Greg McClure

He fit the "tall, dark and handsome" Hollywood prototype beautifully and while the solidly built Greg McClure made a robust dent in Hollywood films after a "Cinderella Man" breakthrough toward the end of WWII, his name would be quickly forgotten following his early retirement. He was born Dale D'Orr on April 5, 1915, in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of attorney Paul Bardsdale D'Orr. The family moved to Oakland, California when he was still young, and his parents divorced when he was but 12 years old. His stepfather was the pulp fiction writer Walter Easton, whose surname he eventually took. After his years as a junior college football player in Oakland and playing football, he and brother Harvey relocated to Hollywood where they started a bodybuilding gym. An interest in acting led Greg to scout out stage and film extra work. With little on his resume except non-speaking soldier bits in such films as The Iron Major (1943) and See Here, Private Hargrove (1944), a change audition for the lead role in the Bing Crosby produced film The Great John L. (1945) led to a surprising hire. His marquee name was immediately changed to "Greg McClure" for the Irishman's part. McClure's nascent leading man career lost its momentum when he was suddenly drafted into the Army not long after the film's release. Freelancing after his honorable discharge, he supplemented his erratic acting career by running a gym that included several film stars as clients. Later featured roles included a number of brutish boxers in such films as Bury Me Dead (1947), Lulu Belle (1948), Joe Palooka in the Big Fight (1949) and Roaring City (1951); the role of "Hammerhead" Hogan in the action adventure Thunder in the Pines (1948); a henchman in the Batman and Robin (1949) serial; a featured role in the "Cold War" espionage film Sky Liner (1949); one of the infamous Daltons in The Dalton Gang (1949); and a private in the war drama Breakthrough (1950); McClure was forced to leave performing altogether in 1951 after it became known that he was a Communist sympathizer. In later years Greg found varied jobs as a soft drink exec, produce market manager, carpenter and handyman. He moved in with one of his four daughters from his first marriage following his second wife's death, McClure died at the age of 97 on December 7, 2012.