roles in cinema were in films like ‘The Comancheros’, ‘Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines’, ‘Run, Cougar, Run’, ‘Shatter’, ‘Crazy Mama’, ‘Eaten Alive’, and 'Night of the Lepus’. On television, Whitman’s more famous roles included ‘Highway Patrol’, ‘Cimarron Strip’, and ‘Superboy’.
Whitman is survived by his third wife, Yulia; his children Justin, Anthony, Michael, Linda, and Scott; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.