We’re almost two years into this blog, and Strother Martin still hasn’t made an appearance. We can’t have that, can we?
Here he talks about his experience with John Ford (from Bad At The Bijou by William R. Horner).
Strother Martin: “I did a tiny bit in The Horse Soldiers (1959) first, and that’s when I met him; and he liked me, I guess. Ford said to somebody I knew, ‘I’ve got to get something else for that Stuffer.. Smucker… Stoofer… whatever the hell his name is,’ and he put me in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).”
(In the still above, from The Horse Soldiers, that’s Denver Pyle standing between John Wayne and Strother Martin.)
Appeared in six movies with John Wayne: The Horse Soldiers (1959), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), McLintock! (1963), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), True Grit (1969) and Rooster Cogburn (1975).
He and Denver Plye are two of my favorite character actors.
“Whatever the Hell his name is.” That gave me a chuckle. It doesn’t matter who share the scene with him, it’s Strother you can’t take your eyes off of.
There should be a statue of Strother Martin somewhere, that people have to look up to.
What we need is a Mount Rushmore of great character actors.
Great idea. You could carve up the Rockies and still not pay tribute to ‘em all.
At either end, you could put Walter Brennan — with and without his teeth!
Strother M. was a very talented character actor. As a matter of fact, just today, Jan 19, 2013 I watched THE WILD BUNCH and he was terrific in it.