Brett Halsey


Brett Halsey is an American former film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He appeared in B pictures and in European-made feature films. He originated the role of John Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.
Halsey is a great-nephew of the United States Navy Admiral William F. Halsey Jr., also known as Bull Halsey, commander of the Pacific Allied naval forces during World War II. Universal Pictures selected Brett Halsey's acting name from the admiral.

Career

Interested in acting since he was a child, young Brett was employed as a page at CBS Television studios, where he met Jack Benny and Benny's wife, Mary Livingstone, who presented him to William Goetz, the head of Universal Pictures, who placed him in a school with other aspiring actors for the studio.
Halsey served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, working as a disc jockey.
Halsey appeared as Swift Otter, a Cheyenne Indian in the 1956 episodes "The Spirit of Hidden Valley" and "The Gentle Warrior" of the CBS Western series, Brave Eagle. In that same year he played "Elser" in James Arness's TV Western series Gunsmoke. In 1958, Halsey guest-starred several times as Lieutenant Summers in Richard Carlson's syndicated Western series, Mackenzie's Raiders, a fictional account of cavalry Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, set at Fort Clark, Texas. That same year, Halsey had the lead role of a life-saving sailor in an episode of another syndicated series, Highway Patrol. He also appeared in Harbor Command, a military drama about the U.S. Coast Guard. He appeared as Robert Finchley in the 1958 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Cautious Coquette", and starred in the Roger Corman teen flick The Cry Baby Killer. In 1959, he had a co-starring role in the science-fiction film The Atomic Submarine. Halsey appeared in the episode "Thin Ice" in 1959 of Five Fingers.
Halsey played supporting and co-starring roles in Hollywood, having appeared in such films as Return of the Fly, Jet Over the Atlantic, The Best of Everything, Return to Peyton Place and Twice-Told Tales . By the early 1960s, he relocated to Italy where he found himself in demand in adventurous films such as Seven Swords for the King or The Avenger of Venice, being often cast a swashbuckling hero. He also appeared in a few Spaghetti Westerns and Eurospy films, including Espionage in Lisbon, Kill Johnny Ringo, Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!, All on the Red, Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven and Roy Colt and Winchester Jack, sometimes using the name Montgomery Ford.
He returned to the United States in the early 1970s and worked in film and television. He appeared in the serials General Hospital and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, and films such as Where Does It Hurt? with Peter Sellers. He had supporting roles in higher-profile films such as Ratboy and The Godfather Part III, and worked with Italian horror director Lucio Fulci on The Devil's Honey, Touch of Death, A Cat in the Brain and Demonia. He also appeared as the captain of a luxury space liner in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Cruise Ship to the Stars", and the Columbo episode "Death Lends a Hand". Later roles include Beyond Justice, starring Rutger Hauer, Expect No Mercy, and the TV movie Free Fall.

Personal life

In 1954, Halsey married Renate Hoy, an actress who had won the Miss Germany contest that year, and who appeared in such films as The Sea Chase with John Wayne. They had two children, son Charles Oliver Hand, Jr. and daughter Tracy Leigh. Halsey and Hoy divorced in 1959. As an adult, their son Charles, known as "Rock Halsey" and "Rock Bottom", was a member of the Los Angeles–based punk rock band Rock Bottom & The Spys. Charles was murdered in prison while serving a 25-year sentence for drug-related crimes.
From 1960 to 1962, Halsey was married to Italian actress Luciana Paluzzi. They had one son, Christian. In 1961, they co-starred as a newlywed couple in the film, Return to Peyton Place. In 1964, Halsey married the popular German actress and singer Heidi Brühl. They had two children, son Clayton Alexander Siegfried and daughter Nicole. They were divorced in 1976. Toward the end of the 1990s, Halsey moved to San José, Costa Rica, to teach film acting. He now resides in Laguna Hills with his fourth wife, Victoria, granddaughter of Alexander Korda. He writes and makes occasional film appearances.

