Forrest Tucker, star of The Crawling Eye, called himself the last of the ''ugly guys.''

The actor wasn't concerned with looks.

Everett Collection

We can't all be supermodels, no matter how much we'd like to be. Our society puts so much pressure on being attractive that we forget about the qualities that make human beings special.

Horror movies are a perfect reminder that something doesn't have to be beautiful in order to have substance. In fact, you can fall in love with a movie that is so ugly it scares the pants off of you.

In 1958, director Quentin Lawrence released the horror film The Crawling Eye, also known as The Trollenberg Terror. The film focuses on a group of people being terrorized by a creature that appears to be a giant eyeball. A disembodied eye isn't the most attractive thing, and while the film didn't enjoy immediate success, it has since become a cult favorite amongst horror fans.

Starring in the film was Forrest Tucker. The actor was previously known for his work on stage in musicals like The Music Man. But while many leading men are known for their good looks, Tucker proudly rejected the title. In an interview, the actor said he was the last of a breed of "ugly guys."

"I look in the mirror and I say, 'Forget it: what else is new?'" Tucker said, according to a Los Angeles Times article. The actor wasn't struggling with his self-esteem; he was making a statement that looks weren't important. Rather, the content of his character was.

"But I know how to do a line, do a take," he said. "Let me do the basics. Let other people care about being pretty...When you put down your money at the box office, I want you to leave happy."

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8 Comments

jholton30062 2 days ago
He was a normal-looking guy: not especially handsome, but by no means ugly. He looked like a man who worked for a living.
AgingDisgracefully 2 days ago
Remember Forrest and Bob Denver in Dusty's Trail?
Parallel characters from Gilligan's Island striking out for some wagon train excitement!
Sadly, it was so short-lived and dreadful, Larry Storch and Alan Hale just said no to revenge sex.
deltadart 3 days ago
He could do Comedy as well, F-Troop, guest spots on Love American Style and his second guest role as Sgt. Holly in Gunsmoke is very funny.
MikefromJersey 5 days ago
He was best known for his many Western roles, he was usually billed after whichever two
actors starred in a given film.
Self-esteem issues? Not likely, he was famous for the same attribute as Milton Berle, John Ireland
and George Raft.
Look up online "Forrest Tucker and the Legend of the Anaconda". There is even a documentary
on YouTube about it, Ken Berry, Mrs.Tucker and others are interviewed, its hilarious.
MrsPhilHarris 5 days ago
The Crawling Eye is a hoot. Forrest Tucker smokes and drinks his way through it. I never thought of him as ugly.
That's true about the smoking and drinking back then. Offhand I can't recall anybody
smoking onscreen nowadays.
Good point. I can’t think of anyone smoking either. 🤔
Runeshaper 5 days ago
The content of a person's character is definitely more important than the looks. With that said, he doesn't appear to be an unattractive guy.

As a side note, it's cool that he was concerned with people leaving happy after seeing one of his films.
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