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![]() ![]() Above left: Peter Lawford as Ellery Queen. Above right: Lawford with Inspector Queen played by Harry Morgan in Ellery Queen, Don't Look behind You. In 1971 when Universal Pictures prepared a 2 hour pilot for a new series Ellery Queen, Don't Look Behind You Lawford played Ellery Queen as an overaged, mod "Swinging London" hipster... "I play Ellery with a certain lightness. He's a good deal like Nick Charles in our old Thin Man series" said Lawford. "Ellery is as presentable as anything that's been on this fall" he added just before flying off to Puerto Vallara, Mexico, to marry young Mary Rowan daughter of Laugh-In's Dan Rowan. "There is a vague possibility Ellery Queen could go on as a series next year, but I doubt it," said Lawford in an interview in 1971. "There are too many crime and mystery shows on the air as it is." (Nov 16. 1971). The series was never to be. He had a recurring role on The Doris Day Show from 1971 to 1973 as the love interest to Day's character. He also appeared on screen as a co- host of the 1974 M-G-M hit That's Entertainment, in which musical highlights from the studio's first decades were woven into a feature film. In 1972, Lawford had surgery to remove a pancreatic tumor. By that time, he was in ill health as a result of long-time alcoholism. |
![]() ![]() Above left: Lawford married Mary Rowan in October 1971 when she was one day shy of 22 years of age; Lawford was 48. They separated in 1973 and divorced Jan 1975. Above right: In June 1976, at age 52, he married aspiring actress Deborah Gould, 25, whom he had known for only three weeks. They separated only two months after marrying and divorced in 1977. |
Rowan and Lawford separated in 1973 and divorced in January 1975. In June 1976, at age 52, he married aspiring actress Deborah Gould, 25, whom he had known for only three weeks. They separated only two months after marrying and divorced in 1977. During his separation from Gould, Lawford met 18-year-old Patricia Seaton. His last role was as Montague Chippendale in Where Is Parsifal? (1983). Patricia became his fourth and final wife in July 1984, two months before his death. |
![]() ![]() Above left: During his separation from Gould, Lawford met 18-year-old Patricia Seaton (1977). Above right: Patricia became his fourth and final wife in July 1984, two months before his death. |
In his last years, he would write letters to JFK as if he had an audience to
heaven. He struggled with alcoholism, drug abuse, prostitutes and kinky sex, all
through his life. In the end, he spent much of his time in the Betty Ford clinic
trying to recover. Lawford died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve 1984, aged 61, from cardiac arrest. He had suffered from kidney and liver failure after years of substance abuse. His body was cremated, and his ashes were interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Allegedly owing to a dispute between his widow and the cemetery, Lawford's ashes were removed from the cemetery in 1988 and scattered into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California by his widow, Patricia Seaton Lawford, the National Enquirer provided the boat in exchange for the scoop. A plaque bearing Lawford's name was erected at Westwood Village Memorial Park. |
![]() References (1) Wikipedia (2) IMDb (3) Peter Lawford editoral at Craig's Big Bands & Big Names (4) Obituary New York Times by Eric Pace, Dec 25, 1984 (5) 'They're bullies and they treat their women like crap': One former Kennedy wife tells of Robert Kennedy's come-ons, JFK's stealing, and the family's philandering Mail Online by Daily Mail Reporter, May 27. 2012 (6) Book Review: Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets by Laura Grande, Jun 25. 2013 (7) Marilyn and the Lawfords by Tara Hanks at Immortal Marilyn, 2015 (8) The Passing of Peter Lawford Rekindles Memories of the Joys and Sadness of a Camelot Lost at People.com by Malcolm Boyes, Jan 14. 1985 (9) Peter, Peter, Peter article by TJB on Stirred, Straight Up with a twist, published Sep 7, 2008 (10) Radiogoldindex (11) OTRRpedia Additional video & audio sources (1) Old Time Radio Downloads (2) The Peter Lawford & Patricia Kennedy Wedding, Youtube, HelmerReenberg (3) Peter Lawford & Patricia Kennedy - Wedding Party April 24, 1954 Youtube HelmerReenber (4) Lawford-Kennedy Wedding (1954) Youtube, British Pathé (5) Easter Parade Youtube Clip Peter Lawford and Judy Garland |
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Page first published on Aug 6. 2017 Last updated Jul 25, 2020 |
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