Ted Markland

The rugged-looking Ted Markland has appeared in countless films and television shows over his long career, most notably Westerns and neo-Westerns. Starting in the late '50s, he guest-starred on numerous series featuring men with 10- gallon hats and six-shooters, although he was no stranger to crime shows, either, including an appearance on the popular action series "Highway Patrol." During the late '60s, he started appearing in feature films and also landed his first recurring part, in "The High Chaparral," a Western set in Arizona ranching country; he played Reno, a young cowboy and frequent lookout. Following "The High Chaparral," he alternated between small-screen work and features, ncluding a part in the Oscar-winning drama "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in '75. He has also worked several times with director Walter Hill, whose films are often Westerns in spirit if not trappings (for example, Markland appeared in 1990's "Another 48 Hrs."). By the '80s, Markland had the reputation of a reliable character actor who could appear on any given television program in any given week, although he logged the most credits for "Simon & Simon" and "Father Murphy." For the latter, set in the 1870s frontier, he was in a handful of episodes as Frank, the villainous town boss's right-hand man.