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Disgusting Sounds:Combat! guest starsby Dick PeabodyFrom the Mountain Democrat--Placerville, California When we were shooting the Combat! TV series in the '60s, we discovered that guest stars are not created equal — not equal in talent, not equal in intelligence and not equally amusing. We spent a lot of time with these people — usually 10 hours a day for six days. That's how long it takes to shoot a one-hour TV show. We got to know them pretty well--at least those who weren't aloof or shy or otherwise unapproachable. We invited some of them to join the "gang" comprised of Vic Morrow ("Sgt. Saunders"), Jack Hogan ("Kirby"), Pierre Jalbert ("Caje"), Frank Kowalski (our dialogue director) and myself ("Littlejohn"). Dan DuryeaOne of the most popular guests and an honorary "gang" member was the late Dan Duryea. He joined us in our stupid games, laughed at our dumb jokes, and was an enthusiastic spectator at our unauthorized Jeep races through the western streets of MGM's back lot No. 3. Dan was older by 20 years but he fit in as not many guest stars did. He said working with us reminded him of his college days at Cornell. He had belonged to a fraternity whose members were as wild and irreverent as we were. Dan died young. He was 61. We said goodbye to him at a chapel at Forest Lawn in 1968. Robert LoggiaRobert Loggia was another "gang" member. He even joined us in our "disgusting sounds symphonies." You couldn't invite just anyone to these concerts, which took place in our clubhouse--Vic Morrow's motorhome. The object was to make the most disgusting sounds, vocally, that you could think of. At the end of each session we would vote on which of us was the most sickening. Loggia won twice; not bad for a novice. Fernando LamasThe most entertaining guest we ever had was the late Fernando Lamas. Fernando was both erudite and earthy. From a wealthy family in the Argentine Republic and educated in Europe, he had the manner and the manners of the manor. But not always. Sometimes he was as funky as we were. He enjoyed doing our show so much that he would badger his agent to put him up for any role he could possibly play--mostly Frenchman or Germans. Besides English, Fernando spoke French, German, Italian and Spanish. I think he did more Combat! episodes than any other guest. [Note: Lamas appeared in the Combat! episodes: "Breakout" and "The Brothers". Robert Duvall beats him, guest starring in 3 episodes -- jad] His stories about his days as an MGM contract player should have been a book (X-rated) but Fernando was a talker not a writer. His wife Esther Williams liked to come with him to our wrap parties, the informal get-togethers a film company traditionally has at the end of the last day of shooting. The propmen break out the booze and hors d'oeuvres and everyone congratulates each other for having made it through another episode. Robert DuvallThe most stand-offish guest was Robert Duvall. He appeared in four or five shows but spent all of his time, when the camera wasn't rolling, running his lines behind the sets. None of us got to know him well enough to decide whether he was a good guy, a bad guy, or just unfriendly. Dennis Weaver was the first runner-up in this category. Dennis HopperWe enjoyed working with Dennis Hopper, however. He was crazy-- therefore eligible to be an honorary "gang" member. Dennis and I had gone to the same junior high school--Westport Junior High in Kansas City, Missouri. Not at the same time, however. He's 11 years younger. We wondered if that experience could have negatively impacted on our brain cells.
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Neville Brand
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