Rockne Tarkington

William Rockne Tarkington, Jr. (May 14, 1932 – April 5, 2015) was an American stage, film and television actor.[1]

Rockne Tarkington
Born	William Rockne Tarkington, Jr. May 14, 1932 Junction City, Kansas, United States
Died	April 5, 2015 (aged 83) Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–1995
Spouse(s)	Joan Blackman ​ ​ (m. 1968; div. 1970)​

Career

Born in Junction City, Kansas, Tarkington began his career as a stage actor, and made the transition to television with guest appearances in episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ben Casey, Mission: Impossible, Bewitched, and many others. Tarkington was also the first credited black actor to appear on The Andy Griffith Show, and the only African American on the show to ever have a speaking part.[2][3]

Tarkington made recurring appearances on Tarzan (as Tao) and starred as Elihu Morgan on Danger Island on Hanna-Barbera's Banana Splits Adventure Hour. He also played "Too Mean" Malone on the 1983–84 season of Matt Houston and made appearances in episodes of Bearcats!, MacGyver, Baretta and other shows in the 1970s and 1980s.[4]

As a film actor, Tarkington played the title role in the blaxploitation picture Black Samson (1974), and co-starred with Richard X. Slattery in The No Mercy Man (1973) and Zebra Force (1976). He also appeared in films such as Soldier in the Rain (1963), Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965), The Great White Hope (1970), Beware! The Blob (1972), Melinda (1972), The Baltimore Bullet (1980), National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1983), The Ice Pirates (1984), Uphill All the Way (1986) and Death Before Dishonor (1987), and had parts in many television films.

Tarkington was the first choice to play the part of Williams in Enter the Dragon (1973), but just before the start of filming he was replaced by Jim Kelly.

Personal life

Tarkington lived in Los Angeles for the majority of his career where he was married to fellow screen actor Joan Blackman from July 1968 to October 1970.[5] In the 1990s he returned home to Kansas when his mother became ill. He eventually became a Mormon after seeing a television commercial for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Soldier in the Rain	Sgt. William Booth
1965	Major Dundee	Jefferson	Uncredited
1965	Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion	Juma
1965	Tell Me in the Sunlight	Rocky
1968	PJ	Cato	Uncredited
1969	The Dream of Hamish Mose	Hamish Mose
1970	The Great White Hope	Rudy
1972	Beware! The Blob	Deputy Williams
1972	Melinda	Tank
1973	The No Mercy Man	Prophet
1974	Home Grown	Hank
1974	Black Samson	Samson
1974	Black Starlet	Ben
1976	Zebra Force
1977	The Great Gundown	Sutton
1978	Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry	Morrison
1980	The Baltimore Bullet	Gunner
1982	National Lampoon's Movie Madness	Black Cop – 'Municipalians'
1982	Showdown at Eagle Gap	Enterprise Jackson
1984	The Ice Pirates	Patch
1986	Uphill All the Way	Leon
1987	Death Before Dishonor	Jihad
1988	Under the Gun	Leon
1989	Fists of Steel	Rijar
1994	Wyatt Earp	Stable Hand

References

1. "RIP Rockne Tarkington". Westernboothill.blogspot.co.uk. September 30, 2015.
2. "Act Well Thy Part". Portraits. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
3. "50 Years of the Andy Griffith Show". Internet Archie Forums. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
4. "Rockne Tarkington". tv.com. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
5. "Joan Blackman". Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. Retrieved April 12, 2012.

External links

• Rockne Tarkington at IMDb