Guy Madison, the dashing American leading man, embarked on an unplanned film career, which eventually led to television stardom and a special place in the hearts of the Baby Boom generation. Before his rise to fame, Madison worked as a telephone lineman, but his life took a dramatic turn when he joined the Coast Guard at the onset of World War II.
During his liberty in Hollywood, he attended a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast, where he was spotted by an assistant to Henry Willson, an executive for David O. Selznick. Selznick was looking for an unknown sailor to play a significant role in Since You Went Away (1944),and he promptly signed Robert Moseley to a contract. Selznick and Willson created the screen name Guy Madison, a name that would become synonymous with the "guy" that girls would love to meet, and Madison, inspired by a passing Dolly Madison cake wagon.
Madison filmed his one scene on a weekend pass and returned to duty, but the film's release brought thousands of fan letters for his strikingly handsome young sailor. When the war ended, Madison found himself a rising star, despite his initial amateurishness in acting. He grew as a performer, studying and working in theatre, and went on to play leads in a series of programmers.
In 1951, Madison was cast as the legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok in the TV series Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, a role that he played on TV and radio for most of the 1950s. Many of the TV episodes were later strung together and released as feature films. During his time off from the series, Madison managed to squeeze in some more adult-oriented roles, but much of his work was also in westerns.
After the Hickok series ended, Madison found it challenging to find work in the U.S. and traveled to Europe, where he became a popular star of Italian westerns and German adventure films. In the 1970s, he returned to the U.S., but appeared mainly in cameo roles. Physical ailments limited his work in later years, and he passed away in 1996 due to complications from emphysema.
Madison's personal life was also marked by a notable marriage to actress Gail Russell.
