Jody McCrea was one of many celebrity offspring whose taste of Hollywood was not as long-lasting as their more famous ancestors, but perhaps luckier than most... like Harold Lloyd Jr., for example. The son of Joel McCrea starred with his father in the TV series "Wichita Town", but perhaps he is better known today for the string of AIP films of the 1960's, especially as comedic relief in the Beach Party series of films. In the best of those movies, Beach Blanket Bingo, his "Bonehead" character has a star-crossed romance with a mermaid!
In addition, the hunky young McCrea starred in Larry Buchanan's Sam, Dave Hewitt's The Girls from Thunder Strip, Anthony Lanza's hilarious biker trash The Glory Stompers, and then re-teamed with his father in Jack Starrett's Cry Blood Apache. Before long he left Hollywood to become a rancher. All the same, he was an enjoyable presence on drive-in screens during the swinging 60's who left a small but interesting legacy.
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