13 Facts About Pete Duel

Peter Ellstrom Deuel, known professionally as Pete Duel, was an American stage, television, and film actor, best known for his starring role as outlaw Hannibal Heyes in the television series Alias Smith and Jones.

Pete Duel attended Penfield High School, where he worked on the yearbook staff, campaigned for student government, and was a member of the National Thespians Society.

Pete Duel graduated in 1957 and attended St Lawrence University in Canton, New York, where he majored in English.

Pete Duel was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.

Pete Duel preferred performing in the drama department's productions to studying for his classes during his two years there.

Pete Duel wished to move from sitcoms to more serious roles.

In 1970, Pete Duel was cast as the outlaw Hannibal Heyes, alias Joshua Smith, opposite Ben Murphy's Kid Curry, in Alias Smith and Jones, a light-hearted Western about the exploits of two outlaws trying to earn their amnesty.

Pete Duel became involved in politics during the primaries for the 1968 presidential election, campaigning for Eugene McCarthy, in opposition to the Vietnam War.

Pete Duel attended the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and witnessed the violence that erupted.

Pete Duel later went to sleep in another room while Duel stayed up.

Pete Duel's funeral was held at the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple on January 2,1972, in Pacific Palisades.

Pete Duel's body was flown to Penfield, New York, where he was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

The loss of Pete Duel proved too great for the series to sustain and it was canceled in early 1973.