REMEMBERING PETE DUEL
Thank you to everyone who leaves such poignant and heartfelt expressions in The Memorial Book—and for all your kind words about this site. Your kinship is extremely appreciated. —Laura
Please post your thoughts below. The previous Memorial Book was receiving too much spam, so I had to close it and start this page instead. The previous memorial page also had hundreds of remembrances. I hope to someday transfer them here.
There may be a delay between when you leave your thoughts below and when your post appears, but rest assured, the post will eventually be published. Please keep in mind that many questions still remain about Peter’s state of mind in those final days of his life. One recent question is how much of a role the anti-seizure drug, Dilantin, played on his thoughts. Perhaps Pete was a victim of a pharmaceutical drug and not so much of self-inflicted depression. Also note that Geoffrey Deuel sometimes visited this page. Thank you.
At 15, you were my first great crush…and then my first great loss. I had a teacher that wrote scripts for TV, and had us write one for our favorite show. I still have my script for Alis Smith and Jones…and I got an A on it. My kids later got to see the series on DVD, and my daughter was as smitten as I had been. We miss you dearly and wish there had been help for you when you needed it most.
It was a day I can remember all too well where I stood when I heard the news. I watched him in Alias Smith and Jones every week and just “fell in love” with him. It took me quite sometime to get over the shock (I was 15) and as I look through this tonight 45 plus years later I finally understand what happened and why. So very sad and tragic. Who knows what he could have done in life. But that wasn’t meant to be. Still a sadness in my memories and heart of a wonderful young man that left too soon.
December 31st is always such a sad time for me when the legend that is Pete Duel was taken from us tragically too soon to walk through the saloon gates of heaven. Have told my 2 dear children of “Smith and Jones” and they have loved watching when ITV4 repeat the episodes and have said “why don’t they make programmes like that any more?” rather than the garbage of reality TV and the likes of The X Factor, numerous game shows just increasing the ego and wage packets of presenters who are not fit to tie the great man’s bootlaces. And they are so right.
He had such a cheeky and devilish smile that captured the hearts of us all, we so wanted him to get married in the series but then we wouldn’t have seen the lads’s adventures I guess as he would have settled down! One episode I recall especially was his reciting poetry as a ruse to help the Kid out, claiming he was unable to write the words down……….and you thought he had found his belle but you knew it wouldn’t happen! Even made me cry and does to this day. We all miss him as can be seen by the beautiful words and verse put down here and for a man to have such an impact on us all here speaks volumes of what a great actor and talent he was and heaven took him way too soon forever reason on that fateful NYE night back in 1971.
One thing for sure is that infectious smile is looking down from the stars above and probably winking at us all as a means of just saying “thanks guys, I didn’t do too bad!” – he was just a lovely guy, no airs and graces and a great actor. Pete, you might be gone but you’re never forgotten, we loved you here in the UK and are grateful for the pleasure and laughs you gave us as HH and hope God saw it fitting to give you your amnesty! Miss you mate so much
My daughter is due to give birth to her first child, my first grandchild, on 24th February 2017 and how fitting that would be to have the same birthday as Pete……………..keep smiling on her or him please as I know you will xx
Phil Drew, Surrey, UK
I was just telling my parents last nite, how one NYE stood out in my mind from my childhood, when my favorite actor shot himself. I said I think I was 10, and now see that’s correct. I was so devastated! What a talented and beautiful man he was… forever remembered.
Just to say I remember, though it doesn’t take any one day for me to think of you. You’re always in my thoughts and in my heart. You mean so much to so many of us, Love also to Geoff and to Jackie at this especially sad time of the year. Not forgetting how Pamela and family must be feeling too. Your gentle spirit lives on in all of us, Peter, while-ever we remember and we will never forget.