# Anthony Eisley

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American actor (1925–2003)

Anthony Eisley Eisley as Tracy Steele in 1961 Born Frederick Glendinning Eisley (1925-01-19)January 19, 1925 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Died January 29, 2003(2003-01-29) (aged 78) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Alma mater University of Miami Occupation Actor Years active 1950–1991 Spouse Judith Tubbs Eisley ​ ​ (m. 1951; died 1994)​ Children 4, including David Glen Eisley Relatives India Eisley (granddaughter)

**Anthony Eisley** (January 19, 1925 – January 29, 2003) was an American actor best known as one of the detective leads, Tracy Steele, in the [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company)/[Warner Brothers television](/source/Warner_Bros._Television_Studios) series *[Hawaiian Eye](/source/Hawaiian_Eye)*. Early in his career, he was credited as **Fred Eisley**[1] and later was sometimes billed as **Tony Eisley**.

## Biography

Born Frederick Glendinning Eisley in [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania), his father was a general sales manager for a large corporation.[2]

Following service in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy), he took drama classes at the [University of Miami](/source/University_of_Miami) in [Coral Gables](/source/Coral_Gables%2C_Florida), [Florida](/source/Florida).

## Stage work

He landed his first acting job in a Pennsylvania stock company production of *A Slight Case of Murder*. Eisley also acted in touring company productions of *[Mister Roberts](/source/Mister_Roberts_(play))*, *[Picnic](/source/Picnic_(play))*, and *[The Desperate Hours](/source/The_Desperate_Hours_(play))*.

## Early career

His first on-screen role was as a military policeman in the 1952 movie *[Fearless Fagan](/source/Fearless_Fagan)*. In 1953, he made his first appearance on television. In 1958, he was cast in the episode "The Trial" of the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War) drama *[Gray Ghost](/source/Gray_Ghost_(TV_series))* with [Tod Andrews](/source/Tod_Andrews). In 1957, Eisley played [Joe Foss](/source/Joe_Foss) in the episode "Jose Foss, Devilbird" of the military [television series](/source/Television_series) *[Navy Log](/source/Navy_Log)*. Eisley was in the 1959 [Roger Corman](/source/Roger_Corman) film *[The Wasp Woman](/source/The_Wasp_Woman)*,[2] which he described as "a hell of a lot of fun".

Eisley's big break was being discovered in a [Pasadena](/source/Pasadena%2C_California) production of *[Who Was That Lady?](/source/Who_Was_That_Lady%3F#Production)*, where he was signed to a contract with [Warner Bros.](/source/Warner_Bros.) In the days of [Tab Hunter](/source/Tab_Hunter), [Ty Hardin](/source/Ty_Hardin), and [Rock Hudson](/source/Rock_Hudson), Warner Bros. apparently did not want a [leading man](/source/Leading_man) with the name of "Fred" so the studio changed his first name to "Anthony". In 1959, Eisley played Carter Henry (as Fred Eisley), *[The Young Philadelphians](/source/The_Young_Philadelphians)* (1959).

### *Hawaiian Eye*

Eisley won the starring role as detective Tracy Steele in the 1959–1963 television series *[Hawaiian Eye](/source/Hawaiian_Eye)*. After scouts saw him in the 1959 play *Who Was That Lady?*, Warner Bros. signed him to a contract.[3] Eisley changed his name from Fred to Anthony at the request of the studio.[4] Eisley had thought he would play a comedian but [Warner Brothers Television](/source/Warner_Brothers_Television) placed him in a suave private eye role in *Hawaiian Eye*. Eisley left after the third season to be replaced by [Troy Donahue](/source/Troy_Donahue) as a hotel social director, Philip Barton.[2] In the two previous seasons, Donahue had portrayed the detective Sandy Winfield II, on another ABC/WB series, *[Surfside 6](/source/Surfside_6)*, set on a houseboat in [Miami Beach](/source/Miami_Beach%2C_Florida). Donahue was eleven years Eisley's junior.

