Andrew V. McLaglen Biography

Fast Facts

• Attended the University of Virginia, where he was on the boxing team and met future director Robert Aldrich
• Son of Academy Award-winning actor Victor McLaglen
• Got a job as a factory worker at Lockheed Aircraft during World War II because his parents were close friends of the company's chairman, Robert E․ Gross
• Began his film industry career as a company clerk on the 1945 movie "Love, Honor and Goodbye․"
• Quote: "There's one thing about doing television: you're taught to, without sacrificing anything in the way of production values, to keep things on time and move forward․"
• Best known for directing western films and TV shows, including "Have Gun - Will Travel" and "Gunsmoke․"
• Frequently collaborated with actors John Wayne and James Stewart
• Was friends with Gene Autry and would often feed him the lyrics to songs he was singing in a film
• Was drafted into the U․S․ Army, but was deemed unfit for military service during his physical exam because he was extraordinarily tall
• Regularly directs plays for the San Juan Island Community Theater