A ruggedly handsome action man of the 1960's and 70's, Steve Forrest began his screen career as a small part contract player with MGM. A brother of star Dana Andrews, he was born William Forrest Andrews, the youngest of thirteen children. His father was a Baptist minister in Huntsville, Texas. In 1942, Steve enlisted in the U.S. Army, rose to the rank of sergeant and saw action at the Battle of the Bulge. Following his demobilisation, he visited his brother in Hollywood and came to the conclusion that acting wasn't a bad way to make a living (having already done some work as a movie extra). He went on to study in college at UCLA, eventually graduating in 1950 with a B.A. Honours Degree in theatre arts. He then served a brief apprenticeship as a carpenter, prop boy and set builder at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse, where he was discovered by resident actor Gregory Peck and given a small part as a bellboy in the cast of the summer stock production of "Goddbye Again". A subsequent screen test led to a contract with MGM and resulting employment as second leads, brothers of the titular star, toughs and outlaws. His first proper recognition was being awarded 'New Star of the Year' by Golden Globe for his role in So Big (1953), a drama based on a Pulitzer prize-winning novel by Edna Ferber.
From the mid-1950's, the rangy, 6-foot-3 actor became much in-demand on TV, beginning with classic early anthology and western series, interspersed with occasional appearances on the big screen (notably, in The Longest Day (1962) and as Joan Crawford's lover/attorney Greg Savitt in Mommie Dearest (1981)). In addition to numerous guest roles, he was regularly featured in series like Gunsmoke (1955), Dallas (1978) (as Wes Parmalee, who believes himself to be lost Ewing patriarch Jock) and Murder, She Wrote (1984). Already from the mid-60's, he decided to pick his assignments more carefully. In order to shed his image as the perpetual bad guy, he had relocated his family to England to star as antique-dealer-cum-undercover intelligence agent John Mannering in BBC's The Baron (1966). He followed this by another starring role as the stoic, tough Lieutenant Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson in the short-lived ABC police drama series S.W.A.T. (1975), possibly his best-remembered role. Steve later lampooned his screen personae in the satirical Amazon Women on the Moon (1987).
In private life, Steve Forrest was known as a skilled golfer, lover of football and (according to 1970's newspaper articles) as a dedicated amateur beekeeper.
as Capt. Harding in The Longest Day (archive footage) (uncredited)
as S.W.A.T. Truck Driver
as Warden Charles Casey
as Judge Quentin Murdoch
as Eden Pilott(1 ep)
as Will Mannon
as Captain Nelson (segment "Amazon Women on the Moon")
as Leonard Bey(1 ep)
as General Sline
as Ross Conti(3 eps)
as Rev. Willie John Fargo(1 ep)
as Sheriff Hank Masters(1 ep)
as Lt. Paul Stratton(1 ep)
as Captain Ned Larkin(1 ep)
as Max Teller(1 ep)
as James Osborne(1 ep)
as Gordon
as Rich Bradley
as Tom Hunter
as Gil Strider(1 ep)
as James Kent(3 eps)
as Greg Savitt
as Col. Atherton(2 eps)
as Paul Marshall
as Gus Garver(2 eps)
as Conrad Hunter
as Lou Brackett
as Hawkeye
as David Birk
as Wes Parmalee(12 eps)
as Ben Stivers(3 eps)
as Jordan Montgomery(1 ep)
as Hawkeye
as Martin Eaton(3 eps)
as Charlie Siringo
as Lt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson(37 eps)
as Randall McCoy
as Self(2 eps)
as Samson Toey(1 ep)
as James Devlin
as Quail(1 ep)
as Self(1 ep)
as State Police Officer
as Narrator
as John Mannering 'The Baron'
as John Mannering 'The Baron'
as Andrew Alcott(1 ep)
as Mark Erickson(1 ep)
as Sam Yeager(1 ep)
as Big Fred McCain(1 ep)
as Jim Hatch
as Jim Tanner
as Grant Wilson (segment "Hatred Unto Death") (as Stephen Forrest)(2 eps)
as Don Finletter(1 ep)
as Dr. Eric Canford(1 ep)
as Narrator
as Willard North
as Jr. Narrator
as A.J. Ward(1 ep)
as Walter Royce(1 ep)
as Johnny Rondo(1 ep)
as John Mannering(30 eps)
as Lee Barrington(1 ep)
as David Buchanan(1 ep)
as Mike Taggart(1 ep)
as Jocko Creighton(1 ep)
as Barry Craft(1 ep)
as Hubbard "Hub" Wiley
as Capt. Harding
as Roger Layton(1 ep)
as James Templeton(1 ep)
as Dan Jones
as Clint Burton
as Paul Keller
as Clint Mabry
as Robert Gaines(1 ep)
as Major Anderson(1 ep)
as Dan Logan(1 ep)
as Larry Hall
as Terry Matthews
as Matt Bowers
as Mike Bagley(1 ep)
as Steve Forrest (uncredited)
as Steve Archer(1 ep)
as Joe Rogers(1 ep)
as Mannon(1 ep)
as Morgan(1 ep)
as Cord Wrecken(1 ep)
as Scott Coltrane(1 ep)
as Gregory Fitzgerald
as Ben(1 ep)
as Pete Mayer(1 ep)
as Tom Gardener(1 ep)
as Eddie Kelvaney
as Cpl. Joseph Robert Stanton
as Prof. Paul Dupin
as Reporter (uncredited)
as Dirk De Jong
as Lobo Nagalaski
as Mark Carter(1 ep)
as Passenger on Train (uncredited)
as Photographer on Crane (uncredited)
as Lt. Floyd (uncredited)
as Young Man
as Actor in Georgia's Screen Test (uncredited)
as Rocky Wilson (as William Andrews)
as Eddie Martin(1 ep)
as Sam Rayford(1 ep)
as Harpenning Brothers(1 ep)
as Holtz
as Matt Barker(1 ep)
