Biography
Home Life, 
Family and Friends

Peter was the oldest of three children born to Dr Ellsworth Deuel and his wife Lillian and he had  a younger brother, Geoffrey, and sister, Pamela.

Ellsworth Shaut Deuel (commonly known as Bob), was of French descent and was the third in a long line of doctors in the family - Pete's grandfather and great-grandfather were also doctors, as were two great-uncles and two cousins.   Pete's mother, Lillian Marcella Deuel, nee Ellstrom, was a first generation American with Swedish parents and worked as a nurse before her marriage.  She died in 1986 and is buried in Penfield alongside Peter.

Geoffrey Jacob Deuel was born 17 January 1943. He studied English and Music at Ithaca College and then attended Syracruse University.  He followed Peter to Hollywood and his major break came with his role of Billy the Kid in the John Wayne film Chisum in 1970.  After that he made guest appearances on many major series of the time.  In later years he moved to Florida and has made a couple of films since then - In the Line of Duty: The FBI Murders in 1988 and 108 Stitches in 2001 (release expected in 2005).

Peter described Geoffrey as his best friend, saying "My brother and I are very close. We were close as children growing up in the lovely little town of Penfield, NY. We're still close now." When asked if there was any rivalry between the two of them, Pete said, "Geoff and I find ourselves judging, comparing-but we handle it well with each other.  We have always talked about it. He is my best friend, my brother."

After Pete's death, Geoffrey was quoted as saying "Pete and I were always very close, and I guess his own unhappiness over acting was getting through to me too.  You may laugh, but we were so close that we actually shared telepathic experiences-and sometimes I feel we still do. If that sounds incredible, I can only say that it's been real for me. I won't go into detail-it's too personal."

Peter's death clearly affected Geoff very deeply.  "It's true that I was very bitter at the time, but now I've come to understand that, in a sense, what happened to Pete has helped me become what I am today. I've already told you how close we were. Well, at the time his death made me lose all interest in my work.  The sense of loss was so deep, so grievous that I wanted to quit acting, because I wasn't enjoying it and in a way, blamed the system for Pete's death.  In the end I forced myself to work on, and now I'm glad I did."

"I spent months helping the police in their investigation into his death, and nothing was ever proved.  But in my own mind I'm satisfied.   You see, we really were so close we feel in the same way, and as my career has developed, I understand so much better the savage pressures that can come with success.  To begin with, the work-particularly on a series-can be so that it takes your whole life, making intense fatigue build up.  Then there are people-always wanting things, always making demands.  When you also become disillusioned with your work, the pressure really can become unbearable.  So now, you understand, I face life with the knowledge that what has happened has happened. It has become a part of me so it can never be forgotten."

Pete's sister, Pamela Jane Deuel, was born 27 June 1945.  She also moved to California where she worked as a nightclub singer.  After Peter's death she became a Christian and recorded several albums of gospel songs (as Pamela Deuel Hart).  She dedicated her album An Unbroken Hart to Peter with the words "Do you also remember when we were little kids how you fearlessly protected and defended me?  You always wanted the very best for your baby sister.  When we lost you, I thought I'd never be able to laugh again.  But look at me now, my broken heart mended because of my new life in Jesus.  I dedicate this album to you, my precious brother".  The album also included a song written by Pamela called "Odin (A Song for Peter)/An Unbroken Hart".

Peter grew up in the town of Penfield, New York.  "We lived in a big, old house with lots of lawns around it and chestnut, maple, and elm trees," he recalled. "Behind the house were woods where we used to spend most of our spare time, playing cowboys and Indians. We had a wonderful childhood. So we grew up with a sense of values that was based on the natural beauty that so many kids today just never see."

Over the years the town changed and more and more houses were built and in his ecology record in 1971, Pete described his feelings at watching the open spaces around his childhood home disappear.  "I was very fortunate as a kid. I grew up in Penfield, New York and at that time it was a small country town, surrounded by fields, farms and beautiful woods.  It was no accident I grew up loving the outdoors, just doing what came naturally.  To make things even better our vacation time was spent by a lake in Northern Ontario where my brother, sister and I swam, fished, hiked and just goofed all summer long in country almost too lovely to describe.  Things have changed a great deal since then and it hasn't been that long.  Penfield is no longer a small country town.  There are few open fields left and the woods have been pushed back more each year.  It will always be home, a part of me, because I grew up there.  I suppose it's the same for most of us.  Nevertheless it hurts to see the hills torn apart and the forests destroyed by man and his machinery."  

