by Pete Duel

Also see Readings, Interviews, and Songs,
Pete Duel on the Environment,
and Pete Duel’s Poetry

On Hannibal Heyes
This whole thing happened so fast I don’t know him very well yet. We have to kind of find him as we go along. 1971

He is hunted by every posse, yet he is still able to laugh. It’s something I love him for. I try to be like that, but with so many problems besetting the world, from war to pollution and injustice, I find it difficult to keep smiling. 1971

On Playing Hannibal Heyes
I enjoy playing adventure with a touch of humor and that’s what I can do with Smith, a top outlaw-turned-law-abiding citizen. And after the roles I’ve had in recent years — ranging from drug addicts to draft dodgers — I welcome a role with humor. For openers, it gives me the opportunity to keep my comedy timing honed. I’m not complaining about the other roles I’ve played. They were all very contemporary, relevant characters which were extremely stimulating from an actor’s point of view. But as the outlaw with a generous dash of good in him, Heyes, alias Smith, is a period western chracter and there’s a great deal of variety I can give him. That’s where the fun comes in. 1971

On Animals
Quite a few of my friends tell me that I have the makings of a great veterinarian. I guess there’s just no escaping it. There are six doctors in my family and I’m still carrying on the tradition, but with a different class of patients.

On Suicide
recalling a time when he was 16
I thought about it a long time. I felt useless. I was ambitious for nothing. I kept feeling I was on the wrong track and would never get off. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me if I died, but it seemed the only sensible thing to do. Then I discovered there was one thing I didn’t have: the guts to take my own life. So, in truth, I just chickened out and after a while the urge went away.

On His New Fishing Lure
It’s so simple, you just add water!

On Relationships
I always have had the tendency to go with one girl at a time. I have sometimes found things got a little sticky because of that; because of my proclivity for becoming very involved. Then, boom, it’s over, and I run around like a chicken with my head cut off. You know, looking for another girl. 1967

It’s very hard to find yourself in love with two women at one time. We’ve been brought up to think of it as ‘cheating’ and through the guilt we feel from it, we wind up hating both women. We’re taught it by our family, our church, even through the things we talk about and the jokes we tell our friends when we’re kids. 1970

On Being Pete Duel
I try hard to be myself at all times — I don’t want to appear phony to anyone, and I don’t like people who are that way with me. 1967

I stick to my simple ways because they’re relaxing. I dare to stay in the same apartment because it still suits me. Too many newcomers in Hollywood take a huge one and suddenly find it painful to come up with the rent. I still pay $65 a month for a place I furnished myself. It’s big enough because I’m the only person there. When I move it’ll be to a house I can afford. 1967

I dare to dress as I prefer. I don’t believe any star has to always be ‘on.’ I refuse to dress up unless it’s actually appropriate. I attempt to fit into the general atmosphere, remain myself in jeans and a sweater or jacket over a sport shirt. Why be overly influenced by others? In warm weather, I arrive at the studio barefoot and remain so until I have to put on socks and shoes for a scene. 1967

On His Fans
I guess that’s why I enjoy reading fan mail so much. The people who write to me are very honest and very sincere — and most of the time they’re absolutely right in what they have to say. I get letters from people who are, of course, complete strangers to me. But they know me. It makes me feel good, because I try hard to bring a lot of myself into the role of David Willis. 1967

On Love and Marriage
I guess I am a hard guy to love — mainly because I won’t let anyone try. I don’t mean to say that I don’t need love — everyone needs love. It’s just that right now, falling in love could be dangerous. I’ve waited a long time to get as far as I am in my career — and it’s sure been worth it. I look forward to getting married and raising a family one day — and the waiting is going to make that part of my life all the more worthwhile when it happens. Until then, I’ve got to be a loner. 1967

I think it’s time I stopped thinking only of myself. I want to get married. If I do I’ll buy some land in the country and build a house. But it’s got to be flat land. I’m not comfortable walking up hills. I come from nice rolling country in New York state. 1969