When a *Los Angeles Times* television critic attacked *Hawaiian Eye*, Eisley penned a reply that was printed in the critic's column on December 7, 1960: "I too would like to see more food for thought on television. I have children whose viewpoints will be largely affected in certain areas by their many hours gazing at the one-eyed monster. But our world is solemn enough as it is. I'd hate to limit them -- or myself -- to a leisure-time diet devoid of laughter, adventure and romance."[5]

During his Warner Brothers period, Eisley appeared in one episode of Jack Webb's *[Pete Kelly's Blues](/source/Pete_Kelly's_Blues_(TV_series))* (1959) and in *[Portrait of a Mobster](/source/Portrait_of_a_Mobster)* (1961).

### Support of mandatory school prayer

In 1964, Eisley acted as master of ceremonies at a "Project Prayer" rally attended by 2,500 people at the [Shrine Auditorium](/source/Shrine_Auditorium) in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles). The gathering sought to flood the [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress) with letters in support of mandatory [school prayer](/source/School_prayer) following two decisions in 1962 and 1963 by the [United States Supreme Court](/source/United_States_Supreme_Court), which struck down mandatory school prayer as conflicting with the [Establishment Clause](/source/Establishment_Clause) of the [First Amendment to the United States Constitution](/source/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution).[6]

Eisley declared at the Project Prayer rally that the United States was facing "an ideological crisis. Movie stars and the stars of the entertainment world will tell you what you can do about it. Everything will be from the heart." Eisley was joined at the event by [Walter Brennan](/source/Walter_Brennan), on whose series *[The Real McCoys](/source/The_Real_McCoys)* he had once been a guest star, [Rhonda Fleming](/source/Rhonda_Fleming), [Lloyd Nolan](/source/Lloyd_Nolan), [Dale Evans](/source/Dale_Evans), [Pat Boone](/source/Pat_Boone), and [Gloria Swanson](/source/Gloria_Swanson). Eisley added that [John Wayne](/source/John_Wayne), [Ronald Reagan](/source/Ronald_Reagan), [Roy Rogers](/source/Roy_Rogers), [Mary Pickford](/source/Mary_Pickford), [Jane Russell](/source/Jane_Russell), [Ginger Rogers](/source/Ginger_Rogers), and [Pat Buttram](/source/Pat_Buttram) would also have attended the rally if their schedules had not been in conflict.[6]

Syndicated columnist [Drew Pearson](/source/Drew_Pearson_(journalist)) claimed in his "Washington Merry-Go-Round" column that Project Prayer had "backstage ties" to the [anti-Communist](/source/Anti-Communist) [John Birch Society](/source/John_Birch_Society). Pearson noted that the principal author of the prayer decisions, [Chief Justice](/source/Chief_Justice_of_the_United_States) [Earl Warren](/source/Earl_Warren), was a [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) former [Governor of California](/source/Governor_of_California) and that most mainline denominations had endorsed the Court's rulings.[6]

### Political views

Eisley supported [Barry Goldwater](/source/Barry_Goldwater) in the [1964 United States presidential election](/source/1964_United_States_presidential_election).[7]

## Later career

### Non-Hollywood American films

Eisley appeared as a Soviet agent in an Armed Forces training film *Espionage Target: You* made in 1964. In 1965, Eisley was cast as an attorney in an anti-pornography institutional film entitled "Printed Poison"; produced by the "Citizens For Decency" movement.

### Feature films

Eisley performed a memorable role in film as Griff in *[The Naked Kiss](/source/The_Naked_Kiss)* (1964), [Sam Fuller](/source/Sam_Fuller)'s controversial attack on alleged American small town hypocrisy.

Eisley co-starred as character Clint Braden, suitor to the [Nancy Kovack](/source/Nancy_Kovack) character of Nellie Bly, in the 1966 film *[Frankie and Johnny](/source/Frankie_and_Johnny_(1966_film))*. He also played Ben Mitchell in the 1968 musical film *[Star!](/source/Star!_(film))*.

