Misplaced Pages

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Stephen McNally" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Stephen McNally
McNally in Split Second (1953)
Born	Horace Vincent McNally (1911-07-29)July 29, 1911 New York City, U.S.
Died	June 4, 1994(1994-06-04) (aged 82) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, attorney
Years active	1939–1980
Spouse	Rita Wintrich ​(m. 1941)​
Children	8

Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and other villains.

Early years

Stephen McNally was born Horace McNally in New York City. McNally attended Fordham University School of Law and was an attorney in the late 1930s before he pursued his passion for acting.

Career

He started his stage career using his real name, Horace McNally, and began appearing uncredited in many World War II-era films. In 1948, he changed his stage name to Stephen McNally (taking the name of his then-2-year-old son) and began appearing credited as both movie villains and heroes. In 1940, as "Horace McNally", he played Dr. Richardson in the Broadway stage production of Johnny Belinda. As Stephen McNally, he played the villainous Locky McCormick in the film version of Johnny Belinda (1948).

He appeared in Winchester '73 (1950) and co-starred in Criss Cross (1949). Notable 1950s films included No Way Out (1950), Split Second (1953), Violent Saturday (1955) and Johnny Rocco (1958).

McNally was cast in three episodes of the ABC religion anthology series Crossroads. He portrayed Monsigneur Harold Engle in "Ringside Padre" (1956) and Father Flanagan of the Boys Town orphanage in Nebraska in "Convict 1321, Age 21" (1957). In between, he was cast as United States Army General George S. Patton, in "The Patton Prayer" (also 1957). McNally also appeared in the episode "Specimen: Unknown" from the anthology series The Outer Limits. He co-starred on the 1958 episode, "The Ben Courtney Story" on Wagon Train as a former Union soldier turned sheriff. In 1959, he portrayed Clay Thompson, a bounty hunter, with Myron Healey as a sheriff, in the CBS Western series, The Texan.

In the 1960 episode "The Mormons" on the CBS Western, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre McNally played Matt Rowland, who tries to block a wagon train of Mormons from entering his town, as they are suspected of carrying cholera. Things change quickly, when Rowland's son, Tod (Mark Goddard), becomes interested in a young lady on the train, Beth Lawson (Tuesday Weld).

In 1967, he started as Dal Neely, a murderous outlaw who tries to take his daughter away with him in the (S12E23) episode "The Lure" on Gunsmoke. In 1971, he appeared as Gus Muller in "The Men From Shiloh" (rebranded name for the TV Western The Virginian) in the episode titled "The Angus Killer". During the 1970s, McNally guest starred on television programs such as Fantasy Island, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files, and Police Story.

Death

McNally died of heart failure June 4, 1994, at age 82, at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He and his wife, Rita, had eight children.

Partial filmography

• Grand Central Murder (1942) – 'Turk'
• The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) – Peters
• Eyes in the Night (1942) – Gabriel Hoffman
• For Me and My Gal (1942) – Mr. Waring
• Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942) – Howard Allwinn Young
• Keeper of the Flame (1942) – Freddie Ridges
• Air Raid Wardens (1943) – Dan Madison
• The Man from Down Under (1943) – 'Dusty' Rhodes
• An American Romance (1944) – Teddy Roosevelt Dangos / Narrator
• Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) – 'Doc' White
• Dangerous Partners (1945) – Co-pilot
• Bewitched (1945) – Eric Russell
• The Harvey Girls (1946) – 'Goldust' McClean
• Up Goes Maisie (1946) – Tim Kingby
• Magnificent Doll (1946) – John Todd
• Johnny Belinda (1948) – Locky McCormick
• Rogues' Regiment (1948) – Carl Reicher
• Criss Cross (1949) – Pete Ramirez
• City Across the River (1949) – Stan Albert
• The Lady Gambles (1949) – Horace Corrigan
• Sword in the Desert (1949) – David Vogel
• Woman in Hiding (1950) – Selden Clark IV
• Winchester '73 (1950) – Dutch Henry Brown
• No Way Out (1950) – Dr. Dan Wharton
• Wyoming Mail (1950) – Steve Davis
• Air Cadet (1951) – Major Jack Page
• Apache Drums (1951) – Sam Leeds
• Iron Man (1951) – George Mason
• The Lady Pays Off (1951) – Matt Braddock
• The Raging Tide (1951) – Lieutenant Kelsey
• Diplomatic Courier (1952) – Colonel Mark Cagle
• The Duel at Silver Creek (1952) – Marshal Lightning Tyrone
• Battle Zone (1952) – Sergeant Mitch Turner
• The Black Castle (1952) – Count Karl von Bruno
• Split Second (1953) – Sam Hurley
• The Stand at Apache River (1953) – Lane Dakota
• Devil's Canyon (1953) – Jessie Gorman
• Make Haste to Live (1954) – Steve Blackford
• A Bullet Is Waiting (1954) – Sheriff Munson
• The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955) – Alec Black
• Violent Saturday (1955) – Harper (bank robber)
• Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) – McNulty
• Hell's Crossroads (1957) – Victor 'Vic' Rodell
• Hell's Five Hours (1958) – Mike Brand
• The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958) – Marshal Frank Emmett
• Johnny Rocco (1958) – Tony Rocco
• Hell Bent for Leather (1960) – Deckett
• Requiem for a Gunfighter (1965) – Red Zimmer
• Panic in the City (1968) – James Kincade
• Once You Kiss a Stranger (1970) – Police Lieutenant Tom Gavin
• Black Gunn (1972) – Laurento
• The Lives of Jenny Dolan (1975, TV movie) – Lieutenant Nesbitt
• Hi-Riders (1978) – Mr. Lewis

Radio appearances

Television

References

1. Ellenberger, Allan R. (May 1, 2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9.
2. ^ "Stephen McNally, 82, Actor in Villain Roles". The New York Times. June 11, 1994. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
3. "News and Comment Of Stage and Screen". Fitchburg Sentinel. November 19, 1940. p. 5. Retrieved May 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Carroll, Harrison (April 23, 1948). "Hollywood". The Evening Independent. p. 4. Retrieved May 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
5. AFI American Film Institute
6. "'Johnny Belinda' Gets New Blood". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 30, 1940. p. 9. Retrieved May 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Sheaffer, Lew (October 2, 1948). "Screen". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 14. Retrieved May 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "The Mormons on Zane Grey Theatre". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
9. Kirby, Walter (March 9, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 42. Retrieved May 23, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Stephen McNally on Gunsmoke". imdb.com. Retrieved September 25, 2024.

External links

• Stephen McNally at IMDb
• Stephen McNally at the Internet Broadway Database (as Horace McNally)
• Stephen McNally at Find a Grave

• 1911 births
• 1994 deaths
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 20th-century American male actors
• American Roman Catholics
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• Male Western (genre) film actors
• Male actors from New York City
• Western (genre) television actors