Peter Brown

Overview

Peter Brown got into acting when he was in the army by organizing a theater group on base to occupy his spare time while stationed in Alaska. After his discharge he enrolled in the acting program at UCLA, and starting in the mid-1950s found employment in many of the western films and series being turned out at the time (he is especially remembered for his work as eager young deputy Johnny McKay in the classic western series Lawman (1958) and as one of a trio of Texas Rangers in the western action/comedy series Laredo (1965)). Following the end of a contract with Universal Pictures (1965-1972), he switched to soap operas and made-for-TV films, and has been steadily employed ever since.
- IMDb mini biography by: Kat Parsons, fke2d@Virginia.EDU

In the early 1960s when TV-western mania reached its peak, an American magazine sponsored a contest for the actors who portrayed western heroes and villains. Since the climactic moment of so many shows was the classic quick-draw shoot-out, the actors had to acquire that skill to play their scenes. The magazine held a competiton among some of the stars of the shows, firing blanks, aiming not at each other but downrange, and using an electronic timer. Quite a number of cowboy stars showed up to "slap leather." He beat them all and won the title of the fastest gun in Hollywood.
Traditionally a dark-haired heartthrob of early 1960s TV, he became a peroxide blond for one of the leading surfer roles in Ride the Wild Surf (1964), co-starring Tab Hunter and Fabian.
Born in New York City but raised in Spokane, Washington, where he graduated from North Central High School. He took the stage name Brown from his stepfather Albert "Bud" Brown. His biological father, John Patton de Lappe, a journalist for the Hearst Corporation, died when he was four. Peter's initial inspiration in show business was his mother, Wilhelmina "Mina" Reaume, a radio and stage actress.
Having studied acting with Jeff Corey, he was discovered pumping gas by none other than Jack L. Warner and handed a Warner Bros. contract.
Used his real-life horse, Amigo, on the series Laredo (1965).

Every actor likes to work. But there are different qualities of work. I've gone to the Philippines to make war movies in the jungles and swamps with leeches and I've ridden horses playing cowboys and Indians. I've lots of different kinds of work and I am grateful for all of it.

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