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.
This Is the holiday Weekend we Remember Those we’ve Lost Yes I Think Of My Family I Miss Rick My Brother My Mom and Dad all My Family and I Remember Pete too Because he was a Great Man and still Entertains Me and Gives Me a Great Lift when I’m Sad Thinking Of the Family I’ve Lost Thank You Pete
Thank you for sharing your great story! Hope you get to visit his gravesite again soon.
I’ll never forget the day he died. I was 16 years old and my family lived near Syracuse, NY. Since it was Christmas vacation, my friend Carol and I went ice skating on the frozen swamp near my house. We went back to my house when it became dark, around 4:30. On our porch was the evening newspaper. There was the headline about Pete. Since he was from Rochester, it was “local” news on the front page. Because I knew that my friend could often be fairly cruel and heartless about a lot of things, I scooped up the paper, folded it before she could see the headline and placed it on my dad’s easy chair. I was devastated, but secretly so, for fear of being made fun of by others.
In the summer of 1977, I met an acquaintance who told me that she wanted to find his grave. I volunteered to go; off to Rochester we went. Upon asking around, we finally found the cemetery and the gravesite in Penfield.
Sometime in the mid 1980s, after I moved away from NY, I happened to be driving past Rochester and I stopped in Penfield. I was amazed at the amount of flowers and cards I found at the gravesite, although many years had passed.
I’m forever grateful to the person or people who invented home video. Upon watching episodes of Alias Smith and Jones on DVD, I’m suddenly 16 and in love all over again with Pete Duel and Ben Murphy. However, I have often wondered why the producers chose to replace him with Roger Davis, someone who didn’t remotely resemble him. Did they approach his brother Geoff? If so, did Geoff the idea incredibly disturbing and distasteful? Probably so.
Thank you for such a nice web site.
I was only 10 when Alias Smith and Jones was on TV. I admired Pete Duel and Ben Murphy. I could not understand why Pete hated that show so much. After reading this website I now understand. I did not know he was an epileptic and was on meds that worsen his depression. I loved Peter when i was a child and was heartbroken like all others. God Bless you Peter may Jesus heal your condition. See you in heaven. Until then I will still miss you.
Thanks Keith those are lovely words and I second that emotion