Alex Cord was born Alexander Viespi Jr. on May 3, 1933 in Floral Park, New York. Cord was stricken with polio when he was12. His family then moved to Wyoming, where doctors advised him to take up horseback riding as a therapeutic exercise. This helped him recover from the disease by the time he was 16. A high school dropout at the age of sixteen, he grew up to be too tall to be a jockey so he joined the rodeo circuit and earned a living riding bulls and bareback horses. During another extended hospital stay, this time suffering major injuries after being thrown by a bull at a rodeo in New York City's Madison Square Garden, he reevaluated his life's direction and decided to finish his high school education by way of night school. A voracious reader during his long convalescence, he later studied and received his degree in literature at New York University.
In July 1960, billed under his real name he acted in a production of The Curious Savage in canal Fulton, Ohio. He sought a Hollywood "in" and found one via his equestrian skills in the early 1960s. Steady work came to him on such established western TV series as ‘Laramie’ (1959) and ‘Branded’ (1965) and that extended itself into acting roles on crime action series ‘Route 66’ (1960) and ‘Naked City’ (1958)). Gaining a foothold in feature films within a relatively short time, he starred or co-starred in more than 30 feature films, including “Synanon” (1965), “Stagecoach” (1966), “Stiletto” (1969) and “The Brotherhood” (1968).
After his film career declined in the late 1970s, he turned to action adventure overseas with the Spaghetti western “A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die” (1967) and the British war drama “The Last Grenade” (1970) with Stanley Baker and Richard Attenborough.
Cord then reverted back to U.S. TV work and situated himself in a number of series, notably ‘Airwolf’ (1984), in which he co-starred with Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine as the mysterious white-suited, eye-patched, cane-using "Michael Archangel".
Alex's love for horses extended itself into work for numerous charities and benefits. He was a regular competitor in the Ben Johnson Pro-Celebrity Rodeos that raised money for children's charities, and he is one of the founders of the Chukkers for Charity Celebrity Polo Team which has raised more than $3 million for worthy causes.
The actor's three marriages all ended in divorce. His second wife was British-born actress Joanna Pettet and third, Susannah, was a horse trainer. He had three children -- Toni Aluisa, Wayne and Damien Zachary. His son by Pettet, Damien, died tragically in 1995 of a heroin overdose at the age of 26.
Today Cord lives on a ranch near Ft. Worth, Texas where he’s become a novelist.
CORD, Alex (aka Alex Vespi) (Alexander Viespi Jr.) [5/3/1933, Floral Park, New York, U.S.A. – ] – author, film, TV actor, married to Dorothy L. Lee (195?-196?) father of cameraman Wayne A. Viespi [1959- ], father of Toni Aluisa Viespi with Mary Ann Hutchinson, married to actress Joanna Pettet (Joanna Jane Salmon) [1942- ] (1968-1989) father of Damien Zachary Cord [1969-1995] married to author, horse trainer Susannah Boye Moller [1944- ] (2002-2017).
A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die – 1967 (Clay McCord)
Really interesting entry today. I've always felt that Cord was much better as a very accomplished character actor rather than star. Nobody could ever follow The Duke in STAGECOACH and I think this overshadowed his other achievements. However, he is very good in Peckinpah's TV movie THE LADY IS MY WIFE (1967) playing a Dave Blassingame type who became "lucky."
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