When he first moved to Hollywood in 1964, Pete rented an apartment above a garage on Fuller Avenue for $65 a month.  It was a small place in a modest area, but Pete was comfortable there and stayed there until mid 1971.  After he left, he described it as "The place was me. It was old and funky and warm and lived-in. It looked as if I'd been living there for 40 years, really interesting-cluttered with paintings and book cases and funky old furniture-it was a true delight."

During 1971 he moved to a more rustic style house at Glen Green Avenue, with the help of his girlfriend Diane Ray.  "I had to move because I just didn't have enough space for all my books, paintings, sketches, and my fishing and camping gear. I needed more room for my three dogs to run around in, too." he explained.  

Diane felt the move was good for him.  "He's changed.  It isn't playing Hannibal that's done it, it's having moved to this house, having the garden and the trees which he loves.  If he'd stayed on Fuller Avenue, he'd have exploded. There was just no space.  The only home he had was back in Penfield and he couldn't get back there all that often.  Now he can be at home here. He can be much freer."

That same year, Peter also bought some land in the High Sierra Mountains.  He had always loved the outdoors of course and often went camping in the wilderness.  "I found an absolutely fantastic spot in the Mother Lode country, just above Sonora, California, and I've been thinking seriously about buying a piece of it.  In a way it might seem wasteful, though.  Because it's so high up and gets so much snow, the property is accessible only six months a year.  But it's twenty wooded acres at an elevation of 8,500 feet and it's almost surrounded by national forest land.  The air and the view and the seclusion are just unbelievable."

"I really need a place like that to escape to.   It kind of reminds me of back home in Penfield although it's a lot more rugged.  The idea is still the same, though.  It's a quiet, untouched and really natural spot."

Of his hobby of camping he said "I'd rather be camping out in the wilderness than anything else I can think of.  I like to load up my jeep with provisions, tent and stove and head out to some of the remote areas of California or Nevada.  It's fun out there, exploring old mines and ghost towns. You can also find a lot of treasures--not always gold, but it's a good feeling just finding an old shoe from a mule or a miner's shovel.  It makes for exciting adventure."

At this time, Pete had two dogs - Shoshone, a black and blue Australian sheep dog named for the Indian tribe and a mixed breed dog named Carroll after Lewis Carroll.  Diane also had a dog, a toy poodle named Champagne.  Peter often took his dogs onto the Alias Smith and Jones set with him and in fact they can be heard barking in the background and even appear in front of the camera in more than one episode.  Pete's business manager and friend, John Napier, described the dogs.  "They weren't anything too sensational to look at.  They didn't have pedigrees, or anything posh.  They weren't the sort of dogs that anybody would take a second look at in the street - except maybe to notice that they looked mighty happy, healthy animals. It was Pete who gave them that health and that happiness."

Pete obviously had a great love for animals.  Years previously he and a friend had run into the icy Hudson River to save a puppy from drowning and while he was working on The Psychiatrist, his co-star Roy Thinnes described how distraught he was when he an injured bird he had taken home to care for, had died. 

Pete was often described as a loner, but two people who counted themselves as his friends were Harold Frizzell and John Napier.

Harold Frizzell worked as Pete's stand in on Alias Smith and Jones.  When Pete lost his driving licence in 1971, it was Hal who drove him to and from the studio every day.  He had also spent part of the evening at Pete's house on the night of his death.  Of Pete, Hal said  "He was one of the greatest guys you could ever meet. He was a hard person to understand---but I could read him. He just had so much love that he wanted to spread it. He loved people in general, everybody. His attitude was that people were human beings and entitled to be treated as human beings. He loved kids. He wanted to settle down with a good woman who would look after him and give him kids--a whole house full of kids."

