Brad Dexter (Serbian Cyrillic: Бред Декстер), (April 9, 1917 – December 12, 2002) was an American actor, well known for his role as Harry Luck in The Magnificent Seven.

Dexter was born Boris Michel Soso (Serbian Cyrillic: Борис Мишел Сосо) in Goldfield, Nevada, of Serbian parentage. He died in Rancho Mirage, California, from emphysema, aged 85. n.b. his obituary says his name was Boris Malanovich.

Married:

1. January to November 1953 a brief and stormy marriage with singer Peggy Lee which ended in divorce
2. Mary Bogdanovich (her death) (1971-1994). She was the Star-Kist tuna heiress.
3. June Dyer (1994-2002) (his death)

Personal quote

I'm the one from The Magnificent Seven (1960) nobody remembers.

Trivia

On May 10, 1964, Dexter saved both Frank Sinatra's life and the life of Ruth Koch (wife of Producer Howard Koch), during production of the World War II film, None But the Brave, in Kaui, Hawaii. Sinatra and Koch were swimming at a beach when they were swept out to sea by the outgoing tide and nearly drowned in high billowing waves. Sinatra's co-star Dexter swam out and rescued them together and were not able to reach back to shore for nearly 45 minutes. In the waves, Sinatra reportedly became separated and murmured "Its all over...please take care of my kids...I'm going to die." Towards the end, both Sinatra and Koch had fallen unconscious for several minutes before two surfers arrived to help Dexter take them to shore. Dexter was later awarded a Red Cross medal for his bravery. When Dexter later advised him not to marry the then-20 year old Mia Farrow, who was about 25 years Sinatra's junior, Sinatra ended their friendship.

Notes

Brawny and handsome, the actor and producer Brad Dexter has been described as the only one of the cast of cowboy heroes of The Magnificent Seven not to become a star. He ultimately became better known for his off-screen exploits, notably a brief and stormy marriage to the singer Peggy Lee, his friendship with Marilyn Monroe, and his passing membership of Frank Sinatra's "rat pack" after his highly publicised rescue of Sinatra from drowning in the Pacific Ocean. The close friendship with Sinatra that followed was to end acrimoniously, prompting Dexter to comment that Sinatra "did not like to feel indebted to anyone".

He once said of his star friends, "I don't involve myself in the world of competition they're involved in. We have fun together."

Links

• Brad Dexter on wikipedia
• Brad Dexter bio at imdb
• trailer for The Magnificent Seven (1960)
• download The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Citations

• Tom Vallance (December, 16 2002). "Brad Dexter - Obituaries, News - The Independent". London, England: The Independent Newspaper. Retrieved April 4, 2010.