{{short description|American stuntman and actor (1921–1995)}} {{for|the baseball player|Troy Melton (baseball)}} {{Infobox person | name = Troy Melton | birth_name = Troy Wilford Melton | birth_date = {{birth date|1921|03|02}} | birth_place = Jackson, Tennessee, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1995|11|15|1921|03|02}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | years_active = 1940&ndash;1991 | organization = Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures }} '''Troy Wilford Melton''' (March 2, 1921 &ndash; November 15, 1995)<ref name="a">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLpqAwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA1961|title=Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary|edition=2nd|first=Gene Scott|last=Freese|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|date=2014|isbn=9781476614700|via=Google Books}}</ref> was an American stuntman and actor.

==Early life== Born in Jackson, Tennessee, Melton migrated with his family to Los Angeles during the Great Depression.<ref name="c">{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106083050/the-tennessean/|title=Stunt Man: Jackson's Troy Melton "fell" for the movies|work=The Nashville Tennessean Magazine|page=28|date=August 14, 1955|access-date=July 22, 2022}}</ref> After three years of service in the Army Air Corps during World War II,<ref name="c" /><ref name="b">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnVZAAAAMAAJ|title=Hollywood Stunt Performers: A Dictionary and Filmography of Over 600 Men and Women, 1922-1996|first=Gene Scott|last=Freese|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|date=1998|isbn=9780786405114|via=Google Books}}</ref> Melton began picking up acting and stunt work in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

==Career==

Melton is one of the founding members of the Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures, and his career spanned over 40 years. Notable actors for whom Melton doubled include Roy Rogers, James Colburn, Richard Webb, Gregory Walcott, Duncan Renaldo in ''The Cisco Kid'', Kent Taylor in ''Boston Blackie'' and ''The Rough Riders'', and Martin Landau in ''Mission: Impossible''.<ref name="a" /> He appeared in S3 E14 of "The Wild, Wild West" as Harry in "The Night of the Iron Fist" which aired 12/6/1967.

==Death==

Melton died in November 1995 of cancer at a hospital in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 74.<ref name="a" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWKJMgEACAAJ|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1995|page=136|first=Harris|last=Lentz|publisher=McFarland|date=July 1996|isbn=9780786402533|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Filmography== A partial filmography follows.<ref name="a" /><ref name=TVGuide>TVGuide Credits: https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/troy-melton/credits/3000413463/</ref> ===Film=== {{Div col}} * ''The Day Mars Invaded Earth'' (1962)

* ''Young Guns of Texas'' (1962)

* ''Cyborg 2087'' (1966) as Tracer #2<ref name="EFFcyborg">{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=R. G. |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies |date=2000 |publisher=Applause |isbn=9781557832696 |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoJ4jTghUPYC |access-date=1 September 2022}}</ref>

* ''Blazing Saddles'' (1974) {{Div col end}}

===Television=== {{Div col}} * ''Father Murphy'' (1982) * ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' (1979-1984) * ''Little House on the Prairie'' (1975-1980) * ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' (1974-1975) * ''Mission: Impossible'' (1973) * ''Columbo'' (1972) * ''Mannix'' (1968-1972) * ''Mod Squad'' (1968-1969) * ''Gunsmoke'' (1966-1974): ** The Town Tamers (1974) as a Townsman (uncredited) ** The Fugitives (1972) as Curly Danzig ** The Wedding (1972) as Pete Calder ** Captain Sligo (1971) as Rackley ** Celia (1970) as 2nd Driver ** The Devil's Outpost (1969) as Mike Lennox ** Railroad! (1968) as Railroad Worker (uncredited) ** 9:12 to Dodge (1968) as Miles ** O'Quillian (1968) as Brawler (uncredited) ** Blood Money (1968) as Jake Walker ** The Favor (1967) as Stage Driver ** The Lure (1967) as Hennington ** The Returning (1967) as Barton ** Champion of the World (1966) as Zac * ''The Big Valley'' (1965-1968) * ''Laredo'' (1965-1967) * ''The Outer Limits'' (1964) * ''Rawhide'' (1964) * ''The Rifleman'' (1961-1962) * ''The Twilight Zone'' (1962)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_Z1DwAAQBAJ|title=Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination|page=258|first=Nicholas|last=Parisi|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|date=October 24, 2018|isbn=9781496819451|via=Google Books}}</ref> * ''Bonanza'' (1959-1972) * ''Sea Hunt'' (1958-1961) * ''Bat Masterson'' (1958-1961) * ''Rough Riders'' (1958-1959) * ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1957-1961) * ''Zane Grey Theatre'' (1957-1958) * ''Maverick'' (1957-1958) * ''The Roy Rogers Show'' (1956-1957) * ''Boston Blackie'' (1951-1952) * ''The Cisco Kid'' (1950-1955)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106083592/south-gate-daily-press-tribune/|title=Radio Logic|first=Tom|last=Danson|work=South Gate Daily Press-Tribune|location=South Gate, California|date=July 24, 1951|access-date=July 24, 2022|page=4|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> {{Div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == *{{IMDb name|0578415}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150915032219/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/129641%7C149024/Troy-Melton/#overview Troy Melton] at [https://www.tcm.com/ Turner Classic Movies]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melton, Troy}} Category:1921 births Category:1995 deaths Category:American stunt performers Category:People from Jackson, Tennessee Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Deaths from cancer in California

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