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IMDbPro

Alex Cord(1933-2021)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Alex Cord
Monsters: Rouse Him Not
Play trailer2:01
Rouse Him Not (1988)
5 Videos
33 Photos
Born Alexander Viespi, Jr. in Floral Park, New York in 1933, handsome, often mustachioed Alex Cord was stricken with polio at the age of 12. Confined to a hospital and iron lung for a long time, he overcame the illness after being sent to a Wyoming ranch for therapy. He soon regained his dream and determination of becoming a jockey or professional horseman.

A high school dropout at the age of sixteen, he grew up to be too tall to be a jockey so he joined the rodeo circuit and earned a living riding bulls and bareback horses. During another extended hospital stay, this time suffering major injuries after being thrown by a bull at a rodeo in New York City's Madison Square Garden, he reevaluated his life's direction and decided to finish his high school education by way of night school. A voracious reader during his long convalescence, he later studied and received his degree in literature at New York University.

Prodded by an interest in acting, Alex received dramatic training at the Actors Studio and began his professional career in summer stock (The Compass Players in St. Louis, Missouri) and at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut where he played "Laertes" in a production of "Hamlet". A British producer saw his promise and invited him to London where he co-starred in four plays ("Play With a Tiger", "The Rose Tattoo", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Umbrella"). He was nominated for the "Best Actor Award" by the London Critics' Circle for the first-mentioned play.

He sought a Hollywood "in" and found one via his equestrian skills in the early 1960s. Steady work came to him on such established western TV series as Laramie (1959) and Branded (1965) and that extended itself into acting roles on crime action series (Route 66 (1960) and Naked City (1958)). Gaining a foothold in feature films within a relatively short time, he starred or co-starred in more than 30 feature films, including Synanon (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Stiletto (1969) and The Brotherhood (1968).

After his film career declined in the late 1970s he turned to action adventure overseas with the "spaghetti western" A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1967) [A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die] and the British war drama The Last Grenade (1970) with Stanley Baker and Richard Attenborough. Around that time as well, he played the murderer opposite Sam Jaffe's old man in Edgar Allan Poe's dramatic short, The Tell-Tale Heart (1971). It was TV, however, that provided more career stability. Cord has more than 300 credits, including roles in Hotel (1983), Fantasy Island (1977), Simon & Simon (1981), Jake and the Fatman (1987), Mission: Impossible (1966), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993) and Murder, She Wrote (1984). He situated himself in a number of series, notably Airwolf (1984), in which he co-starred with Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine as the mysterious white-suited, eye-patched, cane-using "Michael Archangel".

Later commercial interest was drawn from his title role in Grayeagle (1977), a remake of the John Wayne film, The Searchers (1956), in which he played the Indian kidnapper of Ben Johnson's daughter. Lana Wood, sister of star Natalie Wood (who appeared in the original), also co-starred in this film. Alex can still be seen from time to time in low-budget films and the occasional television appearance, but other interests took up his time. His last film role was in the dismissible thriller Fire from Below (2009) in support of Kevin Sorbo.

Alex's love for horses extended itself into work for numerous charities and benefits. He was a regular competitor in the Ben Johnson Pro-Celebrity Rodeos that raised money for children's charities, and he is one of the founders of the Chukkers for Charity Celebrity Polo Team which has raised more than $3 million for worthy causes. He chairs "Ahead with Horses", an organization that provides therapeutic riding programs for the physically and emotionally challenged. Alex also turned to writing, thus far publishing several novels including A Feather in the Rain (2005), Days of the Harbinger (2013), The Man Who Would Be God (2014 and High Moon (2016). He has also sold three screenplays.

