Peter's  genetic heritage and physical conditioning put his biological age pretty much on par with the beginning of  the baby boomer crowd.  In any event, the image created in the magazines is of Peter as a true baby boomer product of the 1960's and 70's.   That is, Peter is portrayed as a person who during the Age of Aquarius searched for self-awareness through meditation, the study of Oriental philosophies, metaphysics and other roads to enlightenment but who was also part of the sexual revolution.  He's been married four or five times with a number of extended [and not so extended] relationships in between.  He has a friendship with Hugh Hefner,  a key to the Playboy Mansion and photo layout in Oui.  With Peter there was never a hint of any drug abuse or the kind of alcohol excesses that Edd Byrnes, one of his friends in the early TV years,  talked about in his autobiography, but it is suggested that he led an active social life.  [And of course, as baby boomers ourselves, we would greet with disbelief any claim of abstention from the then ubiquitous social use of marijuana by a party boy like Peter.]   Around the time of Troy Donahues death (Troy had some serious abuse problems) we asked Peter how he avoided being caught up with the substance abuse that caught up many of his friends.  He just told us he never had any interest in that stuff.

The facts below are what we think we know.   We'd prefer Peter  write his own bio [following the pretty decent  autobiographical example of his long time friend Ann-Margret, not the fairly unreadable  example set by Edd "Kookie" Byrnes] but he hasn't so we'll just lay any inaccuracies at his door.  We do have opportunities to ask Peter questions but have never wanted to waste those times asking "none of our business" questions about his personal life.  So we've stuck to things he's made public previously.  There are other things he's mentioned that we don't think were intended for publication so you won't find those things here either.

THE STANDARD BIO FACTS:

Hair:  Dark brown    Eyes:  Hazel   Height:  6 ft  (Some of the early publicity bios, especiallly around the time of Lawman list his height at 6'1".  Although we won't quibble about an inch, the later bios list him a quite perfect  feet even which appears to be more accurate.  Peter's Laredo costar William Smith is "only" 6'2" and he definitely has those couple of inches on Peter.  Peter told us he's happy with a nice even six feet.)
[Totally irrelevant note: according to the recent census, October 5 is the most common birthday in the United States.]

Peter was born in New York as Pierre de Lappe, the second of four brothers, Philip, Pierre [Peter], Michael and Paul.  He took the name Brown from his stepfather Albert "Bud" Brown.  (His biological father died when he was four.)   Peter's first model in show business was his mother,  Mina Reaume, a radio and stage actress.  Between the ages of seven and nine, he appeared on children's radio shows, playing small parts as elves, fairies, etc.  His family relocated to the West coast, where he spent a significant portion of his youth involved in sports including horseback riding.

Peter became involved in acting as an adult while stationed  in Alaska with the Second Infantry Division from.  USO shows were infrequent so Peter organized a drama group which put on a couple of dozen shows during his stay.   Peter performed as an actor in all of the plays and directed some of them.

After his discharge from the army, Peter enrolled in a summer session as a drama student at UCLA.   He planned to enter an Eastern drama school but was advised by a teacher that he had the talent, the looks and the drive to warrant staying on in Los Angeles for at least a year to try his luck in films.  After a couple of parts in plays put on at the Horseshoe Theater [Desire Under the Elms] and the Gallery Theater [Teach Me How to Cry], he was hired by Albert McCleery to appear in four productions of NBC Matinee Theater.

While pursuing acting work, Peter got a night job at a gas station on the Sunset Strip.  He had a polite but enthusiastic spiel he used on anyone who might have a movie or TV connection.  One evening Jack Warner came in for gas.  According to Peter, when he saw the credit card with the name Jack L. Warner, he asked him, "Are you one of the Warner brothers?"  He responded, "I'm the only one left."  Whatever pitch Peter made to him apparently worked.  Solly Baiano, the head of new talent at Warner Bros. called Peter at the gas station the next day and said, "I don't know who you know, but I have orders to give you a screen test."

