Rest In Peace

Tucker then was cast as "Professor" Harold Hill by director Da Costa in the national production of The Music Man, and he played the role 2,008 times over the next five years, including a 56 week run at the legendary Shubert Theatre in Chicago. Following his "Music Man" run, Tucker starred in the Broadway production of Fair Game for Lovers (1964) and then turned to television for his most famous role, starring as frontier capitalist Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke in F Troop (1965 - 1967). Though the network run on ABC lasted only two seasons, the series has been in constant syndication since, reaching three generations of viewers. {Ironically enough two of his Gunsmoke episodes feature Tucker in his cavalry uniform again, as another comic sergeant, "Sgt. Emmett Holly"-who in one scene "marries" Miss Kitty!} Following F Troop, Tucker returned to films in character parts (Barquero and Chisum, both 1970) and occasional leads (1975's The Wild McCullochs). On television Tucker was a frequent guest star, including a total of six appearances on Gunsmoke and the recurring role of Jarvis Castleberry, Flo's estranged father on the 1976-1985 TV series, Alice and its spinoff, Flo. Tucker was a regular on three series after F Troop: Dusty's Trail (1973) with Bob Denver; The Ghost Busters (1975-76) which reunited him with F Troop co-star Larry Storch; and Filthy Rich playing the second Big Guy Beck. (1982-83). He continued to be active on stage as well, starring in the national productions of "Plaza Suite", "Show Boat", and "That Championship Season". Tucker returned to the big screen after an absence of several years in 1986, playing the hero, trucker Charlie Morrison, in Cannon's action film Thunder Run (1986). Unfortunately, Tucker's feature film comeback was short-lived, as he died from lung cancer on October 25, 1986, five months after the film's theatrical release. He was 67 years old. Tucker is interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.