Reel Memories No. 168- 2/24/2011

REEL MEMORIES NO. 168

Joseph  P. Breck

by

William V. Reynolds

Joseph P. Breck, the son of jazz musician “Jobie” Breck, was born March 13, 1929 in Rochester, New York. Nicknamed “Buddy,” Joseph was sent to live with his grandparents in Haverhill, Massachusetts while his parents were on the road. When his parents divorced, he went back to Rochester to live with his mother and her new husband, Al Weber, editor of the Rochester-Times Union.

After graduating from John Marshall High School in Rochester, he served in the U.S. Navy. Completing his naval career, he went back to school and studied English and drama at the University of Houston in Houston. He also had a talent for singing and performed in several clubs in the Houston area.

In 1957 Robert Mitchum was watching George Bernard Shaw’s play, “The Man of Destiny,” at Washington DC’s Arena theater. Buddy, who was performing in the play, impressed him so much that Mitchum offered him a part, uncredited, in his upcoming movie, Thunder Road (1958), which was about Tennessee moonshiners. Mitchum later helped him move to Hollywood and become established.

His movie career was not exactly stellar. He appeared in Black Saddle (1959) and The Beatnik’s (1960), and Lad: A Dog (1962), an outdoor family drama. After a time in television, buddy appeared in films such as Terminal City Ricochet (1990), Highway 61 (1991), Decoy (1995), and Enemy Action (1999).

Buddy’s big break came in the late 1950s when Warner Bros. Television signed him to a long-running contract. He first gained fame as “Doc Holliday” in the long-running TV series Maverick. During this period he also appeared in The Roaring 20s (1960), Sugar Foot (1957), Surfside Six (1960), Bronco (1958), Hawaiian Eye (1959), 77 Sunset Strip (1958), and Cheyenne (1955).

But Buddy’s most outstanding role was still to come. In 1965 he joined the cast of a TV show called, The Big Valley. Playing opposite Barbara Stanwyck, one of his favorite actresses as a teenager in the 1940s, he became best known as Nick Barclay, the son of Victoria Barclay (Barbara Stanwyck). This character was quick-tempered and ready to fight at the drop of a hat.

Today Buddy lives in Canada where he writes a column for a wild west magazine. According to his wife, he is in good health although he suffers from dementia.

Here’s a reel memories salute to Joseph Peter Breck, a.k.a. Peter Breck, a.k.a. Nick Barclay.

William V. Reynolds is the author of “Murder in the Okefenokee” available at The Curiosity Shop in Murphy, McCaysville Market Place Whistle Stop and Pat’s Country Kitchen in McCaysville; Parris Pharmacy, The Book Nook and Ingles in Blue Ridge; Book Nook in Blairsville; and Phillips and Lloyd in Hayesville.