Geoffrey Deuel(1943-2024)
- Actor
American supporting actor, mainly active in episodic television between 1966 and 1975. Geoffrey Jacob Deuel was the son of physician Dr. Ellsworth Shaut Deuel (1914-2013) and his wife Lillian Marcella Ellstrom (1915-1986). His older brother was the actor Pete Duel, who became well known as outlaw Hannibal Heyes (aka Joshua Smith) in the popular TV western series Alias Smith and Jones (1971). Geoffrey attended Ithaca College and Syracuse University (years later, in 1987, he graduated with a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Florida). Although his father had wanted him to attend law school, Geoffrey followed his brother Pete to Hollywood and began acting on screen in 1966. His best known motion picture appearance was in the western Chisum (1970) in which he played the outlaw Billy the Kid, opposite John Wayne as the titular cattle baron. Geoffrey also notched up credits in episodes of prime time action series like The Invaders (1967), The High Chaparral (1967), Mission: Impossible (1966), The F.B.I. (1965), The Streets of San Francisco (1972), Ironside (1967) and Mannix (1967). His screen appearances became less frequent from the mid-70s and he eventually turned to teaching theatre and social studies, as well as math and science.