Having a marriage when you’re in show business and making it work is damn hard — it's damn hard for anybody. We weren’t built to be with just one person all the time; we were built to be with one or two people most of the time. We’ve been brought up to think we should be with just one person in order to exist. Now, mores are changing. 1970

On Wanting to be a Pilot
My father, like one of my grandfathers and a great grandfather, was a doctor and supposed I was eager to uphold that tradition. Nobody believed me when I always countered with the news that I was going to become a flier. At 17, I tried to enlist in the Air Force. To my horror, I didn’t pass the eye requirements for pilot training. I’d never had any visual trouble, other than tired eyes from too many movies. 1967

On His Love for Cars and Motorcycles
Cars and motorcycles are a weakness I watch. I’m mechanical and revel in the quality of a fine car and cycle. When I was on tour with the play I fell for a British sports car. The payments on it were too high during my first year here so I learned not to do that again. I drive a jeep. It’s rugged but not cheap, either. If a date thinks we should go somewhere in a nicer car, we transfer to hers. If it’s a premiere, I rent one for the evening. I sold my last motorcycle five months ago, when I was persuaded it was dangerous. I’m apt to buy a new one, though. I admit I once split my right leg open from my knee to my ankle when a nut turned in front of me abruptly and sent me careening down a canyon. 1967

On Reaching Goals
I don’t believe in wasting breath on alibis! Nor in impulsively depending on dumb luck. To be daring is to admit how you actually feel. You must have the courage to choose goals you can reach if you demonstrate what’s really required. It takes preparation and persistence, but the pay-off is your share of happiness. 1967

My reaction to a challenge is: ‘Don’t dare me — I may do it!’ What's yours? Stop stalling! 1967

On “Generation”
If I don’t make it as Walter, the angry idealist who says what he thinks and lets the chips fall where they may, then I’ll never make it. Where The Graduate made an important actor of Dusty Hoffman, I naturally hope the same can happen for me in this movie. 1969

On His Beard
I feel vulnerable without one. My beard is so comfortable. Now I have to slip into something less comfortable — my own bare face. 1969

On His Hobbies and Interests
I’ve been used to coming home and turning on my music and reading after I fix myself something to eat. I’m enjoying pen and ink sketching once more. I’m working on my second oil painting. I’m mighty critical of my own efforts. I’m going to type out all the poetry I’ve written and begin submitting it for publication. I think four of my poems are excellent. And I’m practicing more on my guitar, so I can play it if that’d come in handy on a personal appearance. 1970

I think the purest form of pleasure is to get out and camp, and discover new country far away from the freeways. 1971

On the Environment
Fouling the environment is a sin none of us can be apathetic about. Man is as much part of the earth as a tree. A tree is as basic a sight for a man as the right wife. 1970

On Changing the Spelling of His Name
It all came to a head about a year and a half ago. A lot of things entered into it. I’m not conventional in my habits. I had personal problems that made me feel it was time to try something new. Then there was the matter of simplicity. People were always saying ‘Peter who?’ or ‘Peter O'Toole?’ There were too many questions. I first took the 'e’ out of Deuel, and then said to myself, ‘Why not take the ‘r’ out of Peter and make that a four-letter word, too, to balance the other? 1971

On “Love On A Rooftop”
Someone else wanted that time slot and had enough muscle to get it, which left us out in the cold. The show was well liked and the ratings were good enough to go on for another year. But it didn’t have a chance. 1971

On His Move to Hollywood
I didn’t come to Hollywood on a jet plane. I drove across the country. I didn’t stop in motels. I had a simple pup tent and put it up whenever I felt tired. I had allowed myself plenty of time to get into the Rockies. When I reached the mountains, it was raining. I set up the tent, dug trenches around it in the approved fashion and decided to wait it out. After 10 days, with everything I owned soggy, I decided to hell with it, and started on to California. I didn’t even see the Rockies, it was so overcast. 1971

On Self-Reflection
I think that everyone is an institution and everyone with deep problems believes that if they really look at their problems, and analyze them, they will die. It is a fear I live with all the time.

continued on next page

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