# Tim McIntire
**Tim McIntire** (Timothy [John McIntire](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-mcintire); born 1944, [Los Angeles County](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-county), California; died April 15, 1986) was an American actor, composer, singer, and voice performer, best known for starring as pioneering rock 'n' roll disc jockey [Alan Freed](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-freed) in *American Hot Wax* (1978) and for voicing the telepathic dog Blood in the cult science-fiction film *A Boy and His Dog* (1975). He was the son of character actor John McIntire and actress Jeanette Nolan.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / dates | Timothy John McIntire; born 1944 in Los Angeles County, California; died April 15, 1986, in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure at age 41[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) |
| Family | Son of actors John McIntire and Jeanette Nolan; brother of actress Holly McIntire[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) |
| Signature roles | Alan Freed in *American Hot Wax* (1978); the voice of Blood in *A Boy and His Dog* (1975)[2](https://www.fandango.com/people/tim-mcintire-439894/biography) |
| Film debut | As James Stewart's son in the Civil War western *Shenandoah* (1965)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) |
| Composer credits | *Jeremiah Johnson* (1972), *Kid Blue* (1973), *Win, Place or Steal* (1974), *A Boy and His Dog* (1975), *The Killer Inside Me* (1976)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) |
| Voice work | Narrated dozens of movie trailers in his final decade, including *Superman* (1978) and the original *Star Wars* trilogy; Honda commercials in the 1980s[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) |
| Career span | From the early 1960s to the early 1980s, across roughly 50 acting credits[2](https://www.fandango.com/people/tim-mcintire-439894/biography) • [3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tim-mcintire/credits/3030319559/) |
## Early life and family
McIntire was born in 1944 in Los Angeles County, California, into an acting family: his father, John McIntire, was a durable character actor known for *Naked City* and as wagonmaster Christopher Hale on *Wagon Train*, and his mother, [Jeanette Nolan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeanette-nolan), was also an actress.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-01-mn-402-story.html) His sister Holly McIntire also acted.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) He began acting in plays while attending high school and worked in gas stations and men's stores to finance his early theatrical career.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) A Montana newspaper obituary noted that he had been a successful actor since the age of 15 and an acclaimed musician since his college days in the 1960s.[5](https://flatheadgenweb.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/0/6/18068851/1986_m.pdf)
## Acting career
**Television beginnings.** One of his first television roles came in 1963 as a guest on the western *Wagon Train*, on which his father was one of the leads; he later appeared with his father again on *The Virginian* later in the 1960s.[2](https://www.fandango.com/people/tim-mcintire-439894/biography) His film debut followed in 1965 as [James Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-stewart)'s son in *Shenandoah*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/)
**Film roles.** McIntire's substantial work came in film. He played a raucous college student opposite [Liza Minnelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/liza-minnelli) in the Oscar-nominated comedy *[The Sterile Cuckoo](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-sterile-cuckoo)* (1969), took part in the illegal cross-country race comedy *The Gumball Rally* (1976), played a wild-man cop in *The Choirboys* (1977), a shrewd top con in the prison drama *Fast-Walking* (1982), and a rugged mountain man in *Sacred Ground* (1983). He also had a key part in the prison drama *Brubaker* (1980) with [Robert Redford](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-redford) in the title role.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) • [2](https://www.fandango.com/people/tim-mcintire-439894/biography)
**American Hot Wax.** His most prominent starring role was as Alan Freed, the pioneering 1950s rock 'n' roll disc jockey, in the 1978 music drama *American Hot Wax*, which co-starred then-unknowns [Fran Drescher](https://www.edgepedia.org/fran-drescher) and [Jay Leno](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-leno).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) • [2](https://www.fandango.com/people/tim-mcintire-439894/biography)
**Voice work.** McIntire's deep, resonant voice was a trademark. He supplied the dry, sardonic voice of the cunning canine Blood in the post-nuclear cult classic *A Boy and His Dog* (1975), in which [Don Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-johnson) played a young man who communicates telepathically with the dog.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) • [2](https://www.fandango.com/people/tim-mcintire-439894/biography) He also voiced the Devil on the sitcom *Soap* (1977), and in the decade before his death he narrated dozens of movie trailers, including for *Superman* (1978) and the original *Star Wars* trilogy, along with Honda commercials in the 1980s.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/)
## Music
McIntire was a prolific composer, singer, and studio session musician. He composed the score for *A Boy and His Dog* and sang its ending-credits theme song, and his composing credits include *The Killer Inside Me* (1976), *Win, Place or Steal* (1974), and *Kid Blue* (1973).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) For *Jeremiah Johnson* (1972) he wrote the lyrics and music and sang throughout the picture, including the folk ballad over the ending credits.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) • [5](https://flatheadgenweb.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/0/6/18068851/1986_m.pdf) His soundtrack credits also include performing and writing songs for *The Christian Licorice Store* (1971) and an episode of *The Fugitive* (1966).[3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tim-mcintire/credits/3030319559/)
## Television guest roles
His guest appearances spanned three decades of American television, including *The Fugitive*, *Gunsmoke*, *Lassie*, *Ben Casey*, *Bonanza*, *Kung Fu*, *The F.B.I.*, *The New Perry Mason*, *Harry O*, *All in the Family*, and *Soap*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) lists 48 acting credits in total, from *Profiles in Courage* and *Stoney Burke* in the early 1960s through *Brubaker* and *Fast-Walking* in the early 1980s.[3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tim-mcintire/credits/3030319559/)
## Personal life and death
McIntire married actress Kelly Jean Peters on August 17, 1969; they divorced on June 6, 1980, with one child. He married Margaret M. O'Neill on February 14, 1982, and they remained married until his death.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) He struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism, and died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles on April 15, 1986, at age 41.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/) • [6](https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn97064600/2010-11-03/ed-1/seq-33.pdf) His parents both outlived him.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570615)
## References
1. [Tim McIntire Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532838/bio/)
2. [Tim McIntire Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/tim-mcintire-439894/biography)
3. [Tim McIntire List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tim-mcintire/credits/3030319559/)
4. [John McIntire; Character Actor Played Many Radio, TV Roles, Los Angeles Times (February 1, 1991)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-01-mn-402-story.html)
5. [Flathead County, Montana, 1986 death records (Timothy John McIntire obituary notice)](https://flatheadgenweb.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/0/6/18068851/1986_m.pdf)
6. [The Taylorsville Times, November 3, 2010 (reader question on Tim McIntire's cause of death)](https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn97064600/2010-11-03/ed-1/seq-33.pdf)
7. [John McIntire, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570615)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Mc to Mi*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license