Ty Hardin

Blonde, tall, and athletic, Ty Hardin played leads and supporting roles in Hollywood, Italian films, and on television in such series as Cheyenne (1955), its spin-off, Bronco (1958-1961), and Riptide (1965). Hardin was born Orson Whipple Hungerford Jr., and took up acting while attending Texas A&M University, where he appeared in several campus productions. He made his feature-film debut, using the name Ty Hungerford, with a small role in I Married a Monster From Outer Space (1958). He subsequently appeared in several Hollywood features, including The Chapman Report (1962). When American roles became infrequent, Hardin began appearing occasionally in Italian and Spanish productions such as Pampa Salvaje (Savage Pampas) (1966). During the early '70s, Hardin lived in Los Boliches, Spain, where he ran a bar and a string of laundromats. Following a 1974 arrest for allegedly smuggling 25 kilos of hashish, Hardin was forced to pay 9,200 dollars in fines. By 1977, Hardin had returned stateside and had become a devout Christian earning money as a traveling evangelist and the minister of a church in Prescott, AZ, where he also appeared in a 30-minute religious show, Going Home, that aired nationally three times a week on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Despite his many lifestyle changes, Hardin has continued to make the odd film appearance in vehicles such as Rooster: Spurs of Death (1983) and We Are Angels (1995). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide