The fresh-faced appeal and promising talent of darkly handsome "B"
actor Don Castle was evident from the late 30s into the 40s, but it
wasn't enough for him to reach topgrade stardom. Born Marion Goodman,
Jr. in Beaumont Texas in 1918 and raised in Houston, Don enrolled at
the University of Texas before heading West to California to try his
luck in acting.
An agent was struck by his resemblance to a young
Clark Gable and took him to MGM, who went on
to sign the 20-year-old actor wannabe (young Marion had already changed
his name to Don Castle). The nascent actor was groomed very slowly and
started at the bottom step of the billing ladder with numerous small,
often uncredited roles in such films as
Dr. Kildare - Sein erster Fall (1938),
Nick Carter, Master Detective (1939),
Heiße Rhythmen in Chicago (1940),
The Ghost Comes Home (1940)
and I Take This Woman (1940).
On a very rare occasion MGM would better feature their client in
support as in the comedy
Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
which starred Robert Young and
Ruth Hussey in the title roles with Don as
part of Hussey's zany family, and also as Dennis Hunt in
Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938),
a role he played again in
Out West with the Hardys (1938).
Appearing in several MGM shorts but, for the most part, interest in
their client quickly waned.
Paramount picked the young actor up and cast him in a smallish role in
You're the One (1941), a vehicle
for the then-popular jazz and popular standards singer (Wee)
Bonnie Baker. His second film, the
war-era drama Power Dive (1941), a
loanout, finally gave Don a chance to show his potential in a second
lead role as test pilot Richard Arlen's
brother and rival for Jean Parker.
Don also showed strong ability in
Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die (1942)
with Richard Dix playing Wyatt Earp
and Don fourth billed as Johnny Duanne.
WWII interrupted his career when he was drafted into the Army Air
Force. During that time he made training films for the First Motion
Picture Unit. Don returned to Paramount following his 1946 discharge
but little interest was shown. A small role in
The Searching Wind (1946), a
war drama, was all he could muster. On his own, Don finally received
top billing in the "Poverty Row" programmer
Lighthouse (1947) in which he and
fellow lighthouse keeper (played by
John Litel) vie for the affections of pretty
June Lang. He then went and co-starred
with Johnny Sands and
Vivian Austin in the cheapjack racing yarn
Born to Speed (1947).
Don forged a strong friendship with former child actress
Bonita Granville after co-starring with
her in the Monogram film noir
The Guilty (1947), The friendship
proved quite fruitful. He was then cast in the Wrather Production
Company's drama High Tide (1947) with
Lee Tracy and
Julie Bishop and again appeared
opposite Bonita in
Strike It Rich (1948). Don went on
to serve as "best man" when Bonita married studio head
Jack Wrather in 1947.
Most of Don's lead/support parts in subsequent bargain-basement
independents were equally unrewarding --
The Invisible Wall (1947),
Roses Are Red (1947),
Perilous Waters (1948),
Madonna of the Desert (1948),
Who Killed 'Doc' Robbin? (1948),
Todeszelle Nr. 5 (1948)
and Panik in Arizona (1949). He subsequently
signed a three-picture contract with Lippert Productions but only one,
Motor Patrol (1950), was ever
filmed. When movie offers completely dried up in 1950, Don found some
brief work as a guest on TV anthology programs.
During the lean years in the early 1950s, Don and his second wife,
Zetta, opened Castle's Red Barn (1959) in Palm Springs which became a
popular place to stay. They ran it for seven years. In 1957, he was
given minor roles in the films
Herrscher über weites Land (1957) and
Zwei rechnen ab (1957).
Jack and Bonita Wrather came to Don's rescue once again when Jack made
Don president of International Television Corporation. He also served
as an associate producer of Wrather's classic series
Lassie (1954) from 1960-1962.
Don's later years were marred by depression. Divorced from his second
wife in 1962, he died from a drug overdose at the age of 47.
