Pete Carpenter began his television music career in the 1960's working on series such as Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., and The Andy Griffith Show. He soon started collaborating with Mike Post and worked with him continously composing over 1800 hours of music until his death in 1987. The pair scored T.V. Movies such as the Captain America telefilms, and Dr. Scorpion and many others while hooking up with Stephen J. Cannell to provide themes and scores for many projects including The Rockford Files, Black Sheep Squadron, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, The A-Team, and Riptide just to name a few.
Carpenter was married to actress MayBeth Carr (whose brother was Adventures of Superman director Thomas Carr) and had two children. Two years after his passing, in 1989 the BMI Foundation and Mike Post established the Pete Carpenter Fellowship which gives aspiring television and film composers the chance to work with Post at his studio for several weeks.
Throughout TGAH, viewers were treated to some fabulous music used to great effect in episodes that are very memorable, even almost 30 years later. That in itself, not to mention his long career is testimony to the talent possessed by Carpenter in musical scoring.
Ivan Dixon
Undoubtebly television fans will always remember Ivan Dixon as Sgt. James Kinchloe on the 60's series Hogan's Heroes. However his body of work far surpasses the role he's most famous for. Most proud of his work as an actor in the film Nothing but a Man in which he starred, and as a director of The Spook Who Sat By The Door. Hopefully Dixon realized he had a generation of fans who admired his television directing chores all the way from The Waltons to Quantum Leap.
Dixon had already directed for Stephen J. Cannell, helming episodes of The Rockford Files and Black Sheep Squadron. For TGAH Dixon directed six episodes including the fan favorite Divorce Venusian Style, which spotlights the Ralph/Bill partnership and our first glimpse inside the alien spacecraft. Most of his directing assignments for the show were in the third season, having a capable hand at directing its a shame the series did not have a full order that year.
Sadly Dixon passed away in March 2008.
Héctor R. Figueroa
John D. Jefferies Sr.
Arnold Laven
Lou Leucart
Lou performing bus stunt in My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Many people who work on a television series are credited, and many are not. Lou's name was never in TGAH credits sequence, but that doesn't downplay his role in the production of the series. As 2nd Unit Picture Car Captain, Lou was responsible for arranging all of the picture vehicles for the stunts and action scenes. Occasionally, Lou drove onscreen or performed stunts that involved driving. Lou was behind the wheel for the tour bus stunt, seen in the 1st season episode My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys. He drove the bus off a cliff, while it was attached to a crane by cables. He can also been seen onscreen driving the Hambuger Heaven semi that Dennis Madalone (as Ralph) stops in Captain Bellybuster and The Speed Factory. After working on multiple Cannell TV series and many theatrical films, Lou retired in January of 1999. Sadly, he passed away in 2011.
Lou driving the semi in Captain Bellybuster and The Speed Factory
