PETE DUELPete Duel's death on 31 December, 1971, at the age of 31 brought to an end an acting career that carried promise and potential.
His death at his own hands did not come as a surprise to those who had worked with him.
His unhappiness was well known, particularly after he had admitted to feeling envious of the character he portrayed on television in an interview just a few months earlier.
Peter Ellstrom Deuel was born in Rochester, New York on 24 February, 1940, and held ambitions of becoming a pilot as a child, before discovering he did not have the required 20/20 vision.
The son of a doctor, it was expected that he would follow in his father's footsteps.
But a love for the arts lead him to study English at St. Lawrence University in Canton in 1957, where he soon began acting in a number of the drama department productions.
Realising that his son cared more for acting than studying, his father suggested he leave university to pursue a career as an actor, moving initially to New York where he graduated from the American Theatre Wing, before travelling to Hollywood in 1963 to gain stardom.
Following a number of minor roles he received his big break in 1965 when he was cast in the comedy series "Gidget" opposite a young Sally Field , and a role in another sitcom, "Love on a Rooftop" followed a year later, resulting in a seven year contract with Universal Pictures.
Pete became frustrated by the roles he was securing, and a fear of being type-cast lead to him opting for dramatic guest starring roles in productions such as "The Psychiatrist", "The Bold Ones", "Ironside", and "Marcus Welby, M.D.", allowing him to display his versatility as an actor.
While making "Generation" in 1969 he officially changed his professional name to Pete Duel, and months later he was hired for his third TV series, "Alias Smith and Jones", a popular and succesful western adventure about two affable ex-outlaws, played by Duel and Ben Murphy, attempting to go straight in the old West.
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