The legendary actor, L.Q. Jones, who starred in the films Casino, The Mask of Zorro, TV’s Charlie’s Angels, Gunsmoke and so much more has passed away at the age of 94.
L.Q. died Saturday, July 9th, 2022 of natural causes at his home in the Hollywood Hills.
The talent’s passing was confirmed by his grandson, Erté deGarces. He shared that L.Q. was surrounded by family during his passing.
L.Q. first entered the spotlight in a 1955 role and his resume rolled on until 2006, so many highlights to come.
Born Justice Ellis McQueen on Aug. 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas, L.Q. attended the University of Texas in Austin. There he met Sue Lewis, his wife of 23 years.
The pair divorced in the 1970s, by that time, L.Q., his stage name, was establishing himself as a go-to for major directors.
In 1955, he was cast in TV’s Battle Cry and his character was named L.Q. Jones, which he liked and decided to stick with.
That year he starred in TV’s western series Cheyenne, the first hour-long western on network television.
It was a genre he took to, with a massive 165 acting credits overall, many Westerns others War-related.
He went on to star in two other western series, Wagon Train and Rawhide. These ultimately led him to appearing in dozens of episodes of the classic Gunsmoke.
He also appeared in a handful of episodes of Charlie’s Angels.
By the 1980s, L.Q.’s long list of impactful cameos grew quite impressive.
He faced Robert De Niro in a memorable scene in Martin Scorsese’s Casino. Donning his recognizable mustache and a cowboy hat, fans love the role of Pat Webb to this day.
“L.Q. Jones is one of these guys who meets you for the first time as if he’s carrying on an old friendship,” Roger Ebert once wrote when describing the actor and his passion project.
His last project was in 2006, a film called A Prairie Home Companion.
He is survived by his sons, Randy McQueen and Steve Marshall, and by his daughter, Mindy McQueen.
He was one of my favorites, he always made one of the best cowboys no matter if he was a good guy or or a bad guy. I always loved any character he played. Smutty in Cheyenne was one of the best. His comedy always brought a smile, if he was in the show, you knew it was going to be great. Rest In Peace.
I always enjoyed him in everything he did, He’ll be missed.