William Forrest Andrews (1925 - 2013)

Born 29 Sep 1925 in Huntsville, Walker TX

Ancestors

Died 18 May 2013 at age 87 in Thousand Oaks, Ventura, CA

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Biography

William was born in 1924. He is the son of CF Andrews and Annis Speed. He married Christine Joanne Carilas in 1948 and they had three sons.

An actor known as Steve Forrest, a World War II veteran (Army, Battle of the Bulge and others) and UCLA graduate, began his acting career in the early '50s after being discovered by actor Gregory Peck while working as a stagehand at La Jolla Playhouse.

Peck cast him in a production at the playhouse and later arranged for his first screen test with MGM, where he was placed under contract.

His star rose quickly. In 1953, Forrest garnered the New Star of the Year Golden Globe Award for his performance in the Warner Bros. film “So Big," in which he appeared opposite Jane Wyman and Sterling Hayden. Other film roles he landed during the decade include a P.O.W. opposite Ronald Reagan in MGM’s “Prisoner of War” (1954), Robert Taylor’s younger brother in “Rogue Cop” (1954) and Doris Day’s would-be suitor in “It Happened to Jane” (1959).

In a Hollywood career spanning 60 years, Forrest appeared in a number of other roles on both the big and small screen. After nabbing a number of roles on classic early television series including “Playhouse 90,” “Climax! Theater,” “Lux Video Theater” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” he starred in 1981's "Mommie Dearest" with Faye Dunaway, the 1985 comedy "Spies LIke Us," and he was a regular on "Dallas" for one season in 1985.

In 1965, Forrest relocated to London to star as as John Mannering, the international antique dealer-secret agent, in BBC's "The Baron," the first color series ever to air on British television.

Forrest most famously lead the cast of cop drama "S.W.A.T." as 'Hondo' for two seasons between 1975 and 1976. Samuel L. Jackson later portrayed the same character in the 2003 movie adaptation co-starring Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez and LL Cool J.

Forrest made a cameo in the film as a van driver -- an homage to the role he originated, in which he was frequently seen jumping into the S.W.A.T. team's large dark gray van shouting the signature line, “Let’s roll!”

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Sources

• 1930 United States Federal Census
• 1940 United States Federal Census
• Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
• U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
• U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=345318&GRid=110929948&

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Thanks to A Fabry for starting this profile.

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