Rod Cameron | |
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Cameron as Rod Blake in State Trooper, 1957.
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Born |
Nathan Roderick Cox December 7, 1910 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Died | December 21, 1983 Gainesville, Hall County Georgia, USA |
(aged 73)
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation | Actor |
Spouse(s) | Angela Cameron (1950-1954) Dorothy Alves-Lico (1960-?) |
Rod Cameron (December 7, 1910 – December 21, 1983) was a Canadian-born film and television actor whose career extended from the 1930s to the 1970s. He appeared in horror, war, action and science fiction movies, but is best remembered for his many westerns.
Cameron was born Nathan Roderick Cox in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and grew up in New Jersey. He played on his high school basketball team and on a semi-professional football team. Despite those activities and others such as swimming and playing ice hockey, he couldn't join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police because he failed the physical examination.
Cameron moved to Hollywood as a young man and started out as a stuntman and bit player for Paramount Pictures. His early films include Heritage of the Desert with Donald Woods and Russell Hayden, Rangers of Fortune with Fred MacMurray, and Henry Aldrich for President with Jimmy Lydon. He also played bit roles at Universal Pictures, including in If I Had My Way, starring Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean.He appeared in horror film The Monster and the Girl
In 1943, Cameron gained star status in action serials for Republic Pictures. As crime-busting federal agent Rex Bennett, Cameron battled enemy terrorists in 15 weekly episodes of G-Men vs the Black Dragon. He was already working in another serial when audience reaction to Black Dragon made him a hit. Cameron was sufficiently popular for the studio to turn the new production into another Rex Bennett adventure, Secret Service in Darkest Africa, with Cameron again battling against Axis agents.