Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Remembering Rod Cameron
Nathan Roderick Cox was born on December 7, 1910 in Calgary, Canada. After a short career in construction Rod moved to Hollywood as a young man and entered films as a stuntman and bit player for Paramount and Universal. In 1943, now as Rod Cameron, he became the star of Republic Pictures action serial “G-Men vs the Black Dragon” as Rex Bennett, a crime fighting federal agent. This was followed by “Secret Service in Darkest Africa” again as Rex Bennett. When western star Johnny Mack Brown left Universal Studios Rod replaced him which led to appearances in dramatic roles. When Universal downsized in 1947 Rod was signed by Monogram Studios. Cameron stared in three TV series: “City Detective” (1953-1955), “State Trooper” (1956-1959) and “Coronado 9" (1960-1961). Rod continued to make guest appearances on TV series into the ‘70s. During the 1960's he ventured to Europe where he appeared in three Euro-westerns: “Bullets Don’t Argue” (1964), “Bullets and the Flesh” (1965) and “Thunder at the Border” (1966). Rod’s also remembered for his private life when he divorced his wife and married her mother. Rod lived out his retirement years in Gainesville, Georgia where he died from a stroke on December 21, 1983.
Rod Cameron is another one of my favorite Western actors. Both he and George Montgomery are at the top for me.
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