biography
Born Jacques O'Mahoney on February 7, 1919, in Chicago, Jock Mahoney grew into his 6'4" frame before attending the University of Iowa, where
he excelled in football, basketball, and swimming, among other sports. As with many young men of the era, he enlisted in the Marines and
became a fighter pilot and an instructor. After World War II, Mahoney made his way to Hollywood, where he quickly found work as a stuntman
for such western stars as Charles Starrett and Randolph Scott. After signing a contract with Columbia in
1946, Mahoney appeared in a couple of serials and several short subjects, including a number of Three Stooges shorts. Moving to feature films
in the late 1940s, in 1949 he auditioned to replace Johnny Weissmuller in the role of Tarzan but lost
out to Lex Barker. Jock Mahoney worked as a stuntman and Charles Starrett's costar in Columbia's 'Durango Kid' series of films from 1947 until 1952. And in 1951, he accepted the part of The Range Rider, a syndicated 78-episode western TV series produced by Gene Autry that ran through 1953. An early first marriage ended in a divorce after a few years and two children. A couple of years later, Mahoney met actress Margaret Field, the mother of actress Sally Field, on the set of Range Rider, and they married in 1952. Mahoney and Field had a daughter, Princess, in 1955, and after a tumultuous marriage, the couple divorced in 1968. Mahoney married actress Autumn Russell in 1969.  In the mid 1950s, Mahoney left Columbia and signed with Universal, making scores of western films at that studio. He also starred in a CBS western TV series, Yancy Derrigner, during the 1959-59 season. In 1961, he signed with Sy Weintraub on to replace Gordon Scott as Tarzan. This casting made Mahoney the twelfth series Tarzan and was the oldest actor ever first cast as Tarzan, at the age of 42. |
the films of jock mahoneyHoedown (1950)
From Columbia's western musical Hoedown with Don C. HarveyPecos River (1951)
With Delores Sidener and Charles Starrett in Pecos River, one of Columbia's 'Durango Kid' series of filmsRange Rider (1951-1953 Syndicated TV Series)  
LEFT and CENTER: Stills from Range Rider featuring Mahoney as the Range Rider and Dickie Jones as Dick West. RIGHT: Cover from one of Dell's Range Rider comics from 1952The Rough, Tough West (1952) 
From the Columbia 'Durango Kid' entry The Rough, Tough West. LEFT: With Charles Starrett. RIGHT: With Charles Starrett and Carolina CottonOverland Pacific (1954)
With Peggie Castle and William Bishop in the western Overland PacificI've Lived Before (1956)
From the Universal-International drama I've Lived BeforeJoe Dakota (1957)
Mahoney stars as the title character in the excellent Universal-International western Joe DakotaMoney, Women and Guns (1959)
From the Universal-International western Money, Women and GunsTarzan the Magnificent (1960)    
From Paramount's Tarzan the Magnificent. LEFT and CENTER: Mahoney is captured by Gordon Scott for committing a murder. RIGHT: Mahoney makes a play for Betta St. JohnThree Blondes in His Life (1961)
With Greta Thyssen in the film noir feature Three Blondes in His LifeTarzan Goes to India (1962)    
From MGM's Tarzan Goes to India. LEFT: With Simi Garewal. CENTER: Promotional stills. RIGHT: With Leo GordonCalifornia (1963)
From the American International western California with Faith DomergueTarzan's Three Challenges (1963)  
From MGM's Tarzan's Three Challenges. LEFT: Mahoney fell ill during his second outing as Tarzan and lost more than 40 pounds during filming. CENTER and RIGHT: With Woody Strode. While this was was Mahoney's last turn as Tarzan, he did appear in one more Tarzan feature, Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970; with Ron Ely and Woody Strode), which was actually a multi-part 1966 episode from the TV series edited together and released as a movieMoro Witch Doctor (1964)
With Margia Dean in Eddie Romero's action flick Moro Witch Doctor, shot in the PhilippinesTarzan's Deadly Silence (1970) 
LEFT: Mahoney as the maniacal colonel who plans to capture an African village in Tarzan's Deadly Silence, which features Ron Ely as Tarzan. RIGHT: With Woody Strodelater years
By 1963, Weintraub was interested in casting a younger actor in the role of Tarzan, most likely due to yet another attempt at a Tarzan TV
series. Former pro-football player Mike Henry was chosen as Mahoney's replacement and was scheduled to also star
in a proposed TV series, but by the time the series was being cast, Henry had declined the role, which then went to
Ron Ely in 1966. Suffering from injuries and illnesses during location shooting, Mahoney was happy to leave the
role of Tarzan and readily agreed to break his contract with Weintraub in 1963.Ron Ely took over the Tarzan role in the NBC TV series Tarzan (1966-1968), on which Mahoney made several guest appearances. And continuing his association with the character in the 1980s, Mahoney served as stunt coordinator on John Derek's production of Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981; with Miles O'Keeffe and Bo Derek).   
LEFT: A 1971 photo of most of the surviving Tarzans from The Mike Douglas Show. Pictured from left to right: Johnny Weissmuller, Mike Douglas, Gordon Scott, Totie Fields, Jock Mahoney, Buster Crabbe, Denny Miller, and James Pierce. CENTER: From the 1976 Memphis Film Festival taken by Larry Coyne. RIGHT: From the 1982 Memphis Film Festival taken by Dennis McHaney (thanks to Dennis McHaney) |
filmographyFILM
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This page premiered April 16, 1999.
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