Image of Victor Mature

Victor Mature

Victor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor. In July 1942 Mature attempted to enlist in the U.S. Navy but was rejected for color blindness. He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard after taking a different eye test the same day. He was assigned to the USCGC Storis (WMEC-38), which was doing Greenland patrol work. After 14 months aboard the Storis, Mature was promoted to the rate of Chief Boatswain's Mate. In 1944 he did a series of War Bond tours and acted in morale shows. He assisted Coast Guard recruiting efforts by being a featured player in the musical revue "Tars and Spars" which opened in Miami, Florida in April of 1944 and toured the United States for the next year. In May 1945 Mature was reassigned to the Coast Guard manned troop transport USS Admiral H. T. Mayo (AP-125) which was involved in transferring troops to the Pacific Theater. Mature was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard in November 1945 and he resumed his acting career. Film career After the war, Mature was cast by John Ford in My Darling Clementine, playing Doc Holliday opposite Henry Fonda's Wyatt Earp. For the next decade, Mature settled into playing hard-boiled characters in a range of genres such as Westerns and Biblical films, such as The Robe (with Richard Burton and Jean Simmons) and its popular sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators (with Susan Hayward). Mature also starred with Hedy Lamarr in Cecil B. DeMille's Bible epic, Samson and Delilah (1949) and as Horemheb in The Egyptian (1954) with Jean Simmons and Gene Tierney. He reportedly stated he was successful in Biblical epics because he could "make with the holy look". He also starred with Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) and, according to her autobiography, had a romantic relationship with her.  After five years of retirement, he was lured back into acting by the opportunity to parody himself in After the Fox (1966), co-written by Neil Simon. In a similar vein in 1968 he played a giant, The Big Victor, in Head, a potpourri movie starring The Monkees. The character poked fun at both his screen image and, reportedly, RCA Victor who distributed Colgems Records, the Monkees's label. Mature enjoyed the script while admitting it made no sense to him, stating "All I know is it makes me laugh." Mature was famously self-deprecatory about his acting skills. Once, after being rejected for membership in a country club because he was an actor, he cracked, "I'm not an actor — and I've got sixty-four films to prove it!" He was quoted in 1968 on his acting career: "Actually, I am a golfer. That is my real occupation. I never was an actor. Ask anybody, particularly the critics." Victor Mature died of leukemia in 1999, at his Rancho Santa Fe, California home, at the age of 86. He was buried in the family plot at St. Michael's Cemetery in his hometown of Louisville. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Victor Mature has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6780 Hollywood Blvd.


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Born:
Jan 29, 1913 In Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Movie/TV Credits:
59
First Appeared:
In the movie The Housekeeper's Daughter 1939-10-26
Latest Project:
Movie Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend 1986-04-19
Known For
Filmography
Movie Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend Self (archive footage) 1986-04-19
Movie Samson and Delilah Manoah 1984-03-31
Movie Firepower Howard Everett 1979-04-27
Movie Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood Nick 1976-07-26
Movie Mi Marilyn Self (archive footage) 1975-01-02
Movie Every Little Crook and Nanny Carmine Ganucci 1972-06-14
Movie Head The Big Victor 1968-11-06
Movie After the Fox Tony Powell 1966-09-08
Movie Uncertain Verification (archive footage) 1965-04-30
Movie The Tartars Oleg 1961-04-01
Movie The Bandit Of Zhobe Kasmin Khan 1959-04-01
Movie Escort West Ben Lassiter 1959-01-23
Movie Timbuktu Mike Conway 1959-11-22
Movie The Big Circus Henry Jasper 'Hank' Whirling 1959-07-05
Movie Hannibal Hannibal 1959-12-21
Movie Tank Force! Sgt. David Thatcher 1958-04-22
Movie China Doll Capt. Cliff Brandon 1958-06-06
Movie The Long Haul Harry Miller 1957-08-27
Movie Interpol Charles Sturgis 1957-04-02
Movie Safari Ken Duffield 1956-06-20
Movie Zarak Zarak Khan 1956-12-01
Movie The Sharkfighters Lt. Cmdr. Ben Staves 1956-11-01
Movie Violent Saturday Shelley Martin 1955-04-01
Movie Chief Crazy Horse Crazy Horse 1955-04-01
Movie The Last Frontier Jed Cooper 1955-12-07
Movie Dangerous Mission Matt Hallett 1954-03-06
Movie Demetrius and the Gladiators Demetrius 1954-06-16
Movie The Egyptian Horemheb 1954-08-25
Movie Betrayed 'The Scarf' 1954-09-07
Movie The Glory Brigade Lt. Sam Pryor 1953-05-20
Movie Affair with a Stranger Bill Blakeley 1953-06-20
Movie The Veils of Bagdad Antar 1953-10-06
Movie The Robe Demetrius 1953-09-16
Movie The Las Vegas Story Lt. Dave Andrews 1952-01-30
Movie Something for the Birds Steve Bennett 1952-09-30
Movie Androcles and the Lion Captain 1952-12-01
Movie Million Dollar Mermaid James Sullivan 1952-12-04
Movie Wabash Avenue Andy Clark 1950-03-31
Movie Stella Jeff DeMarco 1950-07-20
Movie Gambling House Marc Fury 1950-12-27
Movie Easy Living Pete Wilson 1949-10-08
Movie Red, Hot and Blue Danny James 1949-09-05
Movie Samson and Delilah Samson 1949-12-21
Movie Fury at Furnace Creek Cash Blackwell / Tex Cameron 1948-04-30
Movie Cry of the City Lt. Candella 1948-09-29
Movie Moss Rose Michael Drego 1947-05-30
Movie Kiss of Death Nick Bianco 1947-08-27
Movie My Darling Clementine Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday 1946-10-17
Movie Show-Business at War Self 1943-05-21
Movie My Gal Sal Paul Dresser 1942-04-30
Movie Song of the Islands Jefferson Harper 1942-03-13
Movie Seven Days' Leave Johnny Grey 1942-11-13
Movie Footlight Serenade Tommy Lundy 1942-08-01
Movie I Wake Up Screaming Frankie Christopher (Botticelli) 1941-10-31
Movie The Shanghai Gesture Doctor Omar 1941-12-25
Movie One Million B.C. Tumak 1940-04-05
Movie Captain Caution Daniel 'Dan' Marvin 1940-08-09
Movie No, No, Nanette William Trainor 1940-12-19
Movie The Housekeeper's Daughter Lefty 1939-10-26