Lance LeGault facts for kids

William Lance LeGault (born May 2, 1935 – died September 10, 2012) was an American actor. He was famous for playing Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s TV show The A-Team.

Early Life and Family

Lance LeGault was born on May 2, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother was Mary Jean, and his father was Ernest Legault. His father was from Canada, and his mother's parents came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

His family was not rich. After his father died in 1941, Lance lived in an orphanage for a while. This was before his mother got married again in 1943. He started working when he was only 11 years old. At 13, he got a job at the railroad, but he was fired because he had lied about being 18.

Lance grew up in Chillicothe, Illinois. He finished high school there in 1955. He was good at American football and earned a scholarship to the Municipal University of Wichita. He studied business for two years but then left college to follow his dream of becoming a musician.

Acting Career

Lance LeGault started his acting career in the early 1960s. His first three movies were with the famous singer Elvis Presley. In Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962), he was a stunt double for Elvis, meaning he performed dangerous scenes for him. He also appeared in Kissin' Cousins (1964) and Viva Las Vegas (1964).

He was also part of Elvis's 1968 TV special, Elvis' 68 Comeback Special. In this show, he played the tambourine on stage. Later, he played a character called Iago in a stage play and a movie called Catch My Soul.

Famous TV Roles

Lance LeGault became well-known for playing military characters, especially colonels, on TV. His most famous role was Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s TV series The A-Team. In the show, Colonel Decker was a U.S. Army officer who was always trying to catch the main characters, who were former soldiers on the run. He played this role from 1983 to 1986.

He also had a regular role in another popular 1980s TV show, Magnum, P.I.. In this series, he played Colonel "Buck" Greene, a U.S. Marine Corps officer.

Other Appearances

Lance LeGault appeared in many other TV shows and movies. In 1980, he starred with Kenny Rogers in the TV movie The Gambler. He also appeared in Dynasty as a gangster named Ray Bonning.

He was in two episodes of Knight Rider, playing different characters. He also played three different characters in the show Airwolf. In 1989, he guest-starred on Dallas.

Lance LeGault often played tough, serious colonels. He was Colonel Glass in the 1981 comedy movie Stripes, which starred Bill Murray and John Candy. He made many guest appearances on shows like The Rockford Files, Battlestar Galactica, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, MacGyver, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

His last acting role was in the 2013 movie Prince Avalanche, which was released after he passed away. The movie is dedicated to him.

Voice Work

Lance LeGault had a very deep, gravelly voice. The creator of Knight Rider, Glen A. Larson, once joked that Lance's voice was "four octaves lower than God's." This special voice helped him get many roles as tough guys or villains. It also led to a side career doing voice-over work.

His voice was used for self-guided tours at Elvis Presley's home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee. For many years in the 1980s, he was the voice for TV show previews on the ABC network.

In video games, he was the voice of Major Manson in the 1998 game Battlezone II: Combat Commander. He also lent his deep voice to the character Junior the Buffalo in Disney's animated movie Home on the Range (2004). He voiced Yank Justice in the 1985 cartoon series Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines.

From 2009 to 2010, he did voice-over work for Burger King commercials, promoting their "Angry Whopper" burger. He also did voice work for commercials for Dodge cars and 7-Up soda.

Death

Lance LeGault passed away from heart failure on September 10, 2012. He was 77 years old and died at his home in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Teresa, whom he had been married to for 28 years, and their four children: Mary, Teresa, Marcus, and William Lance Junior.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Lance LeGault para niños