George Peppard Jr. Peppard secured a major role when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , [1] and later portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers On television, he played the title role of millionaire insurance investigator and sleuth Thomas Banacek in the earlys mystery series Banacek.
He played Col. John "Hannibal" Smith , the cigar-smoking leader of a renegade commando squad, in the hit s action show The A-Team. George Peppard, Jr. Peppard enlisted in the United States Marine Corps July 8, , and rose to the rank of corporal , leaving the Corps at the end of his enlistment in January During and , he studied civil engineering at Purdue University where he was a member of the Purdue Playmakers theatre troupe and Beta Theta Pi fraternity. In addition to acting, Peppard was a pilot.
He spent a portion of his honeymoon training to fly his Learjet in Wichita, Kansas. Peppard made his stage debut in at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. He did a variety of jobs to pay his way during this time, such as working as a disc jockey, being a radio station engineer, teaching fencing, driving a taxi and being a mechanic in a motorcycle repair shop. He made his film debut in The Strange One Part of the arrangement of the latter involved signing with MGM for a long term contract.
Home from the Hill was a prestigious film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Robert Mitchum, who played Peppard's father. It was a success at the box office, although the film's high cost meant that it was not profitable. It flopped and Peppard said "I couldn't get arrested" afterwards. Breakfast at Tiffany's ]] His good looks, elegant manner and superior acting skills landed Peppard his most famous film role as Paul Varjak in Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn, based on a story by Truman Capote.
This role boosted him briefly to a major film star. That year a newspaper article dubbed him "the next big thing". Peppard said he had turned down two TV series and was focused on being a film star.
His contract with MGM was for two pictures a year, allowing for one outside film and six TV appearances a year, plus the right to star in a play every second year. He was meant to appear in Unarmed in Paradise which was not made.
It was a massive hit. He followed this with a war story for Carl Foreman , The Victors in , then, most notably, The Carpetbaggers , a minute saga of a ruthless, Hughes-like aviation and film mogul based on a best-selling novel by Harold Robbins.
It turned out to be one of the biggest box-office hits of And I must say I feel a little presumptuous to shoot for that. But that's the goal, like a hockey goal. I figure I've got a choice And my objective is that one performance. He was meant to follow this with an adaptation of the play Merrily We Roll Along but it was never made. Peppard started choosing tough-guy roles in big, ambitious pictures where he was somewhat overshadowed by ensemble casts; for example, his role as German pilot Bruno Stachel, an obsessively competitive officer from humble beginnings who challenges the Prussian aristocracy during World War I in The Blue Max For this role, Peppard earned a private pilot's license and did much of his own stunt flying, although stunt pilot Derek Piggott was at the controls for the famous under-the-bridge scene.
If I get two out of three of those I'm satisfied. Film critic David Shipman writes of this stage in his career:. Peppard began appearing in a series of action movies, predictably as a tough guy, but there were much tougher guys around — like Cagney, Bogart and Robinson, whose films had now become television staples.
A string of Peppard films that followed made little or no impact, including Tobruk , P. In he announced he had co-written a script Watch Them Die , which he planned to direct, but not play a starring role. Among other disappointments during this period were a pair of westerns, 's Cannon for Cordoba , in which Peppard played the steely Captain Rod Douglas, who has been put in charge of gathering a group of soldiers on a dangerous mission into Mexico, and 's Rough Night in Jericho in which he was billed over Dean Martin and Jean Simmons , a reflection of his status at that time in his career.
Peppard then decided to turn to television. After developing projects for two years, including making a number of pilots, he had a notable success with Banacek — , part of The NBC Mystery Movie series, starring in minute whodunits as a wealthy Boston playboy who solves thefts for insurance companies for a finder's fee.
Both have been released on DVD along with the pilot episode. Peppard appeared in the short-lived half a season Doctors' Hospital and several other television films. He starred in the science-fiction film Damnation Alley , which has gone on to attain a substantial cult following. Peppard's role in the film was reportedly turned down by Steve McQueen because of salary issues.
With fewer interesting roles coming his way, he acted in, directed and produced the drama Five Days from Home in Peppard later said the low point of his career came over a three-year period around the time of Five Days from Home. My career seemed to be going nowhere. Self - Filmed tribute. Show all 21 episodes. T TV Special Self.
Self - Audience Member uncredited. Self - Audience Member. Self - Actor. Self - Co-Host. TV Series Self - Episode 2. Hide Show Archive footage 20 credits. Cutting to the Truth Self. Self - Interviewee. Paul Varjak. Self uncredited. John 'Hannibal' Smith uncredited.
Documentary Self. John 'Hannibal' Smith - Episode 1. John "Hannibal" Smith. Paul 'Fred' Varjak. Related Videos. Baker; William Ball; David E. Cassidy; Edmund M. See more ». Height: 6' 1. Spouse: Laura Taylor his death See more ». Parents: George Peppard Sr. Vernelle Rohrer. Edit Did You Know? Personal Quote: Some people do better on their own. I don't. It sounds stupid to say, but it's true.
I like women. I like them when they're little tiny babies, and I like them when they're old ladies, and I like them all in between. They please me. The film not only failed, but the industry looked askance at Peppard, never trusting or liking any actor who causes shooting to begin all over again. With his cool, blond baby-face looks and a touch of menace, of meanness, he had established a screen persona as strong as any of the time.
Peppard began appearing in a series of action movies, predictably as a tough guy, but there were much tougher guys around - like Cagney, Bogart and Robinson, whose films had now become television staples. In the second of these he was an expatriate American caught up in the dirty tricks of the French political right, and in the first a down-at-heel private eye. Peppard's private eye brought him an offer to play another, in a television series, Banacek.
It ran from to and brought renewed acclaim to Peppard and several movie offers. He chose to play a busted cop who sets out to clear his name in Newman's Law He himself produced, directed and starred in Five Days from Home , playing another ex-lawman, one who this time has been convicted of the manslaughter of his wife's lover; the film went direct to television.
When Peppard returned to that medium, it was as Hannibal, the grinning, cigar-chomping leader of The A-Team, an NBC series which ran from to Righting wrongs, correcting or uncovering injustices, the A-Team went about their work with rare good-humour and a considerable amount of violence, explosive if not bloody.
They were very popular, particularly with children, but the show was expensive to produce and needed the injection of new ingredients to hold its audience; and the producers preferred to put it into syndication.
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