Francis Darwin Solomon (December 9, 1937 â€" June 1, 1998) was an
American actor known professionally as Darwin Joston (sometimes
credited as Darwin Jostin during the early years of his career).
Joston began his career as a New York stage actor, and he appeared in
many popular television shows during the 1960s, early 1970s, and
mid-1980s, but he is best known for his performances in independent
films that later achieved cult status, particularly Assault on
Precinct 13.Joston was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Mary
Elizabeth Smith and Buford Odell Solomon; he had one brother, Talmadge
Solomon, who became a Church of Christ minister. Joston attended Glenn
High School in Kernersville, North Carolina, where he was considered
to be a talented athlete. He later studied drama at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated from there in 1960.After
college, Joston moved to New York City and began his professional
career as a stage actor in various theater and summer stock
productions. He lived and worked in New York for five years and then
moved to Los Angeles, California, where, from the mid-1960s through
the mid-1970s, Joston acted primarily in television. He appeared in a
number of popular series including Lassie (in which he had a recurring
role), The Virginian, The Rat Patrol, Ironside, The Rookies, and
McCloud. He also had guest roles in episodes of the short-lived series
Longstreet and Ghost Story/Circle of Fear.Joston also acted in genre
films during this phase of his acting career. Of the two films that
were released theatrically, the first was the 1971 western-themed,
grindhouse exploitation film, Cain's Cutthroats, in which he played
Billy-Joe, a psychopathic, mother-obsessed, sexually-warped
Confederate soldier. The second film was the low-budget 1976 horror
movie, Rattlers, in which he played a soldier who is killed by a horde
of rattlesnakes.
American actor known professionally as Darwin Joston (sometimes
credited as Darwin Jostin during the early years of his career).
Joston began his career as a New York stage actor, and he appeared in
many popular television shows during the 1960s, early 1970s, and
mid-1980s, but he is best known for his performances in independent
films that later achieved cult status, particularly Assault on
Precinct 13.Joston was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Mary
Elizabeth Smith and Buford Odell Solomon; he had one brother, Talmadge
Solomon, who became a Church of Christ minister. Joston attended Glenn
High School in Kernersville, North Carolina, where he was considered
to be a talented athlete. He later studied drama at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated from there in 1960.After
college, Joston moved to New York City and began his professional
career as a stage actor in various theater and summer stock
productions. He lived and worked in New York for five years and then
moved to Los Angeles, California, where, from the mid-1960s through
the mid-1970s, Joston acted primarily in television. He appeared in a
number of popular series including Lassie (in which he had a recurring
role), The Virginian, The Rat Patrol, Ironside, The Rookies, and
McCloud. He also had guest roles in episodes of the short-lived series
Longstreet and Ghost Story/Circle of Fear.Joston also acted in genre
films during this phase of his acting career. Of the two films that
were released theatrically, the first was the 1971 western-themed,
grindhouse exploitation film, Cain's Cutthroats, in which he played
Billy-Joe, a psychopathic, mother-obsessed, sexually-warped
Confederate soldier. The second film was the low-budget 1976 horror
movie, Rattlers, in which he played a soldier who is killed by a horde
of rattlesnakes.
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