by Andrea Elliott; TV and Movie Screen, February 1967 A girl, a guy plus TV cooing equal wild off-stage romance! Peter Deuel leaned forward, his face sober and intense, and said, "Look, I don't know how this will look in print, but I love her. I really do. I dig her completely. She and I, well we've had one heck of a groovy affair together and today I feel closer to her than I do to anyone else in the world." Peter was talking about his off-stage relationship with Love On A Rooftop co-star, Judy Carne, and made it plain that the ... Read More

Superstar, February 1973 The Old West of Alias Smith and Jones was full of legends: Kid Curry, Hannibal Heyes, Jesse James, and Billy the Kid. They were all real people who became even greater after their deaths because of the greatness of their deeds. And they have survived as heroes even today. Much the same thing is happening to Pete Duel and, if anything, for better reasons! In this last, sad year following his tragic death, we might have expected to see the thousands of fans who liked Alias Smith and Jones and admired — perhaps even worshipped — Peter to find ... Read More

St. Paul Pioneer Press, December 31, 1971 HOLLYWOOD (UPI) — Pete Duel, young Western actor and star of the television series Alias Smith and Jones, was found shot to death with his own pistol early today, his body slumped on the floor in the living room of his Hollywood Hills home near a brightly lighted Christmas tree. The 31-year-old actor was shot once in the head. Police were summoned to the home by a telephone call from a girlfriend. Eugene Kamidol of the Hollywood detective division said police tentatively listed the death as a suicide or an accident pending further investigation. Sgt. Dan Cooke, police ... Read More

Missouri Newspaper, December 31, 1971 HOLLYWOOD (UPI) – Pete Duel, a star in the television series, Alias Smith and Jones, was found shot to death early today in his Hollywood Hills home. Detectives were uncertain if it was a homicide or a suicide. Lt. John Konstanturos, who was heading the investigation, said the 31-year-old actor's body was slumped next to the Christmas tree in his living room. Duel was shot once in the head. A .38 caliber revolver was found nearby. Police earlier received conflicting reports as to where the actor's body had been found, with one version placing it in a small ... Read More

Rochester Times Union, December 31, 1971 Peter Duel, 31, Rochester-born star of television's Alias Smith and Jones, was found shot to death early today in his Hollywood Hills home, police reported. Coroner's officials said the young actor was shot in the head. Police said Duel's body was discovered at 1:30 p.m. after an anonymous phone call to authorities [actually, the call wasn't anonymous]. The body was on the living room floor. Duel had been shot with a .38-caliber weapon, they said. Police reported they were questioning two persons. Both were guests in the Duel home, and one was reportedly a girlfriend, Dianne Ray. Los ... Read More

...but either way it's not the image that seems to fit Pete Duel. by Judy Stone; TV Guide, May 15, 1971 In 1965, Peter Deuel had a private five-year plan. Five years in Hollywood to show his stuff, and then back to Broadway to name his price and his play. Instead he mushed through the goo of Gidget and Love on a Rooftop, suddenly whipped into political action and then subsided into a Zen-like meditation. He emerged in a mood to simplify his life, stripped away some nonessentials, and changed his name to Pete Duel. It sounded terse. Clean-cut. The right name for ... Read More

Rochester Times Union, December 31, 1971 When Peter Duel went to Hollywood in 1963, he set a goal for himself. He wnated to be a feature film performer of note within five years. He didn't quite make it. Although he made a few feature films, he still was better known as a television performer. But Duel's widespread exposure on Alias Smith and Jones might have eventually been the route to a film career for the former Penfield resident. Although he was ambitious as an actor, Duel also liked to discuss other things in talks with reporters. In an interview at his parents' home ... Read More

Tiger Beat Spectacular, December 1971 I don't think you can name a place and say that is where love is. People is what love is all about, not places or things. Love is found with that one special person with whom you choose to spend the rest of your life. It doesn't matter where you are, because if she's with you, then love is everywhere you go. You don't even have to be with that special person for love to be present. If you know you love someone, it stays with you, even if you're thousands of miles away from her. No, ... Read More

By Cecil Smith; Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1971 Pete Duel's younger brother Geoffrey, who still spells his name Deuel, is costarring with Patrick (son of John) Wayne in a pilot by Stirling Silliphant called Movin' On which sounds a great deal like Silliphant's famous old Route 66. Pete wishes him well, hoping the series will die by morning. "That series, this series, any series is a big fat drag to an actor who has interest in his work," said Pete. "It's the ultimate trap. You slowly lose any artistic thing you may have. It's utterly destructive." He rubbed his sleep-lined face. They ... Read More

Unknown source; December 16, 1970 This pedestrian entry featuring action shrinks (they zoom up and down the highway and around town a lot) piloted part four of the NBC-Universal "Four in One" Wednesday night series this season. It indicated that The Psychiatrist will have one strong element. That would be Pete Duel who, as an ex-junkie and patient cum assistant of semi-young, semi-hip Dr. James Whitman (Roy Thinnes), turned in a most impressive and appealing performance against steep and tricky odds. Tricky, because under the gun of network TV's rigid approach to the drug problem, his character was forced hither and yon ... Read More

by Carl Koster; TV Radio Show, December 1967 Sally has dated a number of young Hollywood bachelors, including Peter Deuel who played her brother-in-law in the Gidget series. It was from him that we got our first clue about why Sally can't fall in love. According to Deuel, last season's Love On A Rooftop star, Sally is "a cute girl from whom a guy should expect nothing but laughs." Nothing but laughs? "That's not meant as a subtle put-down," Deuel told us. "Sally's just not the serious type. She doesn't get involved. If a situation takes a serious turn, she'll always find ... Read More