Stephen McNally (July 29 1913 - June 4 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many westerns and action films. He was an attorney in the late 1930s before pursuing a career in acting.
He started his stage career using his real name Horace McNally and began appearing uncredited in many World War II-era films. In 1946, he changed his stage name to Stephen McNally and began appearing credited as both movie villains and heroes.
He played menacing roles in such films as Johnny Belinda (1948) and the James Stewart western Winchester '73 (1950). He co-starred in the Burt Lancaster film noir Criss Cross (1949). Other notable 1950s films included No Way Out (1950), Split Second (1953), and Johnny Rocco (1958). During the 1970s, he guest starred in television programs such as Fantasy Island and The Rockford Files.
He died in 1994 due to heart failure, aged 80.
"B" actor Stephen McNally forsook a thriving career as a practicing attorney in the late 30s when he made the decision to switch gears and avidly pursue acting. He began things off on stage using his real name Horace McNally and earned minor status in war-era films as both a minor hero and heavy. In 1946, his career took a quality boost when he changed his stage name to Stephen McNally and ventured on in the same vein as both villain and 'tough guy' hero. He was notably despicable in the Jane Wyman starrer Johnny Belinda (1948) and in Winchester '73 (1950) with Jimmy Stewart. His heroes fell into such secondary adventures as City Across the River (1949) and Air Cadet (1951). McNally continued duking it out with the leads in other 50s fare such as No Way Out (1950), Battle Zone (1952), A Bullet Is Waiting (1954), Violent Saturday (1955), Tribute to a Bad Man (1956) and Johnny Rocco (1958). In the long run, he proved much more interesting when his character had little reedeeming qualities. He starred in a couple of TV series following his wave of movie-making but none of them really stuck and his name never became etched into the minds of audiences.
