Biography
What do actors
Gig Young,
Anne Shirley, and L.Q. Jones have in common? All of them lifted their show-biz names from characters they'd portrayed on screen. In 1955, University of Texas alumnus Justice McQueen made his film debut in
Battle Cry, playing a laconic lieutenant named L.Q. Jones. McQueen liked his character so much that he remained L.Q. Jones offscreen ever after (though he never made it legal, still listing himself as Justice Ellis McQueen in the 1995 edition of
Who's Who). A natural for westerns both vocally and physically, Jones played supporting roles in several big-screen oaters, and was seen on TV as Smitty on
Cheyenne (1955-58) and as Belden on
The Virginian (1964-67). Jones gained a measure of prominence in the films of
Sam Peckinpah, notably
Ride the High Country (1961) and
The Wild Bunch (1969). Turning to the production side of the business in the early 1970s, L. Q. Jones produced and co-starred in the 1971 film
Brotherhood of Satan; he also co-produced, directed, adapted and played a cameo (as a porn-movie actor!) in the fascinating 1975 cinemazation of Harlan Ellison's
A Boy and His Dog, a tour de force that won Jones a Hugo Award from America's science fiction writers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide