Stephen McNally

Manly, dark-haired, rugged-looking 'Stephen McNally' (qv) forsook a thriving career as an attorney in the late 1930s in order to pursue an acting career. This impulsive decision to switch gears in mid-life was rewarded in the end, playing a steady stream of hard-edged, noirish characters and more than his share of cold-hearted villains for nearly four decades.Born Horace Vincent McNally on July 29, 1911, in New York City, he attended Fordham University School of Law following high school graduation. He practiced law until the late 1930s when the acting bug finally hit hard. Beginning on the stage, Horace made his Broadway debut in a bit part as a waiter in "The Man Who Killed Lincoln" (1940). This was immediately followed by more prominent roles in the plays "Johnny Belinda" (1940) and "The Wookey" (1941).MGM took an interest in the nascent actor during the war-era years. Continuing to use his real name of Horace McNally, he appeared in a series of film shorts while moving gradually up the credits ranks with featured roles in such full-length films as _Grand Central Murder (1942)_ (qv), _The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942)_ (qv), _Eyes in the Night (1942)_ (qv), _For Me and My Gal (1942)_ (qv), _Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant (1942)_ (qv), the Tracy/Hepburn drama _Keeper of the Flame (1942)_ (qv), the Laurel & Hardy comedy _Air Raid Wardens (1943)_ (qv), _The Man from Down Under (1943)_ (qv), _Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)_ (qv), _An American Romance (1944)_ (qv) and _Bewitched (1945)_ (qv).By 1948, the actor was freelancing and made a strong impression in the Warner Bros. movie version of _Johnny Belinda (1948)_ (qv) playing the menacing brute Locky McCormick, a fisherman who assaults deaf mute Belinda played by Oscar winner 'Jane Wyman' (qv). This was a different role than the doctor part he played years earlier on Broadway. With this movie, Horace also changed his marquee name to 'Stephen McNally' (qv), taking the first name of his then-2-year-old son.Alternating between anti-heroes and villains, Stephen is best recalled for his sturdy niche of "bad guy" roles. He played a Nazi war criminal pursued by Army agent 'Dick Powell' (qv) in the action adventure _Rogues' Regiment (1948)_ (qv); a casino owner who prods 'Barbara Stanwyck' (qv)'s gambling habit in _The Lady Gambles (1949)_ (qv); a foreign terrorist in the historical action pic _Sword in the Desert (1949)_ (qv); 'Ida Lupino' (qv)'s murderous husband in _Woman in Hiding (1950)_ (qv); a rifle-stealing bully in the 'James Stewart' (qv) western _Winchester '73 (1950)_ (qv); a gambler who uses his hot-headed brother 'Jeff Chandler' (qv) for prizefighting profit in _Iron Man (1951)_ (qv); a murderous Austrian count in the swashbuckler _The Black Castle (1952)_ (qv); an escaped killer on the lam in _Split Second (1953)_ (qv); a paroled gangster out to exact revenge on 'Dorothy McGuire' (qv) and her daughter in _Make Haste to Live (1954)_ (qv); a bank robber in _Violent Saturday (1955)_ (qv); an avenging ranch hand in _Tribute to a Bad Man (1956)_ (qv); and a wanted member of the James gang in the western _Hell's Crossroads (1957)_ (qv).In his very first top-billed role, McNally starred as a decent guy who runs a youth center in an effort to save kids from a life of crime in the dramatic film _City Across the River (1949)_ (qv). Other "good guy" leads and second leads came with such parts as 'Sidney Poitier' (qv)'s doctor boss in _No Way Out (1950)_ (qv); a government agent in _Wyoming Mail (1950)_ (qv); an exiled town gambler who returns to warn and assist his town pending an Indian attack in _Apache Drums (1951)_ (qv); another casino owner who tries to help and falls for weak-willed teacher/gambler 'Linda Darnell' (qv) in the romantic film _The Lady Pays Off (1951)_ (qv); a marshal after a gang of claim jumpers in the 'Audie Murphy' (qv) western _The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)_ (qv); a sheriff battling Indians in _The Stand at Apache River (1953)_ (qv); and a plant engineer whose family his threatened by disgruntled ex-employee 'Vic Morrow' (qv) in the suspenser _Hell's Five Hours (1958)_ (qv).McNally made a notably adjustment to TV in the late 1950's with such anthologies as "Lux Video Theatre," "Goodyear Playhouse," "Schlitz Playhouse," "Ford Theatre Playhouse," "Zane Grey Theatre" and "Climax!" Into the 1960's he was frequent guest on a number of popular rugged westerns and suspense series including "Wagon Train," "The Texan," "Laramie," "Rawhide," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "The Outer Limits," "Burke's Law," "Ben Casey," "The Big Valley," "Gunsmoke," "Branded" and "Iron Horse." He also starred in the short-lived drama series _Target: The Corruptors! (1961)_ (qv) as a news reporter and earned a brief, recurring part on _Run for Your Life (1965)_ (qv).Despite his obvious talent and career longevity, McNally never struck a chord with viewers enough to make him a household name. He went on to be seen in such 70's TV series as "Mission: Impossible," "The Rockford Files," "Medical Story," "Policy Story," "Police Woman," "The F.B.I.," "Starsky & Hutch" and "Charlie's Angels," he was spotted on a 1980's episode of "Fantasy Island" before retiring.Long married to wife Rita Wintrich and the father of eight, McNally was a one-time president of the Catholic Actors Guild. He died of heart failure on June 4, 1994, at age 82, at his Beverly Hills home.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net