Captain Parmalee was a demanding father figure who kept the ne'er-do-well Laredo Rangers in line.  He was clever enough to figure out most of their schemes but usually willing to look the other way when things turned out for the best.  A stereotypical tough but fair leader, he was not precisely strait-laced.  He had a fondness for good “sippin whiskey” of which he kept a private stock (although only for off-duty indulgence).  In several episodes, he ended up with the lady while his Rangers were assigned stable duty or some other onerous task.

Philip Carey as patriarch Asa Buchanan  One Life to Live

Laredo's Captain Parmalee

Philip Carey made frequent TV & film appearances in the 1950’s - 1970’s predominately in westerns.  He played Philip Marlowe in the 1959 series of the same name. [click HERE for picture of Carey as Philip Marlowe & series episode list]  At 6’6” he towered over his costars, even the formidable 6’2” William Smith who had slimmed down for Laredo from his competitive  body-building days.  Carey was one of the few actors who could look Clint Walker straight in the eye when he guested in two episodes of Cheyenne.  In 1979, Carey grabbed the brass ring of steady daytime drama employment when he became  patriarch Asa Buchanan in One Life to Live where he resides to this day.  Although soap roles are generally transient as either story lines or the stars lose their juice, the strong manipulative head of a clan has staying power [as shown by Bonanza veteran David Canary’s longevity as the silver-haired Adam/Stewart Chandler on All My Children.]  Costar Peter Brown also made highly successful forays into daytime drama, with parts in 5 soaps in the ‘70’s, ‘80’s & ‘90’s including 7 years as the popular Dr. Greg Peters on Days of Our Lives  That Brown never came close to Carey’s run in One Life may be blamed on his genetically based “refusal” to lose his youthful appearance keeping him out of “patriarch” contention [or perhaps he chose to avoid the possibility of going insane playing the same part for twenty years].