Filmography

Film

The Glass Web as Lou, TBC Receptionist Ma and Pa Kettle at Home as Elwin KettleTo Hell and Back as SaundersHigh School Hellcats as Mike LandersThe Cry Baby Killer as Manny ColeLafayette Escadrille as Frank BayliesSpeed Crazy as Nick BarrowBlood and Steel as JimReturn of the Fly as Philippe DelambreThe Best of Everything as Eddie HarrisJet Over the Atlantic as Dr. VanderbirdThe Atomic Submarine as Dr. Carl Neilson Jr.The Girl in Lovers Lane as Bix DuganFour Fast Guns as Johnny NacoDesire in the Dust as Dr. Ned ThomasReturn to Peyton Place as Ted CarterThe Seventh Sword as Don Carlos di BazanThe Magnificent Adventurer as Benvenuto CelliniTwice-Told Tales as Giovanni GuascontiThe Avenger of Venice as Rolando CandianoBerlin, Appointment for the Spies as Bert MorrisEspionage in Lisbon as George Farrell, agent 077Kill Johnny Ringo as Johnny RingoCongress of Love as Stefan AbonyiAnyone Can Play as Norma's husbandToday We Kill... Tomorrow We Die! as Bill KiowaAll on the Red as Mike ChapmanWrath of God as Mike BarnettTwenty Thousand Dollars for Seven as Fred LeinsterRoy Colt & Winchester Jack as Roy ColtFour Times That Night as Gianni PradaWhere Does It Hurt? as Dr. Paolo QuagliomoThe Devil's Honey as Dr. Wendell SimpsonRatboy as Mr. ManesTouch of Death as Lester ParsonA Cat in the Brain as Human MonsterThe Godfather Part III as Douglas MichelsonDemonia as Professor Paul EvansBeyond Justice as Sal CuomoExpect No Mercy as BromfieldFirst Degree as Alonzo Galeno

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1956GunsmokeElserEpisode: "Helping Hand"
1957Highway PatrolBrian MeekerEpisode: "Temptation"
1958Perry MasonRobert FinchleyEpisode: "The Case of the Cautious Coquette"
1958Harbor CommandPaul GarlandEpisode: "Killer on My Doorstep"
1958Highway PatrolJim NewmanEpisode: "Breath of a Child"
1959Five FingersIban AhmedEpisode: "Thin Ice"
1961–1962Follow the SunPaul Templin30 episodes
1971ColumboKen ArcherEpisode "Death Lends a Hand"
1973Love is a Many Splendored ThingSpencer Garrison1 episode
1974Search for TomorrowClay Collins10 episodes
1977General HospitalDr. Adam Streeter3 episodes
1978Bionic WomanDr. Hamilton1 episode
1979Buck Rogers in the 25th CenturyCruise Ship CaptainEpisode "Cruise Ship to the Stars"
1979The Dukes of HazzardDunlapEpisode: "The Rustlers"
1980–1981The Young and the RestlessJohn Abbot #1
1982The Dukes of HazzardCarterEpisode: "Enos in Trouble"
1983Knight RiderClark Sellers1 episode
1984The Dukes of HazzardJason DillardEpisode: "Dukes in Hollywood"
1991CounterstrikeSenatorEpisode: "Native Warriors"-
1993Gregory KJudge Thomas S. KirkTV movie
1993Secret ServiceJohn Kinckley Sr.1 episode
1994TekWarFrederick Braymar1 episode
1994Kung Fu: The Legend ContinuesTom JacksonEpisode: "The Possessed"
1995Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch StorySen. Paul LaxaltTV movie
1995Kissinger and NixonSecretary of State William P. RogersTV movie
1995–1996Kung Fu: The Legend ContinuesCommissioner Kincaid5 episodes
1999Free FallChief of Security Tom MasonTV movie
2008Cold CaseRowland Hughes '081 episode