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Doctor Zee as portrayed by James Patrick Stuart (1980: "The Super Scouts, Part I").

Vernon
Vernon
{{{credit}}}
Portrays: James
Date of Birth: August 24,1935
Date of Death: Missing required parameter 1=month!
Age: 90
Nationality: USA USA
Related Media
@ BW Media

Warning: Default sort key "Weddle, Vernon" overrides earlier default sort key "Vernon".

Vernon Weddle (born Vernon Mansfield Weddle Jr., August 24, 1935)[footnotes 1] is an American actor who portrayed Sergeant James, billed on screen as "1st Cop," in the Galactica 1980 episode "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I".

Career

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Early life and education

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He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the son of Vernon M. Weddle Sr. and Grace G. Weddle.[ancestry 1][ancestry 2][ancestry 3] Weddle moved to Texas with his family at the age of thirteen.[external 1] He attended Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville, Texas, and graduated in the top ten percent of his class from the University of Texas at Austin in 1958.[external 2] He then took a position as actor-in-residence and instructor in theatre arts at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.[external 3]

Stage career

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In 1961, Weddle and his wife. Geraldine "Gerri" Weddle née Peeples, premiered Guidebook to Bigamy, a comedy they co-wrote, at the Okoboji Summer Theatre in Iowa.[production 1] Weddle wrote the dialogue in longhand and his wife handled the plotting. The finished script was their ninth complete draft, the product of roughly 2,000 pages written over the preceding year.[production 2] The play centers on a psychologist, Charles Cook, who takes multiple wives to research his own theories on marriage "in the pure sense of the word."[production 3] Weddle played Cook opposite Anita Stewart as his neglected wife, with Miles Shearer, William C. Cragen, and Virginia True in supporting roles. Stage and screen actor Tom Ewell and Broadway producer Arthur Penn both requested copies of the script to study, though neither appeared in the Okoboji production.[production 4][footnotes 2]

By 1966, Weddle had joined the summer repertory program at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California, as its first visiting artist-in-residence, continuing his appointment at Stephens College during the academic year.[production 5] In May 1967, he starred in Take Her, She's Mine at the Stephens Playhouse, playing one of the parents opposite Pamela Freihofer in the Phoebe and Henry Ephron comedy.[production 6] He returned to Allan Hancock College for a third summer residency in 1968, when he played Sir Peter Teazle in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal, staged as the college's new thrust-stage theatre opened.[production 7][production 8] That same summer, fellow actor Kirk Mee joined the Hancock program. Both had previously worked with actor Monte Markham at Stephens College in 1960.[production 9]

Discussing that season's box-office results, Weddle noted that the Greek tragedy Oedipus had proven unexpectedly popular with Hancock audiences.

It reaffirms my faith that people are attracted to good drama and good theatre. It is really a tribute to the people of this community that they support the theatre so well.

Screen career

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Weddle worked as a television and film character actor from the 1970s through 1990, often cast as doctors, officials, and other authority figures.

He appeared in three productions from Glen A. Larson in addition to Galactica 1980. On B.J. and the Bear he played Delwood P. Manners in two second-season episodes, "Cain's Cruiser" (1979)[external 4] and "The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful" (1980).[external 5] He guest-starred in three episodes of Quincy, M.E. between 1977 and 1980, as Mr. Carew, Hal Peters, and Peter Harper.[external 6] He also appeared as Dr. Moray in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Mark of the Saurian" (1981).[external 7]

In feature films, Weddle played Reverend Hubbard in Norma Rae (1979)[external 8] and General Washburne in Short Circuit (1986).[external 9] On Simon & Simon he appeared in three episodes between 1982 and 1985 in separate roles.[external 10] His final credited screen role was a 1990 episode of Parker Lewis Can't Lose.[external 11]

Personal life

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Weddle met his future wife, Gerri, while both were students at Lon Morris, where they appeared together in the musical Roberta.[external 12] Gerri Weddle, born Geraldine Peeples on November 5, 1936, in Dallas, Texas, was the daughter of Cecil E. Peeples and Gladys (Labenski) Peeples.[external 13] Her father later served as president of Lon Morris Junior College. She graduated cum laude from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, in 1956.[external 14] The couple had two sons, Richard and Kirk, and co-wrote Guidebook to Bigamy together (see: Stage career).[external 15]

By 1970, Weddle's parents were living in Texas City, Texas, where his sister, Laura Hale, also resided.[external 16]

Notes

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  1. The 1940 U.S. Census records Weddle's age as 4, consistent with an August 1935 birth, but does not give a specific day. IMDb and a FamilySearch aggregation of public records (1999-2009) both give August 24, 1935, the date used here. A 1961 newspaper account of the premiere of "Guidebook to Bigamy" gives August 23, 1935.
  2. Some secondary sources describe Weddle as playing a supporting role in this production with Tom Ewell as the lead. The 1961 premiere account identifies Weddle as playing the lead role of Cook and does not list Ewell among the cast, instead noting that Ewell had requested a copy of the script to study.

