Todd Armstrong
Todd Armstrong was an American actor who appeared in ten films and several television series. He is best known for playing the title role in the cult classic Jason and the Argonauts, after which his career rapidly waned. He also starred in syndicated crime drama Manhunt.
Early life
Todd Armstrong was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 25, 1937, the third of three children. He had two older sisters, Joan and Jeffrey. His parents were Louise Armstrong and Harris Armstrong. Armstrong's father was born in St. Louis and a well-known architect who designed many civil landmarks in St. Louis, such as at 7800 Maryland Avenue in Clayton. Its design won Armstrong the silver medal at the Paris Exposition of 1937.In 1956, Armstrong graduated from Ladue High School, where one of his classmates was Auggie Busch, a great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch brewing magnate Adolphus Busch. He moved to California and trained drama at the prestigious acting school Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts, where he changed his first name to Todd. He graduated in 1958 with classmates including Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman.
Career
Armstrong’s wealthy parents set him up with a trust fund but after a couple of years with no success landing acting roles, he took part-time work as a landscape gardener. One of his clients was actress Gloria Henry, who played the mother on the Dennis the Menace television series. Henry learned of her gardener's acting aspirations and was impressed enough by Armstrong's good looks to arrange for him to get a screen test at Columbia Pictures, where she was under contract. He landed a supporting role in the third season of the television show Manhunt, playing Detective Carl Spencer in thirteen episodes in the 1961 season. In 1962, Armstrong made his film debut with a small role in director Edward Dmytryk's drama Walk on the Wild Side. He made his second movie appearance that year in Five Finger Exercise.His first and most prominent leading role in a film was portraying the title character in Jason and the Argonauts. A majority of the cast were British, and Armstrong's voice and that of his co-star Nancy Kovack were dubbed by British actors, with Tim Turner voicing the character of Jason. Todd had only one additional leading role, in the 1965 World War II film King Rat, after which he receded to supporting parts in pictures such as Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, and gradually moved back into television work. His final credit as an actor was in Icebound in the Antarctic, portraying Raymond Shackleton.
Death
Armstrong "married a pianist and settled down in the Virgin Islands". In 1992, he suffered an injury while working, and soon became addicted to painkillers. After this, he killed himself by gunshot on November 17 of that same year. He was 55.Filmography
Armstrong appeared in the following film and television roles:- Manhunt as Detective Carl Spencer
- Walk on the Wild Side as Lt. Omar Stroud
- Five Finger Exercise as Tony Blake
- Jason and the Argonauts as Jason
- King Rat as Tex: The American Hut
- The Silencers as Guard
- Scalplock as Dave Tarrant. When the film became the television series The Iron Horse, Armstrong's original role was played by Gary Collins
- Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round as Alfred Morgan
- Winnetou and Old Firehand as Tom
- A Time for Killing as Lt. 'Pru' Prudessing
- Gunsmoke as John Wing / John August
- Nakia
- Hawaii Five-O as Curt Anderson
- The Greatest American Hero as Ted McSherry
- Shackleton as Raymond Shackleton