Jimmy Carter Man from Plains
2007 · Movie
as Self
Steve Cochran
1917-05-25
•
Eureka, California
He is perhaps best remembered for his role of Big Ed Somers, the power hungry gangster pal of James Cagney in "White Heat" (1949). Born Robert Alexander Cochran in Eureka, California, he was the son of a California lumberjack, who moved the family to Wyoming in the 1920s, where Cochran grew to adulthood. After graduating from the University of Wyoming in 1939, Cochran began working steadily as a Wyoming cowboy, while developing his acting skills working in summer stock and regional theaters and gradually moving on to Broadway. In 1945, he signed with MGM, and for the next several years, played mostly secondary roles as gangsters or boxers. He made his film debut with "Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion" (1945) and quickly followed with "Wonder Man" (1945). Released from his contract in 1948, he returned to Broadway where he worked with Mae West; the next year he signed on with Warner Brothers, where he earned leading roles in such films as "The Damned Don't Cry" (1950), "Highway 301" (1950) and "Tomorrow is Another Day" (1951). Warner Brothers often had him playing the villain in several of its western films, such as "Dallas" (1950), and "Back to God's Country" (1953). With the end of his contract in 1953, he began his own film company, Robert Alexander Productions, while also freelancing for other studios and moving on to guest star roles on television shows. He would show up in such television shows as Death Valley Days, Burke's Law, The Untouchables, Naked City, The Twilight Zone, Route 66, and The Virginian. A notorious womanizer, Cochran was married and divorced three times, and was often in the Hollywood tabloids reportedly having affairs with such actresses as Mae West, Jayne Mansfield, Joan Crawford, Merle Oberon, Ida Lupino and Mamie Van Doren. Cochran died under mysterious circumstances. In May 1965, Cochran had revived his production company, and together with three women, whom he had hired as his assistants, boarded his 40-foot yacht to travel to Central and South America to look for filming locations. On June 25, 1965, the yacht drifted into Port Champerico, Guatemala, with three alive but very distraught women aboard and the body of Steve Cochran, who had died ten days earlier. The women did not know how to operate the boat, and were dependent upon its drifting to shore after his death. There were numerous rumors of murder and poisoning, and actress / former lover Merle Oberon used her influence to push for further police investigation, but no evidence of foul play was ever determined. The official cause of his death was given as Acute Infectious Edema (lung infection).
Filmography
Tell Me In The Sunlight
1965 · Movie
as Dave
Mozambique
1964 · Movie
as Brad Webster
No image
Mr. Broadway
1964 · TV Show
Of Love and Desire
1963 · Movie
as Steve Corey
Burke's Law
1963 · TV Show
as St. John Carlisle, Fletcher Seamway, Phil Ross
The Virginian
1962 · TV Show
as Jamie Dobbs
Stoney Burke
1962 · TV Show
The Deadly Companions
1961 · Movie
as Billy Keplinger
Bus Stop
1961 · TV Show
Route 66
1960 · TV Show
The Beat Generation
1959 · Movie
as Dave Culloran
I, Mobster
1959 · Movie
as Joe Sante
The Big Operator
1959 · Movie
as Bill Gibson
The Twilight Zone
1959 · TV Show
as Fred Renard
Quantrill's Raiders
1958 · Movie
as Captain Alan 'Wes' Westcott
Naked City
1958 · TV Show
as Niccolo Mori
Il Grido
1957 · Movie
as Aldo
Slander
1957 · Movie
as H.R. Manley
The Weapon
1956 · Movie
as Mark Andrews
Fremont: The Trailblazer
1956 · Movie
as John C. Fremont
Come Next Spring
1956 · Movie
as Matt Ballot
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956 · TV Show
as Marshal Cam Tolby
Private Hell 36
1954 · Movie
as Police Sgt. Cal Bruner
Carnival Story
1954 · Movie
as Joe Hammond
Climax!
1954 · TV Show
as Ralph Leslie, Jack Rice
Back to God's Country
1953 · Movie
as Paul Blake
The Desert Song
1953 · Movie
as Captain Claude Fontaine
She's Back on Broadway
1953 · Movie
as Rick Sommers
Shark River
1953 · Movie
as Dan Webley
General Electric Theater
1953 · TV Show
as Drogo
Letter to Loretta
1953 · TV Show
as Joe
The Lion and the Horse
1952 · Movie
as Ben Kirby
Operation Secret
1952 · Movie
as Marcel Brevoort
Storm Warning
1951 · Movie
as Hank Rice
Tomorrow Is Another Day
1951 · Movie
as Bill Clark / Mike Lewis
Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison
1951 · Movie
as Chuck Daniels
The Tanks Are Coming
1951 · Movie
as Francis Aloysius 'Sully' Sullivan
Raton Pass
1951 · Movie
as Cy Van Cleave
Jim Thorpe – All-American
1951 · Movie
as Peter Allendine
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · TV Show
The Damned Don't Cry
1950 · Movie
as Nick Prenta
Highway 301
1950 · Movie
as George Legenza
Dallas
1950 · Movie
as Bryant Marlow
No image
Lux Video Theatre
1950 · TV Show
as Luke Martens
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950 · TV Show
as Captain John Pringle
White Heat
1949 · Movie
as 'Big Ed' Somers
A Song Is Born
1948 · Movie
as Tony Crow
Studio One
1948 · TV Show
as Peter Hadley, Dan
Copacabana
1947 · Movie
as Steve Hunt
The Best Years of Our Lives
1946 · Movie
as Cliff Scully
The Chase
1946 · Movie
as Eddie Roman
The Kid from Brooklyn
1946 · Movie
as Speed McFarlane
Boston Blackie's Rendezvous
1945 · Movie
as Jimmy Casey
Wonder Man
1945 · Movie
as Ten Grand Jackson
Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion
1945 · Movie
as Jack Higgins
The Gay Senorita
1945 · Movie
as Tim O'Brien