### Television

Eisley guest-starred in an episode of the ABC religious drama series *[Going My Way](/source/Going_My_Way_(TV_series))* and in the title role of *The Outer Limits* episode *[The Brain of Colonel Barham](/source/The_Brain_of_Colonel_Barham)*. He appeared three times on [CBS](/source/CBS)'s *[Perry Mason](/source/Perry_Mason_(1957_TV_series))* during the final three seasons of that series. In his second guest appearance in 1964 he played murder victim Vince Rome in "The Case of the Missing Button." In the same year he appeared albeit briefly in a strong Series 3 episode of [Combat!](/source/Combat!), “The Gift Of Hope”.

He appeared six times in the 1967-1970 revival of *[Dragnet](/source/Dragnet_(series))*; in one segment he played a corrupt policeman and once he played an attempted murderer. During the eight-year run of ABC's *[The F.B.I.](/source/The_F.B.I._(TV_series))*, Eisley made 17 appearances as Special Agent in Charge Chet Randolph.

Eisley was a guest as a villain in an episode of *[The Wild Wild West](/source/The_Wild_Wild_West)*, with his former *Hawaiian Eye* co-star [Robert Conrad](/source/Robert_Conrad) and reunited with Conrad for *[A Man Called Sloane](/source/A_Man_Called_Sloane)*.

In 1970, he guest-starred in an episode of *[The Silent Force](/source/The_Silent_Force_(TV_series))*. In 1973, he appeared as Ross Nelson, newscaster at Mary's Channel 8 competition, in the Season 4 episode "WJM Tries Harder" on *[The Mary Tyler Moore Show](/source/The_Mary_Tyler_Moore_Show)*. He had appeared with [Mary Tyler Moore](/source/Mary_Tyler_Moore) years before in "The Lady and the Tiger and the Lawyer," a 1964 episode of *[The Dick Van Dyke Show](/source/List_of_The_Dick_Van_Dyke_Show_episodes)*.

### Schlock

Eisley became known as a cult [schlock](/source/Kitsch) star for his appearances in *[One Way Wahine](/source/One_Way_Wahine)* (1965), [Antonio Margheriti](/source/Antonio_Margheriti)'s [Eurospy](/source/Eurospy) film *[Lightning Bolt](/source/Lightning_Bolt_(film))* (1966) and *[The Navy vs. the Night Monsters](/source/The_Navy_vs._the_Night_Monsters)* (1966).

He starred in [David L. Hewitt](/source/David_L._Hewitt)'s *[Journey to the Center of Time](/source/Journey_to_the_Center_of_Time)* (1967), *[The Mighty Gorga](/source/The_Mighty_Gorga)* (1969), and *The Tormentors* (1971) as well as [Al Adamson](/source/Al_Adamson)'s *[Dracula vs. Frankenstein](/source/Dracula_vs._Frankenstein)* (1971) and [Ted V. Mikels](/source/Ted_V._Mikels)'s *[The Doll Squad](/source/The_Doll_Squad)* (1975). He appeared in other dubious delights such as [Oliver Drake](/source/Oliver_Drake_(filmmaker))'s *They Ran for Their Lives* (1968) and *[The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals](/source/The_Mummy_and_the_Curse_of_the_Jackals)* (1969), *The Killers* (1971) alongside [Cameron Mitchell](/source/Cameron_Mitchell_(actor)), *[Monstroid](/source/Monster_(1980_film))* (1980) and [Fred Olen Ray](/source/Fred_Olen_Ray)'s *[Deep Space](/source/Deep_Space_(film))* (1988).

## Personal life

Eisley was married to Judith Rogers Tubbs from March 1, 1951 until her death on January 9, 1994. The couple had four children: musician [David Glen Eisley](/source/David_Glen_Eisley), the father of [India Eisley](/source/India_Eisley); actor and stuntman Jonathan Erickson Eisley; Nan R. Eisley, an assistant to [Lawrence Kasdan](/source/Lawrence_Kasdan); and Amanda Eisley.