References

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Production history

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  1. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  2. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  3. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  4. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  5. "Hancock Interim Theatre Sets Summer Productions (backup available on Archive.org)", 23 June 1966.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  6. "'Take Her, She's Mine' Closes Playhouse (backup available on Archive.org)", 5 May 1967.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  7. Graziano, Joe. "'The School For Scandal' Upholds Quality Of Summer Repertory Play (backup available on Archive.org)", 15 July 1968.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  8. "Three Artists In Residence Named For AHC Theatre Year (backup available on Archive.org)", 26 September 1970.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  9. White, Karen. "Television Star Admits Theatre Still First Love (backup available on Archive.org)", 17 August 1968.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.

Ancestry sources

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  1. United States, Census, 1940 (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). FamilySearch. Retrieved on 6 July 2026.
  2. United States, Public Records, 1970-2009 (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). FamilySearch. Retrieved on 6 July 2026.
  3. The 1940 U.S. Census lists the family resident in Hattiesburg's Ward 1 (Forrest County) both in 1940 and, per the census's residence-history field, as of 1935, the year of Weddle's birth. This confirms the "V. M. Weddle" family later documented in Texas City in 1970 (see Personal life) as the same family.

External sources

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  1. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  2. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  3. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  4. B.J. and the Bear: Cain's Cruiser (1979) (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). IMDb. Retrieved on 4 July 2026.
  5. B.J. and the Bear: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful (1980) (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). IMDb. Retrieved on 4 July 2026.
  6. Vernon Weddle - Credits (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). IMDb. Retrieved on 4 July 2026.
  7. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Mark of the Saurian (1981) (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). IMDb. Retrieved on 4 July 2026.
  8. Norma Rae (1979) - Vernon Weddle as Reverend Hubbard (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). IMDb. Retrieved on 4 July 2026.
  9. Short Circuit (1986) - Vernon Weddle as General Washburne (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). IMDb. Retrieved on 4 July 2026.
  10. Vernon Weddle (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). IMDb. Retrieved on 4 July 2026.
  11. Vernon Weddle (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). IMDb. Retrieved on 4 July 2026.
  12. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  13. Texas, Birth Index, 1903-1997 (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). FamilySearch. Retrieved on 6 July 2026.
  14. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  15. "Okoboji Theater Actors Play World Premier on Tuesday (backup available on Archive.org)", 30 July 1961.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.
  16. Waring, Pat. "Mainland Memos (backup available on Archive.org)", 8 July 1970.Retrieved on 5 July 2026.

Seal of Colonial Government.

Vernon
{{{credit}}}
Portrays: Ellen Tigh
Date of Birth:
Date of Death: Missing required parameter 1=month!
Nationality: CAN CAN
Related Media
@ BW Media
Official Site (archived)

Warning: Default sort key "Vernon, Kate" overrides earlier default sort key "Weddle, Vernon".

Kate Vernon is a Canadian actress who portrayed Ellen Tigh in the Re-imagined Series.

Vernon was born in Canada, one of two daughters to character actor John Vernon and former actress and model Nancy West. Kate's sister is the singer Nan Vernon.

Following her family's move to California, Kate expressed an interest in becoming an architect on graduating from school, but then felt she'd have to be locked away if she failed to express herself as an actress. Despite her father's opposition, she followed her heart and started acting in her early 20's, working in both film and television.

She worked steadily on television through the 1980s and 1990s, guest-starring in some of the top shows of the era: L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote, Nash Bridges - even foraying into science-fiction with her appearance in Star Trek: Voyager.

Her film career spans both the large screen and a range of made-for-TV movies.

On Battlestar Galactica

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Vernon was cast as Ellen Tigh after being recommended for the role by Edward James Olmos, who also directed her debut episode, "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down". She credited Olmos for making her feel "safe and encouraged... to take chances" with the character.[Book 1]

She described Ellen as "an extremely dangerous individual... very powerful, very sexual and very manipulative." She also noted that the producers did not tell her whether Ellen was a Cylon during the first season. "So I’m just playing Ellen as a character who has a lot of secrets — although I don’t know what those secrets are!" she explained.[Book 2] She found the dysfunctional relationship between Ellen and Saul Tigh fun to play, stating, "they’re two people who love each other, but when they get together it’s bad news."[Book 3]

Despite not being a follower of science fiction, Vernon was drawn to the series because of the "strength of the material," calling it "great drama, with great relationships and great situations."[Book 4]

References

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  1. David Bassom (2005). Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion. Titan Books, p. 78.
  2. David Bassom (2005). Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion. Titan Books, p. 130.
  3. David Bassom (2005). Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion. Titan Books, p. 131.
  4. David Bassom (2005). Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion. Titan Books, p. 131.

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