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Elvis Bodyguard & Boyington Babe Tommy Gun Tutorial


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That looks like one of the Stembridge Thompsons, perhaps the one Vic used in Combat, not too much detail in that photo.

 

Red passed last year. Was a lucky guy though, caught many of Elvis's overflow of pretty young things wanting to get close to the King. If you haven't read "Elvis, What Happened", the book he helped write in '77 shortly before Elvis died, pick up a copy for insight into Elvis's inner circle. Red was also working on a biography called "Red & Elvis" which should be coming out soon, I'm sure it will be most revealing.

 

here's one of the photos he signed for me back in the day. This was taken in 1958 on Lake Pontchartrain while filming "King Creole", (his best film in my opinion) in New Orleans.

 

Mike Hammer

Red West.jpg

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Are you referring to Vic Morrow? Newbie, but old enough to remember and enjoyed The Rat Patrol.

You betcha. Vic's Stembridge Colt used in Combat has been discussed here on the board in previous threads. A search here should pull them up. The entire series of episodes (which I have) of "Combat" are on DVD if you would like to visit or re-visit them, great stuff.

 

MH

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"Pappy's Lambs"!

 

Pretty strong stuff for an 11 year old in those days!

Considering the producers had zero interest in verisimilitude of WWII era women dress and hairstyles, they might as well have called them Boyington's Babes.

 

Of course Pappy had to have the same breed dog as Patton.

Boyington/Conrad & Meatball

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Patton & Willie

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Brokenhearted Willie

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I was fortunate enough to converse with Greg Boyington at Oshkosh when BBBS/BSS was airing. I mentioned the "Babes"; he said that was because of Charley's Angels. He said that if there had been women like that on the island, he would never had been able to get his pilots into their planes.

He also said Robert Conrad was one of the few people in Hollywood who was worth a damn; that his (Conrad's) word was better than any contract.

Edited by mnshooter
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He also said Robert Conrad was one of the few people in Hollywood who was worth a damn; that his (Conrad's) word was better than any contract.

 

The Mannix episode "The Playground" features Conrad playing the type of primadonna actor that terrorized movie sets and studios. The Mitch Cantrell character's personality and hobbies are almost too close for comfort for the actor Robert Conrad. Conrad would have to have a stellar reputation in Hollywood in order to play this role and not have insiders claim it was a biographical portrait.

 

Conrad, Mike Connors, Leslie Parrish (who in the 1960's coined the phrase "Suppose they gave a war and nobody came?")

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Art, glad you are enjoying the old re-runs of Mike Connors as Mannix, great fun if you don't look at them too critically. I'll take 'Pappy's' word on Conrad, by most accounts a straight shooter. Did all his own stunts on WWWest and honored with a membership in the stunt union. Was severely injured in a stunt and missed a good part of one season. Here's a couple photos signed for me from them back in the day. And if you haven't read Pappy's "Baa Baa Black Sheep", pick up a copy it's a good read, here's my signed copy from him. I would be remiss if I neglected to address Art's mention of 60's dream girl and one of my boyhood crushes, Leslie Parrish, what a doll, Hubba Hubba....

 

MH

 

 

 

 

Edited by Mike Hammer
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Art, glad you are enjoying the old re-runs of Mike Connors as Mannix, great fun if you don't look at them too critically. I'll take 'Pappy's' word on Conrad, by most accounts a straight shooter. Did all his own stunts on WWWest and honored with a membership in the stunt union. Was severely injured in a stunt and missed a good part of one season.

Mike,

Remember this thread on Mannix :

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19086&hl=%2Bmannix+%2Bmike+%2Bconnors&do=findComment&comment=163315

 

Here is the stunt where Conrad nearly wound up a quadriplegic. It remained in the final edit of the episode that aired. The wild west cowboy TV character he played in the above Mannix episode gladly turns over any dangerous falls to the stuntman.

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