John Napier was Pete's business manager.  He described some of Pete's varying moods.  "I have shared days and hours with him when he was happy, sad, depressed, full of energy, exhausted, laughing, lonely, happy, angry, crying, enthusiastic and ready to fight, play and love. All of us go through many different and varied emotions in a given time and they are all very personal to each of us and, yet, in a way his was no different than yours or mine. He sought Peace in many ways. Peace for himself. Peace for a violent world. And when he signed his autograph for you, it was "Peace and Ecology Now", meaning that he hoped you would obtain peace for yourself by fighting for a peaceful world and a clean environment."

As for relationships with women, Pete never married but he did have several relationships which could be described as serious.

In his early days in Hollywood, he described himself as not being ready for marriage, citing the demands of his budding career as the main reason.  

"I don't have any immediate plans for marriage and it may just take that long before I find a gal who really understands me.  And I'll be very honest with you--I'm not an easy guy to live with.  At least not right now.  I don't think I'd make a very good husband.  I feel that I've got to stay single for a long while yet.  I've been trying to make my way as an actor for a number of years now and only recently have I been able to take my real first steps."  

"This series is the greatest thing that's happened to my career so far and I feel that, for a while yet,  I'm going to have to devote myself completely to my work.  I'd like to continue in television for a while and then I hope that I'll be able to do films.  That's what I'd like most to do in the future.  I just can't see how I can take on the responsibilities of marriage and share my life with a wife.  First of all, I think it would be unfair to ask any girl to take second place to my career, but that really would be necessary - until my career is firmly established.   And look at the crazy kind of life I lead.  If I were married right now, my wife would have to settle for seeing me almost on a weekends only basis. I'm at the studio almost round the clock during the week.  And when I do have time off, I spend most of it learning a new script.  Most new brides wouldn't be too happy with that arrangement."  

"Because I feel that I can't get married for a while, I haven't made it too easy for any girl to really get to know me - as we bachelors put it, no one's got their hooks into me yet.  I enjoy dating, but I'm very cautious about letting any relationship go too far.  I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want to get hurt either.  To get right to the point, I try not to let any girl fall in love with me.  I figure that I can't offer marriage - just an occasional date and some fun."

"I guess I am a hard guy to love - mainly because I won't let anyone try.  I don't mean to say that I don't need love - everyone needs love.  It's just that right now, falling in love could be dangerous.  I've waited a long time to get as far as I am in my career - and it's sure been worth it.  I look forward to getting married and raising a family one day - and the waiting is going to make that part of my life all the more worthwhile when it happens.  Until then, I've got to be a loner." 

Around the same time, 1967, he started seeing Jill Andre, a divorced actress a few years older than himself who had two children, Gabriel, 3, and Pascal, 1.  Pete described himself as being in love with her. 

"What first attracted me was her spontaneity, her great open-faced enjoyment of things.  Jill has a wide range of appreciation.  We go to dinner and the movies together; we also go to baseball games.  We both like good books and good music - everything from present day folk rock to classical music and opera. Sometimes we both go skiing.  But whether we're skiing in the snow or romping in the sun or just cueing each other on lines in a TV show, we enjoy being together; we're together during almost all our free time."

He admitted though that he was at times, less than faithful.  "Before I fell in love with Jill I wasn't the most faithful guy in the world.  I run the straight and narrow with her now.  When we were first going together - well, let me put it this way - there have been periods in our relationship when I was less faithful than I am now."

He seemed to have great affection for her two children, saying "We do things together as a family unit, the four of us.  True, I'm not there as much as a husband or father would be, but I assume far more responsibility than a boyfriend.  When I'm around, I have just as much control as Jill, and I share their disciplining. And they respect me just as much as they do Jill, too.  I really love those two kids.  They are such beautiful children.  Such great kids.   And we let them know they are loved, which is the most important thing in a child's life."

But on the other hand, he also admitted "True, I'm going with an older woman who has two children and I love them very much. The only qualm I have is that a guy, when he first gets married, would like to start his own family from scratch.  But, rarely, if ever, does a guy find an ideal situation."

