“Dragnet,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Dallas,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” and “Gunsmoke” …

These are just some of the 110-plus old-time favorite TV shows that the late character actor Lew G. Brown starred in or appeared during his time on the small screen.

Brown, an Oklahoma native, was popular from the 1950s through the 1980s and began his career when TV was in its infancy, and when it was mostly Westerns. He was in “The Virginian,” “Rawhide,” and “Have Gun — Will Travel” and did his first “Gunsmoke” in 1956.

However, Brown is said to be best remembered for his portrayal of the tough Sgt. Shaeffer in “The Hell with Heroes” in 1968.

Sadly, Brown passed away in 2014, and as one obit stated: “Lew Brown, at 89 years young, gently passed Sunday morning July 27, 2014, at the VA Hospital La Jolla, CA. as unexpected raindrops fell from the clouds …”

Another obit in the LA Times dated Aug. 14, 2014, reads … “Character actor and Purple Heart recipient Lew Brown, 89, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 27 at the VA Hospital in La Jolla, California. Brown was a noted character actor and performed hundreds of roles on stage, radio, TV, and in movies. Among his credits are ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘Dragnet,’ ‘Days of Our Lives,’ and ‘Topaz.’ Lew is survived by his beloved wife Dee (Deanna) of 33 years and 8 children, 12 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, 2 brothers, 1 sister-in-law, 3 nieces, 2 nephews, and spouses.”

A LAD IN OKLAHOMA

Born in Goltry, Okla., on March 18, 1925, Brown came from a traditional working-class family that moved around a lot, according to Carolyn Krumanocker, a library technician with the Oklahoma Historical Society.

“In the 1900 Federal Census Woods County, Okla. it lists Sterling Brown and Mary, the father and mother of George S. Brown b. 1894. George S. Brown, the son was married to Marjorie Ballard in Alfalfa County, Okla.

“George S. Brown and Marjorie Ballard were the parents of Lew Gene Brown born in 1925,” she said.

She also noted that in the 1930 Kansas Census, George and Marjorie were in Kansas, and George was listed as a salesman with a publishing firm.

By 1940 it states in the 1940 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Census, father George S. was 45 and listed as an Adult Education Supervisor teacher along with Marjorie, 38, George S., Jr., 18, and Lew Gene, 15, Thomas, 3, and James, 3 ½.

“In 1950 it is recorded in the Grayson County, Texas Census, father George S. was  55, Marjorie, 48, Thomas, 18, and James 10. However, the soon-to-be actor Lew was gone from home.

But before acting in TV and films, Brown served his country as a Marine corporal in WWII on the Pacific Front, Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Iwo Jima, and other small islands and was awarded a Purple Heart from shrapnel in his neck.

HOLLYWOOD BOUND, BUT NYC FIRST

After WWII, it has been said he returned home to Norman, Okla., and graduated from Oklahoma University. He taught high school English literature in Ava, Mo. before moving to New York to begin his life work as a character actor.

Brown left the Big Apple for Hollywood in 1951 to work on stage and in TV and films. He came to California and under the G.I. Bill, he earned a degree in theatrical arts from UCLA and appeared as a leading man in stock companies.

It has been reported while he was at a dinner party at the famed Frank and Musso’s Restaurant, he was introduced to director Franklin J. Schaffner who was Impressed by Brown’s “dark good looks, charming voice, and physique…”

The director arranged for Brown to start a career in the TV industry, appearing in a supporting role in an episode of “Playhouse 90.”

Brown would go on to become a recognizable character actor appearing in more than 125 features; often typecast as everything from a husband to a father, doormen, soldiers, policemen, doctors, cowboys, and more.

He was also in many syndicated sitcoms including “Maverick,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Ben Casey,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Lassie,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” “Rawhide,” “The Fugitive,” “Perry Mason,” “It Takes a Thief,” “Death Valley Days,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Tim Conway Show,” “Ironside,” “Adam-12,” “Room 222,” “The Rookies,” “Night Gallery,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Bonanza,” “Columbo,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Banacek,” “Cannon,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Emergency!,” “Baretta,” “McCloud,” “Quincy, M.E.,” “The Waltons,” “Eight is Enough,” “Hart to Hart,” “Knots Landing,” “Hotel,” “Days of Our Lives,” and “Dallas,” to name a few.

He appeared in many feature films such as “Crime & Punishment, USA” (1959), “The Threat,” (1960), “Fitzwilly,” (1967), “Topaz” (1969), “Airport” (1970), “The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler” (1971), “The Man” (1972), “Breezy” (1973), “Gable and Lombard” (1976), “Grand Theft Auto” (1977), and “Portrait of a White Marriage” (1988).

FAMILY, COMMUNITY

Throughout his long career, various sites report Brown maintained membership at organizations such as the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, served as a chairman for his local charters of the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, and was at one time a magazine model for the Forbes Agency.

Brown was also a celebrity spokesman for A&P Supermarkets, a theatrical instructor at the Pasadena Playhouse, and a founding member of the Canyon Theatre Guild.

The actor was married to actress Toby Adler from 1967 to 1979 and before her death, they had a daughter, actress Shelly O’Neill. He was also married for 33-plus years to Dee “Deana” Brown.

LAST YEARS

Retired in 1990, he performed in one last film on Maui in the Swedish movie, “Gone to Maui” (his wife Dee had a small part). He spent his later years at autograph conventions, as well as charitable and religious ventures, until his death.

Upon his death. Brown had a military funeral at Fort Rosecrans, in San Diego on Aug. 15, 2014, and was cremated, his ashes given to family/friends. There was also a Masonic Service on Aug. 16, 2014, at the Scottish Rite Temple Event Center in San Diego.

Instead of flowers for his service, a donation in Lew’s name to the California Scottish Rite Foundation for the San Diego Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center was requested.

One memorial about Brown read: “His career shined brightly without too much notice but his legacy lives on as he is seen in all the countless reruns of his hundreds of works in both color and black and white! …”

Indeed.