To read more from Pete Duel’s fans, please visit The Memorial Book.

Pete Duel: Actor, Activist, a Beautiful, but Tortured Soul
The rewards of being a successful, famous actor can be big but the chances of reaching that goal are very small. Think about all the preparation involved, the expectations and the inevitable disappointments. And the ever present elements of luck, talent and timing that can make the difference between getting a part or being rejected. And once you’ve gotten the role, is it in a worthwhile vehicle or something that can stall your ambitions even before they start? And then if you catch the public’s eye and imagination you are suddenly under a microscope. Continue Reading

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s, my family and I took a trip to Los Angeles. On December 30, 1971, we took the Universal Studios tour. They were filming Alias Smith & Jones. The picture [at left] 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. —Nancy Molinari, as quoted, Rona Barrett’s Hollywood, June 1972

I recently “rediscovered” Pete while dealing with a loss in my life. Good things have come out of my journey, including once again being able to enjoy Alias Smith & Jones and Pete Duel. I absolutely hero-worshipped him when I was 7-8 years old. Now, I find I still love him with all my heart. Another good thing that’s come out of this is I’m lending my support to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. —Sally

Memories of a Beautiful Soul

There’s little I can say
That’s not been said before,
My tears disappear in the river
Of the millions shed and more.

What was it about this man
With the kind and gentle eyes,
Who meant so much to so many
And touched so many lives?

How many of us who were hurting
Claimed him for our own,
A father, a brother, a friend
This man we’d never known.

Something within those deep brown eyes
In his warm and dimpled smile,
Gave love and hope to all of us
And brought comfort for a while.

A gentle soul who cared so much
Surely sent by God above
He brightened our world for a time
And touched our lives with love.

There’s truly something special
That can reach across the years,
That still warms my heart with aching
And fills my eyes with tears.

That night when all the world
Believed he was alone,
God’s band of loving angels
Took a wounded angel home.

Remember forever that beautiful soul
And that day so filled with pain,
When the world lost something precious
It will never know again.

—Linda G. Adkisson

“Be Happy! Pete Duel.”

I played her music for my heart to hear
I brought my pictures to the fore
And I touched your words with a loving stroke
Hoping my fingers would absorb even more.

I pressed your words to my heart
The one that is hidden from view
I let the tears flow with a beautiful warmth
Knowing I was caressing a fragment of you.

I held your words against my cheek,
Breathed them in; I searched for your scent
But if it was there ever in time,
It seems now it’s long since been spent.

You held the pen in your beautiful hand
And you must have steadied the paper.
And two small words and your name and a dot
Let me touch you all these decades later.

—Cherie Thompson

The fact that Peter’s words still apply to today’s world shows how true they are. Ecology is an ongoing, lifelong commitment. I can think of no better tribute to this amazing, beautiful soul than to live for the earth in his stead. —EquuZombie, comment on the YouTube video, “Pete Duel: Peace & Ecology Now,” a slideshow created by the Pete Duel Memorial Site using Pete’s ecology audio

Survivor

We are those left behind
Missing part of our heart
Missing part of our soul
Searching for answers
where others dare not go.
Rage boils the tears;
Tears extinguish the rage
And we brace for yet another wave.
Guilt.
Regret.
Sadness.
Love.
Longing.
Memories remain
First bitter with hurt
Later sweetened with time.
My heart breaks
for those left behind.
You have found your escape
We choose to walk on.
Fragile in our strength
Insecure in our wisdom
Yearning for peace.
For release.
For you
And for those left behind.

—Sally

Fade to Black

No eyes were more expressive
when your joy was still intact
But when the pain engulfed you so,
I watched your eyes go flat.
As if a shadow hid their beauty,
as if your spirit could no longer shine;
I closely watched your eyes those days,
I studied them with mine,
and when you could no longer hide your pain
I watched them fade to black
and I am forced to face the truth
that we will never have you back.
Those last few weeks you graced this earth
everything about you changed.
Your smile was false, your light was gone
no expressiveness remained.
As if the innate core of you went cold,
as if your sweet and loving side
was suddenly hollow and without joy
and the deepest part of you had died.
And you could no longer hide your pain
so I watched you fade to black
and I cry now when forced to face the truth
that we will never have you back.
A friend who is my very age,
but wiser and more enlightened by years
just told me, “He smiled for us as long as he could.”
and you did, you tried so hard to hide your fears.
As if pretending to pretend could make you well
as if with a smile you could make us believe
that you were fine and your soul was whole,
that you would never purposefully leave.
And yet instead you made the choice
to allow yourself to fade to black
and I have learned to accept the truth
that we will never have you back.

