Andrew V. McLaglen, whose work as a director was seen on television and in film and who worked extensively with John Wayne, James Stewart and Clint Eastwood, has died, The New York Times reports. He was 94.
London-born McLaglen, known mainly for his work in Westerns, died Saturday at his home in Friday Harbor, Wash.
He never intended to focus on Westerns, but ended up as what The Times calls “one of Hollywood’s most reliable deployers of cowboys, Indians, bucking broncos, herds of cattle and posses on horseback.”
His work included directing dozens of episodes of the long-running TV series “Gunsmoke,” and more than 100 episodes of “Have Gun — Will Travel.” He also directed episodes of “Rawhide,” which starred Clint Eastwood,” as well as “Gunslinger,” “The Virginian” and “Wagon Train.”
On film, he directed James Stewart in four movies, including “Shenandoah” and “The Rare Breed.” He also directed Wayne in five films, including the 1963 movie “McLintock!”
He was asked in 2009 whether he was particularly fond of Westerns, and he said he came to the genre “totally by mistake.”
“I wound up doing a whole bunch of ‘Gunsmoke’ episodes. I then became the ‘Western director,’ the star over at CBS. Then everybody thinks, ‘Jesus, that’s his big specialty,’ ” he said.
Andrew V. McLaglen
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