Dark-haired and rugged with sensitive eyes, Stuart Whitman never became a superstar, but, particularly in the late 1950s and through the 60s, was an action hero of motion pictures and TV, thriving in "The Mark" (1961), for which he earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor, and in "Cimarron Strip" (CBS, 1967-1971), one of the last of the successful TV Westerns. Although reportedly worth more than $100 million thanks to investments, Whitman has continued to act, perhaps out of a genuine love of his craft, although the quality of his projects has varied.

In a career that has spanned nearly