Jack Ging, the familiar character actor who has appeared on such shows as Tales of Wells Fargo, Mannix, Riptide, and The A-Team and had three films opposite Clint Eastwood, has died. He was 90.
Apache Ging, wife of the late actor Laurence “Ging” died Friday evening at their home in La Quinta, California.
Ging was a supporting player in the 1960s, notably with Diane Baker in a remake of Tess of the Storm Country (1960), as well as a soldier and reluctant hero near the end of the Korean War in Sniper’s Ridge (1961) and a clinical psychologist on The Eleventh Hour.
Ging also played one in Hang ‘Em High (1968), a doctor in Play Misty for Me (1971) and Morgan Allen, the mine owner (and lover of Marianna Hill’s character) in High Plains Drifter (1973).
In 1961, Ging was cast on NBC’s Tales of Wells Fargo as special agent Beau McCloud during the sixth and final season, appearing as Lt. Dan Ives, one of Joe Mannix’s (Mike Connors) go-to guys inside the LAPD on CBS’ Mannix from 1968 to 1974.
In the mid-’80s, he portrayed another cop, Ted Quinlan, on the NBC detective series Riptide. Afterward, he spent a year on NBC’s The A-Team as Gen. Harlan “Bull” Fulbright – an antagonist who slowly begins to realize that the show’s soldiers of fortunes were good guys.
Ging’s time with The A-Team ended when Fulbright took a bullet in the back during a rescue mission attempting to save his daughter . In his own words: “It was a kids show,” said Ging . “They shot 10 000 machine guns from every roof and threw bombs and grenades , but nobody ever got killed—except me ,” He joked about how wild it all was while still expressing some underlying resentment.
Jack Lee Ging was born on Nov. 30, 1931 in Alva, Oklahoma. He attended boarding school in Santa Fe, New Mexico and served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps before playing halfback for three seasons at the University of Oklahoma – helping the Sooners beat the top-ranked University of Maryland team in 1954’s Orange Bowl – and one season for Edmonton Eskimos’ Canadian Football League team respectively.
The 5-foot-10 Ging decided to become an actor after seeing Tyrone Power in movies. He studied with Sanford Meisner in New York and, in 1958, appeared on episodes of Mackenzie’s Raiders and Highway Patrol as well as in Leo McCarey’s Rally ‘Round the Flag, Boys.!
When the series expanded to one hour and went from black-and-white to color, he was brought in as a consultant for Tales of Wells Fargo.
Ging reflected on his time spent working with Dale Robertson, saying “I was just holding his horse. Anybody could have done that.” He broke his contract and as a result got suspended for six months. Ging primarily did television work, appearing as a guest star on many popular shows such as Bat Masterson, The Roaring 20’s, The Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Hawaii Five-O.
His film career began with Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959), Raymond Burr’s Desire in the Dust (1960), Fred Williamson’s That Man Bolt (1973), Ssss s s, (1973), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and Die Sister, Die! (1978).
Ging “routinely battled for sport and money,” according to the Los Angeles Times in 1985. His competitors included Dean Martin and James Garner — and other golfers whose bank accounts were far bigger than their fame.
He met Apache, an Oklahoman just like him, while filming Where the Red Fern Grows in 1973. They married five years later in 1978 and had six children together: Adam, Casey, Erin, Charlie, and Anna. He also leaves behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
