TV Star Annual, May 1972 In the early hours of December 31, 1971, Peter Duel whispered to his half-asleep fiancee, Dianne Ray, "I'll see you later," and left the bedroom of his simple ranch house. Seemingly moments later, Dianne was completely aroused by what sounded like a gunshot in the living room. She tore out of the bed horrified by her suspicion of what had happened. Her worst fears were confirmed when she found Peter Duel's lifeless body lying beside their Christmas tree. Police investigators found the weapon near his body in a position which indicated that Peter had, indeed, pulled the ... Read More

Photo Mirror, September 1972 Alias Smith and Jones is anything but an ordinary Western. Oh, it's got lots of cowboys, six-shooters, and horses, but beyond that it takes its own course. Perhaps not as far-fetched as The Wild, Wild, Wild West, but it still has a television personality of its own. The story of Alias Smith and Jones, both on the set and off, is a very unusual one. Concerning the content of the program itself, Smith and Jones are a pair of outlaws trying to go straight in the Old West. Unfortunately, going straight is not, for them at least, a ... Read More

Dear Rona, Rona Barrett's Hollywood, June 1972 Dear Rona, During the week between Christmas and New Year's, my family and I took a trip to Los Angeles. On Dec. 30th, we took the Universal Studios tour. They were filming Alias Smith and Jones. The enclosed picture of Peter Duel was taken at 3 p.m. on that same day, when he was walking back to his dressing room. My Mom said to him, "Gee, Pete, you really are a doll." And with that, he gave us a great big smile. Can you imagine the shock we felt the next morning hearing the terrible ... Read More

GIVEN THAT THIS ARTICLE IS A TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH, IT IS REPLETE WITH ERRORS. MANY ERRORS. READ KNOWING THIS. TODAY, THE FIRST CHAPTER OF LOS DOS MOSQUETEROS (ALIAS SMITH AND JONES) by J.M. Baget; Sunday, 31 December 4:00 PM, "Tarde Para Todos" ("Afternoon for All") On this last day of the year, "Tarde para todos" offers its audience what was the first episode of the series Los Dos Mosqueteros that attained so much success in the past — yet recently — for Televisión Española. We will come to know in this way how Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes became "Smith" and "Jones," two ... Read More

by Janey Milstead; FAB 208, early 1972 Dear Readers of FAB: Pete Duel is dead and we're all missing him terribly, but added to the loss is the terrible questions of why. Why, why, why did he do it? A few days ago, I could only shake my head in answer to that question. Today, I have at least answered it for myself. As far as I (and a great many others) are concerned, he didn't. It's that simple. He didn't do it. It was an accident, an inexplicable freak accident, but it was an accident. At the time of Pete's death, ... Read More

Dear Rona; Rona Barrett's Hollywood, May 1972 Dear Rona, Please print this letter for me. It probably won't mean anything to anyone else, but it has made me feel a little better: Dear Hollywood, Well, you have claimed another victim. It was in the person of Peter Duel. When I knew Pete in 1965 and 1966, he was happy to have gotten his series Love On A Rooftop. He was finally able to do some of the things he had wanted to do. Pete did not let the fame go to his head. He dressed the way he wanted in Levi's ... Read More

Shot by Own Hand, Police Say Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, December 31, 1971 Peter Duel, 31, co-star of the western television series Alias Smith and Jones, committed suicide early today by shooting himself in the head in his Hollywood Hills home, police reported. The nude body of the actor was found beneath the Christmas tree in his home shortly before 2 a.m. by his long-time friend, Dianne Ray, 29, according to investigators. Miss Ray told police that she had been invited to Duel's Beechwood Village home at 2552 Glen Green to watch the Alias Smith and Jones series, which airs Thursday at 8 p.m. Police said ... Read More

by Nancy Debara; Movie Mirror, April 1972 "When you're an actor, you have to be willing to take some risks; in fact, you have to take them all," exclaimed pert Judy Carne. "You have to be honest and open about it all or you'll drive yourself mad!" She giggled and grinned and it was obvious the gamin-like actress was thoroughly enjoying life. On the other side of town, her former co-star of the TV series Love on a Rooftop, Pete Duel, also her former beau and mentor, hadn't found such a congenial answer to the problems of his career. Indeed, his life. ... Read More

What Drove Pete Duel to Suicide by Carol Harrison; Screen Life, May 1972 The tragic suicide of one of television's most promising young actors has brought tremendous grief to all of Hollywood. Pete's television credits seemed to be growing every day; he appeared on series such as Combat, 12 O'Clock High, The Fugitive, Ironside, The Virginian, The Name of the Game, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Young Lawyers, The Bold Ones, and ABC's Movie of the Week. He also lent his talents to the other facets of the industry, appearing in a motion picture (Wounded In Action) and co-starring in the road company ... Read More

by Earl Leaf; 'TEEN, April 1972 The last person to interview Peter Duel before his untimely death with his own gun was 'TEEN's bright-eyed swellebrity editor Maureen Donaldson, who spent a delightful afternoon with him at work and play. Pete didn't seem despondent or emotionally disturbed, she says, but after all, he was a very convincing actor with a finely-honed gift for pretending. Even his fiancee Dianne Ray didn't know how seriously disturbed he was. He had often sounded off in hot anger about the fatigue, frustrations, boredom, and pressures of working 12 hours a day on the Alias Smith & Jones ... Read More

Movieland and TV Time, April 1972 What happened to end the life of this fun loving, eager-to-get-ahead young man just when everything seemed to be going exactly right for him? What do you say about a 31-year old TV star who by all appearances "had it made" — but who reportedly died from a self-inflicted pistol wound? Especially when the man was your friend. Not because you were so special to deserve his friendship, rather because you were one of many he befriended — always in a very sincere way. He cared about people. He cared about animals. He cared about any ... Read More