Peter was signed as a Warner's contract player on the strength of the test and shortly thereafter  landed a very nice role in the Warner Bros. film Darby's Rangers (1958). However, according to Peter he actually got his SAG card (Screen Actors Guild) in the 1957 Warner Bros/Jack Webb/Defense Dept. propaganda film Red Nightmare (a cult favorite under the title The Commies Are Coming, The Commies Are Coming). Peter made multiple appearances in several of the Warner's TV Westerns [see our Peter Brown Westerns Index].  A part as a sailor in the 1958 film Onionhead impressed producer Jules Schermer.  The part was cut out of the movie [he does not appear at all in the video version we have despite the fact that his name appears fairly prominently in the credits].  However,  when Schermer was given his pick of young contract players for the youthful Deputy Johnny McKay in Lawman, Peter got the job.  Lawman debuted on Peter's birthday on October 5, 1958 and ran for four seasons.

Peter credits Lawman costar John Russell and the show itself with giving him much of his education in television acting.  By all accounts, it was the dedication of the two stars which made Lawman the superior show that it was.  Warner Bros. was not known for extravagant spending on its TV productions.  Everything was filmed on the back lot  Sometimes the filming of the  many western productions almost overlapped as they used and reused the same sets.  Scripts written for one show were rewritten and reused for other shows.  It took determination on the part of the actors to maintain the integrity of the characters in the face of constantly changing writers and directors.  Apparently the two stars decided early on to present a united front when it came to protecting the quality of the show.  Peter especially  was recognized for his dedication to his craft.  He diligently honed his skills, not only in acting but in gun handling and riding.  [For more on Lawman see our Lawman Fan Site and illustrated episode guide.]

Warners squeezed everything it could out of its actors -- personal appearances [for which Warners reportedly took half the recompense] , recordings [for Warners only], photo dates with [Warners] starlets, etc.  Peter as the youngest and most attractive of the Warners western stars had a special appeal to young females from preteens on up.  He made personal appearances all over the country and received a goodly amount of fan mail.  In her autobiography, Ann-Margret, who dated Peter when she first came to Hollywood, said that one of the things she always remembered and admired about him was how wonderful he was to his fans.  [Ann-Margret also credited Peter with giving her her "first introduction to the glitter and hoopla of Hollywood" by taking her to Hollywood parties and premieres.  Later, it was Peter who introduced her to Roger Smith, the man who was later to become her husband in one of the most successful marriages in Hollywood.]  Peter did not join other Warners stars such as Clint Walker, Edd Byrnes, James Garner and Wayde Preston who staged job actions of various kinds, although anyone familiar with the treatment Warners accorded its stars would not have blamed him had he done so.

It was just before Lawman debuted that Peter married his first wife, actress Diane Jergens on September 6, 1958.  The marriage lasted less than a year, which left Peter free to introduce Ann-Margret to the glitter of Hollywood when she made her entrance into the acting world.

The Universal series Laredo lasted only two seasons but is fondly remembered by many Westerns fans.  [See our Laredo home page and illustrated episode guide.]  At some point around the Laredo years Peter married cover-girl Sandra Edmundson with whom he had his first son, Matthew in 1966.  [Peter & Matthew photos]

One of our favorite photos
from Afternoon TV Stars 9-74

For the full article containing this picture Click Here

At present, Peter has his own production company and also continues to make appearances in both prime time TV [most recently in a spring 2000 episode of JAG] and films.  He makes fairly frequent appearances at collectors shows, particularly those oriented to Westerns fans.  [No baby boomer Westerns fan can do better than catching Peter at a show with long-time buddies Robert Fuller and William Smith.  And we note that he's just as gracious to fans now as Ann-Margaret found him to be 40 years ago.]  Peter continues to be involved in celebrity charity sporting events [tennis, golf, cowboy mounted shooting and rodeo] and travels a lot.  [See our What's Up page for updates on appearances and our Snapshots page for pictures of past events.]