Remembering George Peppard, from hunk to Hannibal and beyond

It's been three decades since we lost this charismatic and creative actor (1928-1994). Here's my little tribute to a complex and gifted man, with admiration and affection.

He may have had a reputation for being difficult, and had to deal with various personal and professional setbacks, but it rarely showed on screen. He's still my no.1 fantasy pin-up whether a gorgeous young man or a sexy silver fox.

His debut was in Bang The Drum Slowly (1956, TV) with his film debut following in The Strange One (1957). By 1964 he was in the big league with leading roles in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and The Carpetbaggers (1964) on his resume. After a run of action films into the 1970s he found a new home on TV as the lead in Banacek (1972-3), Doctor's Hospital (1975) and perhaps best remembered, as Hannibal Smith in The A Team (1983-7). His final screen appearance was in a spin-off episode of Matlock (The P.I., 1994) which was planned as a new detective series for him and Tracy Nelson.

Married to Helen Davies (1931-2024), Elizabeth Ashley (1939- ), Sherry Boucher (1945- ), Joyce 'JJ' Furbee aka Alexis Adams (1954-1997) and Laura Taylor (1958- ), with three children from his first two marriages. Served in the Marines in the late 1940s. Lifetime Republican and recovering alcoholic from 1979. Fired from Dynasty after pilot episode (he had been cast as Blake). Also worked on stage early and late in his career, having trained in method acting.

His film work - The Strange One (1957), Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Subterraneans (1960), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), How The West Was Won (1962), The Victors (1963), The Carpetbaggers (1964), Operation Crossbow (1965), The Third Day (1965), The Blue Max (1966), Tobruk (1967), Rough Night in Jericho (1967), P.J. (1967), What's So Bad About Feeling Good (1968), House of Cards (1968), Pendulum (1969), The Executioner (1970), Cannon for Cordoba (1970), One More Train To Rob (1971), The Bravos (1972), The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972), Newman's Law (1974), Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case (1975), Damnation Alley (1977), Five Days From Home (1978), Crisis in Mid-air (1979), From Hell to Victory (1979), Torn Between Two Lovers (1979), Battle Beyond The Stars (1980), Your Ticket is No Longer Valid (1981), Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr (1981), Target Eagle (1982), Man Against the Mob (2 films, 1988/9), Silence Like Glass (1989), Night of the Fox (1990), The Tigress (1992).

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Music - Behind Blue Eyes, recorded by Limp Bizkit