L. Q. Jones


Actor

About

Also Known As
Justus E. Mcqueen
Birth Place
Beaumont, Texas, USA
Born
August 19, 1927

Biography

Tall, laconic character player of film and TV usually in Westerns, war films, and other tough guy fare so abundant in the 1950s and early 60s. Jones, who took his stage name from his first film role in Raoul Walsh's "Battle Cry" (1954), worked with some of the most celebrated figures in action filmmaking. Some career highlights include Don Siegel's "Flaming Star" (1960), a superior Elvis...

Family & Companions

Sue Helen Lewis
Wife

Biography

Tall, laconic character player of film and TV usually in Westerns, war films, and other tough guy fare so abundant in the 1950s and early 60s. Jones, who took his stage name from his first film role in Raoul Walsh's "Battle Cry" (1954), worked with some of the most celebrated figures in action filmmaking. Some career highlights include Don Siegel's "Flaming Star" (1960), a superior Elvis Presley Western; "Hell Is For Heroes" (1962), a brilliant WWII film starring Steve McQueen; and Sam Peckinpah's much admired "Ride the High Country" (1962), "The Wild Bunch" (1969), and "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973). Jones also appeared in such classic TV Westerns as "Rawhide" and "The Virginian."

Trying his hand at directing and screenwriting, Jones crafted the cult classic "A Boy and His Dog" (1975). Based on the award-winning novella by Harlan Ellison about a post-apocalyptic Earth where young men use telepathic (and much smarter) dogs to scavenge for food and women. Making good use of his small budget, Jones conveyed both the desperation and desolation of the setting by shooting in deserts and other isolated areas. Furthermore, he elicited a finely tuned performance from Don Johnson and gained some respectability by casting Jason Robards in a supporting role. Jones subsequently returned to acting, appearing in such features as, "Mother, Jugs & Speed" (1976), "Lone Wolf McQuade" (1982) and the Australian Western, "Lightning Jack" (1994).

Filmography

 

Director (Feature Film)

A Boy and His Dog (1974)
Director
The Devil's Bedroom (1964)
Director

Cast (Feature Film)

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Route 666 (2001)
The Jack Bull (1999)
The Patriot (1998)
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
The Edge (1997)
Tornado! (1996)
Ephram Thorne
The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage (1996)
Himself
Casino (1995)
Lightning Jack (1994)
Local Sheriff
The Legend of Grizzly Adams (1990)
River of Death (1989)
Red River (1988)
Bulletproof (1988)
Lone Wolf Mcquade (1983)
Timerider (1983)
Melanie (1983)
Buford
The Beast Within (1981)
The Buffalo Soldiers (1979)
Fast Charlie - The Moonbeam Rider (1978)
Standing Tall (1978)
Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free (1976)
White Line Fever (1976)
Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)
Winterhawk (1975)
The Strange and Deadly Occurrence (1974)
Sheriff Berlinger
Manhunter (1974)
Mrs. Sundance (1974)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
43, the Petty Story (1972)
Fireball Forward (1972)
The Bravos (1972)
Ben Lawler
The Hunting Party (1971)
Hog Warren
The Brotherhood of Satan (1971)
Sheriff [Pete]
The McMasters (1970)
Russell
The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
Taggart
The Wild Bunch (1969)
T. C.
Backtrack (1969)
Belden
The Counterfeit Killer (1968)
Hotel clerk
Stay Away, Joe (1968)
Bronc Hoverty
Hang 'Em High (1968)
Loomis
Major Dundee (1965)
Arthur Hadley
Apache Rifles (1964)
Mike Greer
Iron Angel (1964)
Showdown (1963)
Foray
Hell Is for Heroes (1962)
Sergeant Frazer
Ride the High Country (1962)
Sylvus Hammond
Cimarron (1960)
Millis
Flaming Star (1960)
Tom Howard
Ten Who Dared (1960)
Billy "Missouri" Hawkins
Warlock (1959)
Jiggs
Hound-Dog Man (1959)
Dave Wilson
Battle of the Coral Sea (1959)
Yeoman Halliday
The Young Lions (1958)
Private Donnelly
The Naked and the Dead (1958)
Wilson
Torpedo Run (1958)
"Hash" Benson
Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)
Pecos Hill
Operation Mad Ball (1957)
Ozark
Gunsight Ridge (1957)
Men in War (1957)
Sgt. Davis
Love Me Tender (1956)
Fleming
Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
Kenny
Toward the Unknown (1956)
Lt. Sweeney
Santiago (1956)
Digger
An Annapolis Story (1955)
Watson
Target Zero (1955)
Pvt. Felix O'Hara
Battle Cry (1955)
L. Q. Jones