—Cherie Thompson

I’m Sorry You Were So Sad

Your beautiful smile and lustrous brown eyes,
So filled with warmth and
enticement and smoldering pain
Drew me in as a girl of thirteen
And now, as a woman of many years,
I find my own eyes filled with a
new wealth of tears.
I have rediscovered your beauty
And I am mourning for the empty decades
Without the exquisiteness of your heart
and talent to share with the world,
And to share with this young girl
Who felt an awakening because of you
And a shattering because of you, too.
It is effortless and arduous both,
To find words expressive enough
To even understand for myself
How your soul touched mine
Before I even knew what it was I was feeling
And how it touches me still to remember you,
Forever in time still young and handsome,
Full of life and offering yourself to the world.
I am sorry you were so sad.
I am sorry the hearts you touched and stirred to devotion weren’t felt by you;
Weren’t enough to embrace you
And shield you from your horrible impulse.
How cruelly you left me;
How desolately you abandoned yourself.
You shattered me; you broke my immature heart.
And my weathered heart still breaks for you now.
When I was thirteen, my heart broke for MY loss of you.
Now it only mourns for your loss of you. Peace, Peter. Rest well.

—Cherie Thompson

Though I never met Peter (all my actual contact was either watching him on TV and one four-page letter he wrote me), he left me with this impact that I am only now, forty years later, realizing what he actually had shown me: Ecology and animal rights. I find myself unconsciously doing things, like not tossing that crumpled tissue out the car window, or bundling up those newspapers and giving them to an animal rescue. I stop my family from leaving the water running while they brush their teeth, or a light on in a room no one is in. I plant trees instead of cutting them down, feed stray cats and then have them spayed or neutered. I have rescued dogs, cats, and a horse so far — with plans to save more. I vow, in Pete’s memory, to do what I can, when I can, how I can, to make a better place for needy, lame, neglected, tortured animals. I do it for him, for them, and for me. —Dorothy

I still miss him. He’s still “cool” to me and I treasure seeing his work whenever I can. He was such a talented man. What was it about this man whose career was rather short and didn’t include major movies? No actor, man or woman, has affected me so deeply before or since his passing and there have been literally thousands. He was very unique. I’ve never had a chance to visit Pete’s grave­site, but I do speak to him some­times, especially on a bright starry night. I really believe he had no clue as to the impact he had on his “audi­ence.” I usually thank him for the happiness he brought to me and remind him that he will never be forgotten, but sometimes I bitch at him for leaving us so soon. —Keith O

A Visit to Penfield

You should have been there yesterday,
with your grandchildren in tow.
You could have shown us, smiling,
all the spots you used to go.
We’d love to know just where you used
to swim, and fish, and play.
You should have been there with us
—oh, we missed you yesterday.

You should have been there yesterday,
your homecoming a joy.
You could have brought your son with you,
or your daughter and her boy;
You could have led him, hand-in-hand,
down paths you used to run,
And smiled and watched as he raced off,
like you, to chase the sun.

You could have stood there with us
and watched the sun go down,
And told us what things used to be like,
here in your hometown.
You could, once more, have looked
out on these hills you’ve often seen,
And watched the shadows lengthen
on the fields of summer green.

I’d love to see your face light up,
remembering stream and tree;
If we could only change the past
to what it ought to be.
We don’t know why you chose to leave,
you’ve been so long away.
You should have been there with us,
Pete, we missed you yesterday.

—Anita

We miss you so much Pete. Wish you were with us. You are an angel now. I feel your spirit; it’s so strong. Your wings wrap me in your love and keep me safe and warm and comforted and secure. Your smile still shines to this day and the sound of your voice calms my soul and warms my heart. You inspire us to look beyond the moment and keep our earth clean, to be kind and thoughtful to others, and help others to love; to take care of the environment and take care of our home planet earth and our air and water, and recycle everything. You inspire us to keep the air and water crisp and clear, our oceans free from debris, and our health safe from smoke and gas; to keep the azure sky from smoke and the products of man’s greed, and our space free from debris. Pete, you inspire us so much and we love and miss you so much. Always and forever. —Cindy Whorley

It is because of my value of Pete’s life that I have managed to press on with mine. Pete, you were so balanced and refined, so evolved. I am truly sad that you were unable to weather the pain. My feelings of gratitude today are with you and I feel more determined than ever to reach my own piece of happiness, like you said. Your great gift is inspiration to the people like me who revered you and hoped for a better future as children entering a scary world. You were a touchstone, dear soul, and still are. —Asheeka

Of Love and Loss 

Born of light and darkness
The whisperings of time
That speak of journeys ended
And stories left untold
A life so full of promise
Stands in certainty now

—Leyla Durham

To read more from Pete Duel’s fans, please visit The Memorial Book.