## Death

Anthony Eisley died of [heart failure](/source/Myocardial_infarction) on January 29, 2003, in [Woodland Hills, California](/source/Woodland_Hills%2C_California), at the age of 78.[8]

## Filmography

Year Title Role Notes 1952 Fearless Fagan MP Uncredited 1952 Operation Secret Maquis Uncredited 1957 The Gray Ghost Episode: "The Trial" 1957 Navy Log Joe Foss Season 3, Episode 13; "Joe Foss, Devilbird"; credited as "Fred Eisley" 1958 Onionhead Lt. Commander Uncredited 1959–1963 Hawaiian Eye Tracy Steele Leading role 1959 Pete Kelly's Blues Johnny Cassiano Supporting role 1959 The Young Philadelphians Carter Henry 1959 The Wasp Woman Bill Lane 1961 Portrait of a Mobster Legal Advisor 1964 The Dick Van Dyke Show Arthur Stanwyck Season 3, Episode 16; "The Lady and the Tiger and the Lawyer" 1964 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt Fred Uncredited 1964 The Naked Kiss Griff 1964 Espionage Target: You Nick Macrados Military training film 1965 One Way Wahine Chick Lindell 1966 Frankie and Johnny Braden 1966 Lightning Bolt Lt. Harry Sennet 1966 The Navy vs. the Night Monsters Lt. Charles Brown 1967 Journey to the Center of Time Mark Manning 1968 They Ran for Their Lives Doc Wright 1968 Star! Ben Mitchell 1969 The Witchmaker Victor Gordon 1969 The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals David Barrie 1969 The Mighty Gorga Mark Remington 1969 The Virginian (TV series) Tom Kendrick Season 8, Episode 15; "You Can Lead a Horse to Water" 1971 Dracula vs. Frankenstein Mike 1971 The Tormentors Lt. Connors 1971 The Killers Paul Ryan 1973 The Doll Squad Victor Connelly 1974 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Ross Nelson Season 4, Episode 16; "WJM Tries Harder" 1975 Half a House Jordan Blake 1980 Monstroid Pete 1988 Deep Space Dr. Rogers 1990 Evil Spirits Detective 1991 Lolita al desnudo Bryan Foster (final film role)

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- [Christianity portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Christianity)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-IBDB_1-0)** [Fred Eisley, aka Anthony Eisley](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/fred-eisley-103598) at IBDB

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-weaver_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-weaver_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-weaver_2-2) Weaver, Tom (1999). [*Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup*](https://books.google.com/books?id=L8PK4jszVDoC&q=eisley&pg=PP6). McFarland. pp. 129–142. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7864-0755-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7864-0755-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-montreal_3-0)** ["Anthony Eisley Is Signed Up By Warners"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7r8tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vpwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4275,1119602&dq=anthony+eisley&hl=en). *The Montreal Gazette*. 7 July 1959.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NYT_4-0)** ["Anthony Eisley, 78, of TV's Hawaiian Eye"](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/05/arts/anthony-eisley-78-of-tv-s-hawaiian-eye.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). 5 February 2003.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-lat_5-0)** Oliver, Myrna (3 February 2003). ["Anthony Eisley, 78; Television Detective and B-Movie Actor"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-feb-03-me-eisley3-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. Retrieved 17 March 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-pearson_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-pearson_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-pearson_6-2) Pearson, Drew (14 May 1964). ["The Washington Merry-Go-Round"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130116232324/http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/bitstream/2041/50658/b18f14-0514zdisplay.pdf) (PDF). *[American University](/source/American_University) Library*. Archived from [the original](http://dspace.wrlc.org/doc/bitstream/2041/50658/b18f14-0514zdisplay.pdf) (PDF) on January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Critchlow, Donald T. (2013-10-21). [*When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics*](https://books.google.com/books?id=QfHXAAAAQBAJ&q=Eisley). Cambridge University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-1076-5028-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-1076-5028-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Moose_Roots_8-0)** ["Frederick G. Eisley - Death Record Oak Park, California"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160111012242/http://death-records.mooseroots.com/l/112882800/Frederick-G-Eisley). *Moose Roots*. Archived from [the original](http://death-records.mooseroots.com/l/112882800/Frederick-G-Eisley) on 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2015-06-25.

## External links

- ["Anthony Eisley, 78; Television Detective and B-Movie Actor"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-feb-03-me-eisley3-story.html) - *Los Angeles Times* obituary

- [Anthony Eisley](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252111/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Anthony Eisley](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/103598) at the [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database) (as Fred Eisley)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Anthony Eisley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Eisley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Eisley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.