John Daugherty Stephens, better known as Steve Brodie, was born on November 25, 1919, in El Dorado, Kansas. He grew up in Wichita, where he developed a passion for racing cars, boxing, and working on oil rigs to make a living. Initially, he considered a career in criminal law, but after toiling as a property boy, he turned to acting instead.
Brodie's early work was in summer stock, and he eventually changed his stage name to Steve Brodie. He moved to New York, but it wasn't until he relocated to Los Angeles that he started to gain recognition. He was spotted by an MGM talent scout in a Hollywood theatre production called "Money Girls" and landed his first film role in Universal's "Ladies Courageous" (1944).
Brodie's breakthrough came when he was signed by RKO, where he established himself as a heavy in westerns, starring in films like "Badman's Territory" (1946) and "Return of the Bad Men" (1948). He also appeared in three film noir classics: "Desperate" (1947),"Crossfire" (1947),and "Out of the Past" (1947).
Brodie married "B" actress Lois Andrews in 1946, but they divorced four years later. He married Barbara Savitt, the widow of bandleader Jan Savitt, in 1950, and they had a son, Kevin Brodie, who would later become a producer/director. The couple divorced in 1966.
As his interest waned at RKO, Brodie began freelancing, appearing in films like "Rose of the Yukon" (1949),"Armored Car Robbery" (1950),and "Lady in the Iron Mask" (1952). He also worked in low-budget films, including "I Cheated the Law" (1949),"The Great Plane Robbery" (1950),and "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (1953).
Brodie continued to work in film and television throughout the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in westerns like "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (1955) and "Gunsmoke" (1955),as well as comedies like "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (1952). He also made sporadic appearances in the 1970s, including a lead role in the campy horror film "The Giant Spider Invasion" (1975).
Brodie married a third time in 1973, to Virginia Hefner, and they had a son, Sean. He died on January 9, 1992, at the age of 72, due to esophageal cancer and heart problems, at a hospital in West Hills, California.
