Stephen McNally

Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. His dark features often cast him as hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and other villains.

Stephen McNally was born Horace McNally in New York City. McNally attended Fordham University School of Law and was an attorney in the late 1930s before he pursued his passion for acting.

He started his stage career using his real name, Horace McNally. He was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942 and cast in supporting roles. His first juvenile lead was as a newspaper editor in the Laurel and Hardy comedy Air Raid Wardens (1943). He remained with MGM, always billed as Horace McNally, until 1946.

In 1948, he changed his stage name to Stephen McNally (taking the name of his then-2-year-old son) and signed with Warner Bros. He played the villainous Locky McCormick in the film version of Johnny Belinda (1948). (He had played Dr. Richardson in the Broadway stage version, in 1940.)

He appeared in Winchester '73 (1950) and co-starred in Criss Cross (1949). Notable 1950s films included No Way Out (1950), Split Second (1953), Violent Saturday (1955) and Johnny Rocco (1958).

McNally was cast in three episodes of the ABC religion anthology series Crossroads. He portrayed Monsigneur Harold Engle in "Ringside Padre" (1956) and Father Flanagan of the Boys Town orphanage in Nebraska in "Convict 1321, Age 21" (1957). In between, he was cast as United States Army General George S. Patton, in "The Patton Prayer" (also 1957). McNally also appeared in the episode "Specimen: Unknown" from the anthology series The Outer Limits. He starred in the 1959 episode, "The Ben Courtney Story" on Wagon Train as the title character, a former Union soldier turned sheriff. Also in 1959, he portrayed Clay Thompson, a bounty hunter, with Myron Healey as a sheriff, in the CBS Western series, The Texan.

In the 1960 episode "The Mormons" on the CBS Western, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre McNally played Matt Rowland, who tries to block a wagon train of Mormons from entering his town, as they are suspected of carrying cholera. Things change quickly, when Rowland's son, Tod (Mark Goddard), becomes interested in a young lady on the train, Beth Lawson (Tuesday Weld).

In 1967, he starred as Dal Neely, a murderous outlaw who tries to take his daughter away with him in the (S12E23) episode "The Lure" on Gunsmoke. In 1971, he appeared as Gus Muller in "The Men From Shiloh" (rebranded name for the TV Western The Virginian) in the episode titled "The Angus Killer". During the 1970s, McNally guest starred on television programs such as Fantasy Island, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files, and Police Story.

McNally died of heart failure June 4, 1994, at age 82, at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He and his wife, Rita, had eight children.