On the question of marriage, he still sounded reluctant.  "She's divorced. It would be silly for her to jump out of one divorce into another marriage; we both feel that way. Then too, quite frankly, knowing myself, I feel that I am not emotionally ready to be married. I'm not ready to totally commit myself to marriage."

"Some men are ready for marriage at 22.  At 26, I'm not.  There's such a bloody pressure on people - particularly in my business - to get married.  'When are you going to get married?' everyone's always asking.  I may never get married - who knows?  Anyway, I have a feeling that I won't get married for at least three or four years.  That could change, but I'm sure I'll get married only when I feel ready."

There are few details of Pete's next relationship with Mary Beth Griswold.  It seems they planned to marry in June 1968, but their plans were put on hold because of Peter's involvement with the Eugene McCarthy presidential campaign.  The date was reset for October or November but this was evidently cancelled too and it was rumoured that the split because they didn't spend enough time together.

In 1969, Pete went to work on the movie Generation in which he co-starred with Kim Darby.  The played a young couple on screen and their friendship turned to romance off the screen too.  Kim, however, had recently divorced and may have been concerned about becoming involved on the rebound.  It seems that they separated for a while before reconciling.  

When Kim was asked about Pete, she replied "We re very close.  It s very private--and it's very nice.  And that s all I want to say now."

In 1969, Pete still appeared to be shy of marriage "Kim's a very special person and there aren't many around like her. But marriage - well, we're making no plans.  It's difficult. The death rattle of a bachelor is a long and painful thing."

In early 1970, Kim said "Pete is the best person in Hollywood.  I adore him!  I'm not disillusioned about marriage. I think it could be wonderful!" 

Around the same time, Pete said "All I can say is that I love her and a marriage date is up to her.  I'm ready to be a husband and father."

However, it wasn't to be.  Reports said that Kim's ex-husband, Jim Stacey, was trying to win her back.  It was also rumoured that she was secretly dating her co-star in her new film, Bruce Davidson.  Then on 6th February 1970 while Pete was in New York, Kim suddenly married actor-businessman James Westmoreland, whom she had first met just two weeks previously. According to reports, Kim did ring Pete a few days before the wedding to tell him the news and he was very upset by it.   Six weeks after the wedding, Kim and James Westmoreland split.  

Around the same time, Pete went to work on The Psychiatrist and in February 1970 he began dating Diane Ray, a production secretary at Universal.  In May she left Universal Studios and began doing Pete's secretarial work.

"When Pete and I met, there was a tremendous amount of charisma between us that couldn't be helped." she said.

When asked what he looked for in a woman, Pete replied "The qualities I see in Diane: compassion, generosity, intelligence and beauty--not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. She's also very curious, a person who delights in the varieties of life, who likes experiencing different things meeting different people. She delights in life itself."

For Diane, Pete's feelings about his family were important.  "I try not to judge people, but I do prefer that he cares as much for his family as I do for mine. It says a lot about a person. It's one of the most important things in the world. I honor my parents the way Pete honors his."  

They shared a passion for idealistic concerns - ecology in his case and health food in hers - and of course they became interested in each other's causes.   

"I was interested in health food for a while, but I really didn't know where to hang my hat on any of it.  And Diane was really into it.  She grew up as a Seventh Day Adventist and they're pretty much vegetarians.  So I naturally observed Diane's eating habits while she explained to me the philosophy behind her different kind of diet.  It was very easy; I said, ‘Sure, I'll try this. I'll try that.'  And I found that I liked it."

At some point, however, their relationship broke up.  When asked why, Pete replied "If a relationship has lasted a long time, there's never one, particular thing.  There is no specific reason why - nothing like I didn't clean my fingernails."

Towards the end of 1971, Pete said "Let's say that we're dealing with each other again".  When questioned about his terminology, he added "When you have broken up with someone, ‘seeing each other ‘ isn't even good.  When I say we are seeing each other again I mean first our romance, our relationship, our whole thing breaks up, and now we're working at it again.  We're trying to put it together again."

Diane Ray was, however, with him on the night of 30th December 1971.  She was reportedly asleep in bed at his house when she was woken by the gunshot.  It was she who found his body and called the police.

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