Noah L Beery

Familiar and well-liked character actor of very different persona than either his father, Noah Beery, or his uncle, Wallace Beery. He attended Harvard Military Academy but managed to make a number of appearances on film and on stage with his father before adulthood. At age 19, he began playing amiable second leads and occasional leading roles, primarily in westerns, before settling into what would be the pattern for much of his career: good-natured supporting roles, usually as a pal of the hero. He kept going in such parts into his late 70s, transforming slowly into warm (or, rarely, curmudgeonly) rustic sages. In later years, he achieved great renown as the father of the James Garner character on TV's Deux cent dollars plus les frais (1974). He married the daughter of cowboy star Buck Jones. Their son Bucklind Beery is an actor. They also had two daughters, Muffett and Melissa. Beery died in 1994 at the age of 81. Once said his own favorite of the films in which he appeared was La rivière rouge (1948). Despite the use of "Jr." and "Sr." to distinguish father and son actors, neither Noah Beery (Noah Nicholas Beery) nor Noah Beery Jr. (Noah Lindsey Beery), nor their father and grandfather, respectively (policeman Noah Webster Beery), had the same middle name. "Beery Jr." had an elder brother who died after four days (Noah Lindsay Beery; born 1/18/1912, died 1/22/1912). Best known for his role as Joseph "Rocky" Rockford on Deux cent dollars plus les frais (1974). Was the second actor to play the father of the character 'Jim Rockford' in the series "The Rockford Files". Another actor, Robert Donley, played Jim Rockford's father in the pilot for the series. Although playing father and son, Beery was only 15 years older than Garner. "Rocky Rockford" was ranked #45 in "TV Guide"'s list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [6/6/2004 issue]. Another famous father role played by Noah Beery Jr. was in the first 2 of the 3-film set on the life of Mcnary County Tennessee Sheriff Bufford T Pusser - Justice sauvage (1973) and Justice sauvage 2 - la revanche (1975) where Noah portrayed the role of Carl Pusser, father of Bufford Pusser.