Jon Shepodd

Jon Shepodd
Born Hugh Goodwin
(1925-12-19) December 19, 1925
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Website IMDb profile
Shepodd, Jon Provost and Cloris Leachman in Lassie (1957)

Jon Shepodd (born Hugh Goodwin; December 19, 1925) is an American actor. On television, he was the first actor to play the role of Paul Martin in the long-running series Lassie,[1] making his debut mid-fourth season (1957) opposite Cloris Leachman as his wife Ruth Martin.

The two performers appeared for the remainder of the fourth season (27 episodes) but were released upon completion of filming in March 1958 after ratings plunged and letters to the producers indicated strong disapproval of Leachman's performance. Although no fan complaints had been registered against Shepodd, it was felt he needed to be released with Leachman as a "new wife" for him would be difficult to explain to an audience composed mainly of children. Paul and Ruth Martin were thereafter played by Hugh Reilly and June Lockhart until the characters were dropped in the eleventh season (1964).[2]

In the film Attack (1956), he plays Cpl. John Jackson, the orderly to the unpopular Captain Cooney (Eddie Albert).[3] In an opening sequence, Jackson irritates the other men in the unit who are queuing up for coffee, when he jumps the queue.[4] He appeared in such films as The Power of the Resurrection (1958), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), and The Garment Jungle (1957).[3]

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins, Henry. "Lassie". Museum of Broadcast Communications
  2. ↑ Collins, Ace. Lassie: A Dog's Life. Penguin Books, 1993.
  3. 1 2 Shepodd Jon Shepodd references, nytimes.com; accessed May 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ Body and Soul: The Cinematic Vision of Robert Aldrich by Tony Williams
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