Biography
Chapman was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Following service in the South Pacific during World War II, Chapman graduated from the University of Oklahoma and then moved to New York City, where he landed the role of Turk in Come Back, Little Sheba, a role played by Richard Jaeckel in the 1952 film version. After moving to California Chapman appeared in East of Eden and The Birds.
He played the Sheriff in Where the Red Fern Grows. He had a starring role in the short-lived 1965 series For the People. In 1972, Chapman founded the Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Theatre in Los Angeles and was named artistic director, a title he held until his death. Under his direction, the nonprofit 99-seat theater staged more than 350 productions and at least 45 premieres of original works.
He appeared in several motion pictures, including the 2000 movie Reindeer Games. Chapman was also a playwright; his works The Buffalo Skinner and Cry of the Raindrop were both produced Off-Broadway.
In the fall of 2005, Lonny Chapman was named "Outstanding Alumnus" at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri. Chapman graduated from Joplin High School and, in 1940, Joplin Junior College, Missouri Southern's predecessor institution.
Chapman died in an area care facility of complications from heart disease. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Erma Dean, and his son Wyley Dean.
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“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)