Forrest Tucker (February 12, 1919 - October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television from the 1940s to the 1980s. Tucker, who stood 6'4" and weighed 200 lbs. (91 kg), excelled as both hero and villain in nearly 100 action films throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

Tucker was born in Plainfield, Indiana. He began his performing career at age 14 at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, pushing the big wicker tourist chairs by day and singing "Throw Money" at night. After his family moved to Washington, D.C., the young Tucker came to the attention of Jimmy Lake, the owner of the Old Gayety Burlesque Theater, by winning the Saturday night amateur contest there on consecutive weeks. After his second win he was hired full time as master of ceremonies at the theatre. However, his initial employment there was short-lived, for it was soon discovered that Tucker was underage. Again lying about his age, Tucker then joined the United States Army Cavalry, stationed at Fort Myer in Virginia, and returned to work at the Old Gayety after his 18th birthday.

When the theatre closed for the summer of 1939, Tucker took a vacation to California, and he soon began auditioning for movie roles. He was cast as Wade Harper in The Westerner (1940), which starred Gary Cooper. He stood out in a fight scene with Cooper and was signed to Columbia Pictures.

In 1941, he played his first lead in Emergency Landing, and the following year he co-starred in the classic Keeper of the Flame. From 1942 to 1945, Tucker served in World War II, reaching the rank of Second Lieutenant during his second stint in uniform. Tucker resumed his acting career after the war, appearing in the classic 1946 film The Yearling and stealing a few scenes from Errol Flynn in Never Say Goodbye the same year.

In 1948, Tucker left Columbia and signed with Republic Pictures. At Republic, he made his breakthrough in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), as Corporal Thomas, a Marine with a score to settle with John Wayne's Sergeant Stryker. Graduating to top billing, Tucker starred in numerous action films during the 1950s, including Rock Island Trail (1950), California Passage (1950), The Abominable Snowman (1957), and The Crawling Eye (1958). Also in 1958, he played Beauregard Burnside, Mame's first husband in Auntie Mame, which was the highest grossing U.S. film of the year. This film marked another turning point in Tucker's career, as he showed a flair for light comedy under the direction of Morton Da Costa.

Tucker then was cast as "Professor" Harold Hill by director Da Costa in the national production of The Music Man, and he played the role 2,008 times over the next five years, including a 56 week run at the legendary Shubert Theatre in Chicago. Following his Music Man run, Tucker starred in the Broadway production of Fair Game for Lovers (1964) and then turned to television for his most famous role, starring as frontier capitalist Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke in F Troop (1965 - 1967). Though F Troop lasted only two seasons on ABC, the series has been in constant syndication since, reaching three generations of viewers. (Ironically, two of his Gunsmoke episodes feature Tucker in his cavalry uniform again, as another comic sergeant, "Sgt. Emmett Holly", who in one scene "marries" Miss Kitty.)

Following F Troop, Tucker returned to films in character parts (Barquero and Chisum, both 1970) and occasional leads (1975's The Wild McCullochs). On television, Tucker was a frequent guest star, including a total of six appearances on Gunsmoke and the recurring role of Jarvis Castleberry, Flo's estranged father on the 1976-1985 TV series, Alice and its spinoff, Flo. Tucker was a regular on three series after F Troop: Dusty's Trail (1973) with Bob Denver; The Ghost Busters (1975-76) which reunited him with F Troop co-star Larry Storch; and Filthy Rich playing the second Big Guy Beck. (1982-83). He continued to be active on stage as well, starring in the national productions of Plaza Suite, Show Boat, and That Championship Season.

Tucker returned to the big screen after an absence of several years, in the Cannon Films action film Thunder Run (1986), playing the hero, trucker Charlie Morrison. Unfortunately, Tucker's feature film comeback was short-lived, as he died from lung cancer on October 25, 1986, five months after the film's theatrical release.