The actor's three marriages all ended in divorce. His second wife was British-born actress Joanna Pettet and third, Susannah, was a horse trainer. He had three children -- Toni Aluisa, Wayne and Damien Zachary. His son by Pettet, Damien, died tragically in 1995 of a heroin overdose at the age of 26.
BornMay 3, 1933
DiedAugust 9, 2021(88)
BornMay 3, 1933
DiedAugust 9, 2021(88)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win & 2 nominations

Photos33

Alex Cord and Joanna Pettet in Night Gallery (1969)
Alex Cord in Night Gallery (1969)
Alex Cord in Night Gallery (1969)
Alex Cord and Shirley Eaton in The Scorpio Letters (1967)
Alex Cord in Stagecoach (1966)
Alex Cord in Airwolf (1984)
Alex Cord in The Love Boat (1977)
Alex Cord and Laraine Newman in Monsters (1988)
Kirk Douglas, Alex Cord, and Connie Scott in The Brotherhood (1968)
Kirk Douglas, Susan Strasberg, Alex Cord, and Irene Papas in The Brotherhood (1968)
Samantha Eggar, Alex Cord, Horst Frank, John Marley, and Enzo Tarascio in The Dead Are Alive! (1972)
Samantha Eggar, Alex Cord, Horst Frank, John Marley, and Nadja Tiller in The Dead Are Alive! (1972)

Known for:

Ernest Borgnine, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Alex Cord in Airwolf (1984)
Airwolf
6.7
TV Series
  • Michael Coldsmith Briggs III
  • Archangel
CIA Code Name: Alexa (1992)
CIA Code Name: Alexa
4.3
  • Victor Mahler
  • 1992
Richard Jaeckel, Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, and Diana Muldaur in Chosen Survivors (1974)
Chosen Survivors
5.4
  • Steven Mayes
  • 1974
Goliath Awaits (1981)
Goliath Awaits
6.6
TV Mini Series
  • Dr. Sam Marlowe

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Kevin Sorbo in Fire from Below (2009)
    Fire from Below
    • General Mark 'Stonewall' Jackson
    • 2009
  • Ice-T in Air Rage (2001)
    Air Rage
    • General Harlan Prescott
    • Video
    • 2001
  • University Blues (1996)
    University Blues
    • TV Movie
    • 1996
  • High Tide (1994)
    High Tide
    • TV Series
    • 1996
  • Chuck Norris in Walker, Texas Ranger (1993)
    Walker, Texas Ranger
    • Larry Curtis
    • TV Series
    • 1995
  • Biography (1987)
    Biography
    • Additional voices (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1995
  • Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993)
    Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
    • Gary Bennett
    • TV Series
    • 1995
  • High Sierra Search and Rescue (1995)
    High Sierra Search and Rescue
    • Marshal D.J. Stone
    • TV Series
    • 1995
  • Hologram Man (1995)
    Hologram Man
    • Governor Hampton
    • Video
    • 1995
  • To Be the Best (1993)
    To Be the Best
    • Jack Rodgers
    • Video
    • 1993
  • Robert Caso in The Naked Truth (1992)
    The Naked Truth
    • Herskovitz
    • 1992
  • CIA Code Name: Alexa (1992)
    CIA Code Name: Alexa
    • Victor Mahler
    • 1992
  • Alex Cord and Delia Sheppard in Roots of Evil (1992)
    Roots of Evil
    • Jake
    • 1992
  • William Conrad and Joe Penny in Jake and the Fatman (1987)
    Jake and the Fatman
    • Wade Kelleher
    • Wallace Cogan
    • TV Series
    • 1989–1992
  • Joey Takes a Cab
    • 1991

Videos6

Airwolf: The Movie
Clip 2:11
Airwolf: The Movie
Trailer
Trailer 2:59
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:30
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:46
Trailer
Airwolf: Complete Series
Trailer 1:17
Airwolf: Complete Series
Monsters: Rouse Him Not
Trailer 2:01
Monsters: Rouse Him Not

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Alex Viespi
  • Height
    • 5′ 11¾″ (1.82 m)
  • Born
    • May 3, 1933
    • Floral Park, Long Island, New York, USA
  • Died
    • August 9, 2021
    • Valley View, Texas, USA(undisclosed)
  • Spouses
      Susannah Boye MollerMay 18, 2002 - August 9, 2021 (his death)
  • Children
      Toni Aluisa
  • Other works
    Novel: "Sandsong".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Had three children--daughter Toni Aluisa, son Wayne Viespi and Damien Zachary Cord. Toni is the daughter of Mary Ann Hutchinson, whom Alex never married, and Wayne was the product of his first marriage. His second marriage was to Joanna Pettet. Their son, Damien Zachary Cord (b. 10/3/68), died of a heroin overdose on 7/7/95. His third marriage was to author Susannah Boye-Moller.

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