Writer (Feature Film)

A Boy and His Dog (1974)
Screenwriter

Producer (Feature Film)

The Brotherhood of Satan (1971)
Producer
The Witchmaker (1969)
Executive Producer
The Devil's Bedroom (1964)
Producer

Music (Feature Film)

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Song Performer

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage (1996)
Other

Cast (Special)

The Patriot (1999)
Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron (1993)
Colorado C.I. (1978)

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

In Cold Blood (1996)
Wild Times (1980)
Louis L'Amour's The Sacketts (1979)
Attack on Terror (1975)

Life Events

1954

Feature acting debut, "Battle Cry" (credited as Justus E. McQueen), first collaboration with director Raoul Walsh

1962

First film with director Sam Peckinpah, "Ride the High Country"

1970

Feature producing debut, "Brotherhood of Satan", also appeared

1974

Feature directing and screenwriting debut, "A Boy and His Dog"

1982

Final film for six years, "Lone Wolf McQuade"

1988

Returned to features with "Bulletproof"

1994

Starred in the Australian western "Lightning Jack"

1995

Cast in Martin Scorsese's "Casino"

1997

Appeared in "The Edge" written by David Mamet

1998

Cast as Three-Fingered Jack in "The Mask of Zorro"

2006

Cast in Robert Altman's ensemble feature "A Prairie Home Companion," based on Garrison Keilor's radio program

Videos

Movie Clip

Trailer

Cimarron (1960) - (Original Trailer) A pioneer couple plays a major role in the settling of Oklahoma in Cimarron (1960), directed by Anthony Mann and starring Glenn Ford & Maria Schell.
Wild Bunch, The - (Original Trailer) A group of aging cowboys look for one last score in a corrupt border town in director Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969).
Major Dundee - (Original Trailer) A Union officer (Charlton Heston) leads Confederate prisoners against Apaches in Mexico in Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee (1965).
Young Lions, The - (Original Trailer) A Jewish soldier (Montgomery Clift) faces anti-Semitism when he enlists to fight World War II in The Young Lions (1958).
Ride the High Country - (Original Trailer) Two aging gunslingers (Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea) sign on to transport gold from a remote mining town in Ride the High Country (1962).
Love Me Tender - (Original Trailer) Elvis Presley in his first movie as one of three brothers turned outlaws in Love Me Tender (1956).
Naked and the Dead, The - (Original Trailer) A green lieutenant comes up against incompetent officers and a sadistic sergeant during World War II in The Naked and the Dead (1958), directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Aldo Ray.
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid - (Original Trailer) The legendary outlaw clashes with his former best friend, now the sheriff in director Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973).
Stay Away, Joe - (Original Trailer) A young Indian tries to save his failing reservation by selling grazing rights to a corrupt tycoon in Stay Away, Joe (1968), starring Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith and Joan Blondell.
Hell Is For Heroes - (Original Trailer) A small U.S. squadron holds off the Nazis in a desperate last stand in Don Siegel's Hell Is For Heroes (1962) starring Steve McQueen.

Family

Justice Ellis McQueen
Father
Pat McQueen
Mother
Marlin Randolph McQueen
Son
Marilyn Helen McQueen
Daughter
Steven Lewis McQueen
Son

Companions

Sue Helen Lewis
Wife

Bibliography