Steve Forrest, immortalized for viewers of a certain age as Lt. Dan “Hondo” Harrelson on the short lived but affectionately recalled SWAT, passed away on May 18th. For those unfamiliar with his work, Mr. Forrest was sort of a (pre-comedy) Leslie Nielsen or Lee Majors sort of actor.
Mr. Forrest basically began his career as a film and TV actor in the early ’50s, generally playing very small roles. By the mid-50s he was working more steadily on television, and slowly building his career. He would have his first taste of stardom as the titular lead on the adventure series The Baron, in which he basically played an American version of The Saint. The program lasted but one year, albeit that was a 30 episode run. I’ve never really seen the show, but for some reason I own it on DVD. I must have grabbed it somewhere when it was on sale really cheap.
By then Mr. Forrest was a guest star mainstay, one of that gigantic pool of actors you had back in that day, appearing on all the endless cops shows and westerns and whatnot. It was in 1975, though, that he received his signature show in SWAT. Partially propelled by quite popular theme music that sold like hot cakes on vinyl, the show was an instant hit. Sadly, it was also immediately targeted by special interest groups for its copious violence. That was a fairly big issue back then, and ABC responded by reducing the show’s mayhem. Needless to say, this reduced audience interest in the show dramatically, and SWAT was off the air after two seasons.
His place in pop culture history secured, Mr. Forrest continued to work in television guest roles through 2003. He also played the rocketship captain in the Cat-Women of the Moon parody Amazon Women on the Moon.
Mr. Forrest was 87 at the time of his passing.