Tucker is interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Forrest Tucker, the actor known to the Baby Boom generation as Sergeant O'Rourke on the classic TV sitcom "F Troop" (1965), was was born on February 12, 1919 in Plainfield, Indiana. He began his performing career at age 14 at the 1933 Chicago "Century of Progress" World's Fair, pushing big wicker tourist's chairs by day and singing at night. His family moved to Arlington, Virginia, where he attended Washington-Lee High School in 1938. Big for his age, as a youth Tucker was hired by the Old Gayety Burlesque Theater in Washington, D.C. to serve as a Master of Ceremonies for the Burly-cue after consecutively winning the Saturday night amateur contests. He was fired when it was found out that he was underage. He was rehired when he turned 18. After graduating from high school in 1938, the 6' 5", 200 lb. Tucker played semi-pro football in the Washington, D.C. area. He also enlisted with the National Guard and was assigned to a cavalry unit in Ft. Myers, Virginia. He started at the top when he entered the movies, in a supporting role in William Wyler's "The Westerner" (1940)in support of 'Gary Cooper' and Walter Brennan, who won his third Oscar for portraying Judge Roy Bean in the picture. He got the role during his 1939 vacation from the Old Gayety, which shut down due to the District of Columbia's horrible summers in the days before air conditioning was common. Traveling to California, he auditioned for movies, and was signed to the part in the Wyler picture, which required a big fellow with enough presence for a fight scene with the 6' 3" superstar Cooper. After "The Westerner", it was off to Poverty Row, where he appeared in William Beaudine's "Emergency Landing" (1941) at PRC (Producers Releasing Corp.). He was soon signed by Columbia and assigned to the B-pictures unit, though he was lent to M.G.M. for the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn movie "Keeper of the Flame" (1942), his last film before going off to World War II. Tucker served as an enlisted man in the Army during World War II, being discharged as a second lieutenant in 1945. He returned to Columbia and resumed his acting career with an appearance in the classic film "The Yearling" (1946). He signed with Republic Pictures in 1948, which brought him one of his greatest roles, that of the Marine corporal bearing a grudge against gung-ho N.C.O. 'John Wayne' in "The Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949). At Republic, Tucker was top-billed in B-movies in the action genre the studio was known for, such films as Rock Island Trail (1950), California Passage (1950), and Abominable Snowman, The (1957)_. In 1958, he broke out his action/Western/horror mode and played Beauregard Burnside to Rosalind Russell's "Auntie Mame" (1958), the highest grossing US film of the year. The film showed Tucker was capable of performing in light comedy. Morton Da CostaTucker, his director on "Auntie Mame", cast Tucker as "Professor" Harold Hill in the national touring production of "The Music Man", and he was a more than credible substitute for the great Broadway star 'Robert Preston', who originated the role. Tucker made 2008 appearances in "The Music Man" over the next five years, then starred in Fair Game for Loverson Broadway in 1964. But it was television which provided Tucker with his most famous role, the scheming U.S. Cavalry Sergeant. Morgan O'Rourke in "F Troop", which ran from 1965 to 1967 on ABC. Ably supported by Larry Storch, 'Ken Berry' and James Hampton, Tucker's flare for comedy was well-showcased, The series was canceled after only two seasons,but Tucker became an icon to the Baby Boom generation and its children as "F Troop" has remained in syndication ever since. Following "F Troop", Tucker returned to films in supporting parts (and occasional character leads (1975's The Wild McCullochs). On television, Tucker was a regular on three series: "Dusty's Trail" (1973) with Bob Denver; "The Ghost Busters" (1975-76) which reunited him with Larry Storch; and "The Filthy Rich" (1982-83). Tucker was also a frequent guest star on TV, appearing multiple times on Gunsmoke and in the recurring role of Jarvis Castleberry, Flo's estranged father on the 1976-1985 TV series, "Alice" and its spin-off, "Flo". He continued to be active on stage as well, starring in the national productions of "Plaza Suite", "Show Boat", and "That Championship Season". He also toured with Roy Radin's Comedy Revue, a neo-vaudeville show, in which as a headliner, he told Irish stories and jokes and sang Irish songs. Tucker returned to the big screen after an absence of several years in 1986, playing the hero, trucker Charlie Morrison, in the action film "Thunder Run" (1986). His feature film comeback to features was short-lived, as he died on October 25, 1986 in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, California, of complications of from lung cancer and emphysema. He was 67 years old. Forrest Tucker's remains were buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.