Jody McCrea dies at 74

Jody McCrea, the actor son of Joel McCrea who appeared in a spate of westerns in the 1950s and '60s but was best known for his comedic work in the surf and on the sand as a regular cast member of the popular "Beach Party" movies, has died. He was 74. McCrea, whose mother was actress Frances Dee and who later became a cattle rancher in New Mexico, died of cardiac arrest April 4 in Roswell, N.M., said his brother, Peter. The strapping, 6-foot-3 McCrea launched his acting career in films in 1955 and teamed up with his movie-star father in the 1959-60 TV western "Wichita Town," in which the elder McCrea played the marshal and Jody one of his deputies. Over the next decade, McCrea appeared in about two dozen films and television shows, including the movie westerns "The Broken Land," "Young Guns of Texas," "Law of the Lawless," "Young Fury" and "Cry Blood, Apache." The beach movies provided a distinct change of pace. Beginning with "Beach Party," the 1963 American International Pictures comedy starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, McCrea appeared in "Muscle Beach Party," "Bikini Beach" "Pajama Party," "Beach Blanket Bingo" and "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini." Recalling the much taller McCrea, Avalon said, "He was a well-built, real athletic-looking guy, and he really was a surfer: He'd get on that board and surf." Although McCrea had two famous parents, Avalon said, "he never boasted about who his parents were."...LA Times