L-R: Maury Dexter, Mara Corday, Jody McCrea on the set of The Hanging Judge, which was released as Naked Gun (1956).
Maury Dexter
June 12, 1929 – May 29, 2017
Maury Dexter was an extremely nice man. He didn’t know me from Adam, but after an introduction from Kit Parker, he spent hours telling me all about how Lippert, Regal and AIP operated — and how he fit into the operation. Being that I’m kinda obsessed with the Regalscope Westerns, I was in movie geek heaven.
Mr. Dexter worked as an assistant director on Little House On The Prairie for much of the show’s run (when Michael Landon died, Maury decided it was time to retire), so knowing him helped me score plenty of cool points with my daughter.
A friend and I helped Maury put together his memoirs. It’s a fun read, and I’m honored to have played a tiny part in getting it out there. He covers his childhood, stint in the military and Hollywood career — which includes everything from acting in a Three Stooges short to working for Lippert during the Regalscope years to directing The Mini-Skirt Mob to being a key member of Michael Landon’s production team.
After we got the memoirs finished, Maury’d call me up every so often just to say hello. I’d have a question about Frontier Gun or something, and we’d end up talking movies for quite a while. And you all know how much fun that is.
A nice tribute, Toby.
Great photo chosen to accompany this tribute Toby.
Mr Dexter sounds like he was a really decent guy and certainly films
like WALK TALL and THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH proved that he
could do much with very little in terms of budget.
In fact I watched A DAY OF FURY only last night and Mara
Corday was so good in that film..possibly her best ever role.
gcwe1..on previous threads you have mentioned WALK WITH A DRAGON,
I have seen this film but way back in the Sixties so my memories
of it are dim,to say the least.
I remember it as being a rather turgid studio bound affair but reviewers on
imdb are a lot kinder.I guess folks these days would call it a Western Noir.
Hi Linnet ,I ordered WALK LIKE A DRAGON and just received an email from Zeus that it is on it’s way .Usually when I buy DVDrs ,someone releases it officially,but this will do if and when they do .I only became aware of this film when someone requested it on Kino Lorber but they said it was still with Paramount and they are almost impossible to contact .I have seen a clip of this film on U TUBE and it looks ok,but different to say the least .Jack Lord made this the year after he made THE HANGMAN ,one of my favourite westerns and the year before MAN OF THE WEST. The person who requested it on Kino had a lot of praise for it.
Where did you order WALK LIKE A DRAGON FROM, may I ask.
If anyone is interested, Walmart is selling the authorized editions of THE RIFLEMAN at low prices. Wonderful program about mentoring the young. Peckinpah had something to do with it. Each season split into two box-sets. They’re up to Season 4, Part 1 now. That leaves only Season 4 Part 2 to go. The complete season box-sets sell for a lot more on the program’s website. The online Walmart is the way to go.
Have been ordering the Rifleman sets through WalMart through Season 3 part 1. And agree that both the quality & price are excellent.
Richard W ,I ordered WALK LIKE A DRAGON from Zeus DVDs but there are a couple of places selling it .Sounds like Walmart is doing a good deal with THE RIFLEMAN ,but that’s ok if you live in the USA as they don’t ship overseas .I already have it on DVDr in a nice compact boxset before they officially released it .
Can anyone enlighten me(no pun intended on this question).I am looking forward to Kino Lorber’s release of FOUR FACES WEST .When the train pulls up at the station ,it is pretty dark .Is this just due to lack of lighting,even though it is night time or the print it self?I suspect lack of lighting .I already have the UK and the Spanish copies which I read came from the same film element ,but the Kino one uses a different element .
Richard W ,apparently Australia does have Walmart ,which I did not know,just not in my city.
I’m watching WALK TALL right now. I also like his New Noir Crime flicks like AIR PATROL and esp RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA. And THE PURPLE HILLS is another I like and… the list goes on…
I like Walk Tall.
My wife and daughter are on a Little House On The Prairie binge right now, so I see Maury’s name about every other episode. He was the assistant director on that pretty much for the show’s entire run.