John Doucette
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John Arthur Doucette (1921 - 1994)

John Arthur Doucette
Born in Brockton, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 8 May 1948 in Los Angeles, California, United Statesmap
Died at age 73 in Banning, Riverside, California, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 1 Jan 2020
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Biography

Notables Project
John Doucette is Notable.

Son of Joseph Arthur Doucette and Nellis Saphira Bishop

Husband of Katherine Cecelia Sambles

Amazing character actor who appeared in over 280 television shows and movies over a period stretching from 1942 to 1987. He often played character roles such as western or gangster heavies, but was fully capable of roles from Shakespeare to comedy.

  • Fact: Residence (1930) Sharon, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States
  • Fact: Residence (1935) Same Place
  • Fact: Residence (1940) Councilmanic District 13, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States
  • Fact: Military Service (Enlisted in April 1943) served in Europe in the United States Army as an infantry rifleman during World War II
  • Fact: Military Service (20 Apr 1943) Los Angeles, California, United States
  • Fact: Burial (August 1994) Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, Los Angeles, California, United States
  • Fact: Obituary (20 Aug 1994) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
  • Fact: Obituary (20 Aug 1994) Florida, United States
  • Fact: Obituary (20 Aug 1994) Missouri, United States
  • Fact: Obituary (20 Aug 1994) Baltimore, Maryland, United States
  • Fact: Obituary (23 Aug 1994) Florida, United States
  • Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch John Doucette (born John Arthur Doucette; January 21, 1921 – August 16, 1994) was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he proved equally adept at portraying characters in Shakespearean plays as well as in Westerns and in modern crime dramas. He is perhaps best remembered, however, for his villainous roles as a movie and television "tough guy".

John Doucette was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, the eldest of three children of Nellie S. (née Bishop) and Arthur J. Doucette. During his childhood, his family moved frequently as his father sought work during the Great Depression. He completed grammar school in Haverhill, Massachusetts; graduated from Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California; and later, in April 1943, he enlisted in the United States Army and served in Europe as an infantry rifleman during World War II. With regard to Doucette's early experience and training as an actor, he began to perform on stage at the age of 15 in plays at his high school. He subsequently performed at the Pasadena Playhouse before being cast in Hollywood films in the early 1940s. Doucette's film debut, in an uncredited role as a reporter, in Footsteps in the Dark in 1941. He appeared uncredited in at least two other movies before his budding film career was interrupted by his military service during World War II. Following his discharge, he resumed acting in Hollywood, where he soon began to receive more substantial, credited roles in releases by smaller production companies, such as The Burning Cross and The Road to the Big House for Somerset Pictures Corporation in 1947. Doucette continued to progress in obtaining dramatic roles for larger studios, including a small part as an architect in The Fountainhead in 1949 and in the 1970 epic Patton when he portrays 3rd Infantry Division Commander Major General Lucian K. Truscott. His other notable performances include bit parts in High Noon, The Robe, Sierra, and the mega-budget Cleopatra. More familiarly, Doucette also appears in the John Wayne films The Sea Chase, The Sons of Katie Elder, True Grit, and Big Jake. Many baby boomers first saw Doucette as the bad guy on television in several episodes of The Lone Ranger. Performing as an outlaw proved to be a natural role for him, considering his rough looks, commanding presence, and skill with a gun. He was considered by many to be among the fastest draws in Hollywood. His roles, however, went well beyond that stereotype. He appeared on a variety of television shows, including The Range Rider, The Roy Rogers Show, The Fugitive, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Cisco Kid, City Detective, Annie Oakley, The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial, My Friend Flicka, Sky King, The Californians, Broken Arrow, The People's Choice, Sheriff of Cochise, Behind Closed Doors, The Texan, Lawman, The Everglades, Mackenzie's Raiders, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, The Virginian, Have Gun - Will Travel, Kung Fu, The Rat Patrol, Hogan's Heroes, Adventures of Superman, Sea Hunt, Science Fiction Theatre, Walt Disney Presents, and Tales of Wells Fargo. Doucette portrayed police Lieutenant Tom Gregory on the television version of Big Town. Between 1959-1961, he also played police Lieutenant Weston on the series Lock-Up, the character Aaron William Andrews in the comedy The Partners, and the bounty hunter Lou Gore in the episode "Dead Aim" on the series Colt .45 Doucette was cast twice on television as the Apache Chief Geronimo: for the 1958 episode "Geronimo" on the Western series Tombstone Territory and for the 1961 episode "Gamble with Death" on the Western anthology series Death Valley Days. Coincidentally, his co-star in both episodes is the character actor Tom Greenway. He was also cast in 1961 as Captain Cardiff in The Americans, a 17-episode NBC series, starring Darryl Hickman, about how the American Civil War divided families. John Doucette in 1948 married opera singer Katherine Sambles, with whom he had eight children. Katherine died in 1991; and three years later, on August 16, 1994, John died at age 73 at his home in Banning, California. His mausoleum is at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

  • Fact: Occupation American character actor

Sources

  • "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQ5Z-T4X : accessed 1 January 2020), John A Doucette in household of Arthur J Doucette, Sharon, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 121, sheet 25A, line 12, family 622, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 937; FHL microfilm 2,340,672.
  • "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9HT-YNP : 27 July 2019), John Doucette in household of Arthur Doucette, Councilmanic District 13, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 60-1037, sheet 6A, line 6, family 134, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 382.
  • "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMN4-V1F : 5 December 2014), John A Doucette, enlisted 20 Apr 1943, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
  • "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8KP-DCL : 8 December 2017), John Arthur Doucette and Katherine Cecilia Sambles, 08 May 1948; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, county courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 2,116,259.
  • "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JG4M-FX9 : 20 May 2014), John A Doucette, 16 Aug 1994; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
  • "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKR1-KDSC : accessed 1 January 2020), Mr John Doucette, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, 20 Aug 1994; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing South Florida Sun-Sentinel, born-digital text.
  • "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKP5-TV4T : accessed 1 January 2020), John Doucette, Florida, United States, 20 Aug 1994; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing St. Petersburg Times, born-digital text.
  • "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK43-ZZ6Q : accessed 1 January 2020), John Doucette, Missouri, United States, 20 Aug 1994; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Kansas City Star, The, born-digital text.
  • "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKWH-N3VM : accessed 1 January 2020), John Doucette, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 20 Aug 1994; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Sun, The, born-digital text.
  • "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKPJ-5T6V : accessed 1 January 2020), John Doucette, Florida, United States, 23 Aug 1994; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing St. Petersburg Times, born-digital text.




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Rejected matches › John N Doucette (1923-1996)

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Categories: United States Army, World War II | Actors | Notables