Larry Pennell

Born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, he is mainly a supporting actor, best known for his role as "Dash Riprock," the conceited, image-conscious, and macho Hollywood movie star courting "Elly May Clampett" (played by Donna Douglas) in the hit television series "The Beverly Hillbillies."

Pennell started acting in 1955, as "Oliver Brown" in the movie Seven Angry Men, the low-budget movie about abolitionist John Brown, starring Raymond Massey. That role lead him to the lead in Hell's Horizon, also in 1955.

After a few small parts in movies he drifted between television and movie appearances. In 1959 he played opposite Jimmy Stewart (as "John Michael ('Chip') Hardesty") in the hit movie The FBI Story, in the role of "George Crandall". After 1959 he mainly stuck with television, making guest appearances in shows like "Death Valley Days," "Sea Hunt," "Wagon Train," "The Big Valley," "The Virginian," and "Dragnet." In 1961 he was given a lead role in the television series, as "Ted McKeever" in " Ripcord," action-adventure series about skydiving, he co-starred with Ken Curtis, and became somewhat of a television idol, in the show that ran for 76 episodes between 1961 and 1963.

Pennell's debut on the "The Beverly Hillbillies" came January 27, 1965, in the episode "Dash Riprock, You Cad!" (Season 3, Episode 17). "Milburn Drysdale" (played by Raymond Bailey) invests some of "Jed Clampett"'s (Buddy Ebsen) money in a movie studio. Jed is distracted and upset that Elly May has not found any suitors in California. To smooth things over Drysdale has the studio send over Riprock to start dating Elly May. Riprock mistakenly thinks that "Jane Hathaway" (Nancy Kulp) is Elly May, and starts courting her. The episode also included Sharon Tate (as Janet Trego), the beautiful actress that was murdered in 1969 by the Manson Family. Tate appeared in 15 episodes as Trego.

Older, and more distinguished, he returned to big budget motion pictures, as "Captain Cyril Simard," in the World War II blockbuster Midway, the 1976 with a big all-star cast that included Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda.

He continued to do small parts, character roles and cameos, mainly on television shows and movies made for television, including "Little House on the Prairie," "Magnum, P.I.," and the soap operas "General Hospital" and "The Young and the Restless." One notable role was that of Clark Gable in the 1980 made for television movie " Marilyn: The Untold Story," with Catherine Hicks as Marilyn Monroe.

His most recent roles have been in the movies: The Passing (2005 ; as "Charles-Bulter"), Last Confession (2005 ; as "Father Conklin"), and in Seasons of Life (2006 ; as "Lauren's Father").

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Category: 1928 births Category: People from Pennsylvania Category: American film actors Category: Western film actors