Don Pedro Colley

Don Pedro Colley (August 30, 1938 – October 11, 2017) was an American actor. Some of his better known roles include Gideon on Daniel Boone, Ongaro in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, SRT in George Lucas' THX 1138, Joshua in The Legend of Nigger Charley, and Sheriff Ed Little in the 1980s TV series The Dukes of Hazzard.

Don Pedro Colley
Colley in 2015
Born(1938-08-30)August 30, 1938
Klamath Falls, Oregon, U.S.
DiedOctober 11, 2017(2017-10-11) (aged 79)
Klamath Falls, Oregon, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Oregon
OccupationActor
Years active1967–2016
Children1

Early life

Colley was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to Muriel and Pete Colley. He attended Klamath Union High School and actively played football and track and field, which led to an unsuccessful try-out for the 1960 Summer Olympics.[1] He later attended the University of Oregon and studied architecture. Later, he became a theatre member and spent five years learning his craft in various productions in San Francisco.

Career

Colley appeared in several 1960s and '70s television Westerns that included The Wild, Wild West, Cimarron Strip, The Virginian, Nichols, and Iron Horse. He was a guest at the 2012 Memphis Film Festival's "A Gathering of Guns 4: A TV Western Reunion" at the Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

During the 1970s Blaxploitation era, Don appeared alongside Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, D'Urville Martin, and Gloria Hendry in such films as Legend of Nigger Charley, Black Caesar, and Sugar Hill.[2]

Throughout his career, Don made several guest appearances in many popular TV series, including Adam 12, Night Gallery, Ironside, The Streets of San Francisco, Harry O, Little House on the Prairie, Starsky and Hutch, The Bionic Woman, Fantasy Island, and The A-Team. However, he is probably best known for his roles of Gideon in the series Daniel Boone, SRT in George Lucas' THX 1138, in Beneath the Planet of the Apes as Ongaro, and as Sheriff Little in the TV series Dukes of Hazzard.[3][4][1]

Death

Colley died of cancer in his hometown of Klamath Falls, Oregon, on October 11, 2017, at the age of 79.[1]

Filmography

References
  1. Barnes, Mike (November 17, 2017). "Don Pedro Colley, 'Dukes of Hazzard' Actor, Dies at 79". The Hollywood Reporter. ISSN 0018-3660.
  2. Thompson, Howard (May 18, 1972). "The Legend of Nigger Charley". The New York Times.
  3. Handley, Rich (2009). Timeline Of The Planet Of The Apes: The Definitive Chronology. Hasslein Books. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-615-25392-3.
  4. Greenspun, Roger (March 12, 1971). "Lucas's 'THX1138':Love Is a Punishable Crime in Future". The New York Times.

Further reading
  • Humphreys, Justin (2006). "Don Pedro Colley". Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget : Interviews with the Movies' Character Actors (softcover) (First ed.). Albany, GA: BearManor Media. pp. 68–89. ISBN 978-1-62933-094-5.
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