Royal Edward Dano

 Royal Edward Dano, Sr. (November 16, 1922 – May 15, 1994)

Dano is remembered for his supporting roles in a number of 1950s western and mystery films. The chance for the breakout role of a lifetime escaped him in the theatrical release of The Red Badge of Courage. Dano, cast as The Tattered Man, delivered such a disturbing performance in his death scene, according to director John Huston, that the initial test audience left the theater in droves. In The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), he portrayed a brutal henchman. In the black comedy The Trouble with Harry, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, he had a small but pivotal role as the officious Deputy Sheriff. Over the years, Dano made many television appearances, often in bizarre, macabre roles such as Richard Boone's Have Gun – Will Travel and the NBC legal drama Justice starring Dane Clark and Gary Merrill. He had a role as the coroner in Electra Glide in Blue (1973), who gets into a loud shouting match with Robert Blake's character. With no spoken dialogue (but singing the airman's version of the Navy Hymn), Dano was the saddened, unnamed preacher in The Right Stuff (1983). At age 71 in 1994, Dano died of a heart attack following a car accident, which he argued with the fellow driver about the details of the accident. He is buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery, with his son Royal Dano Jr., who died the same year.