George Peppard, Jr. was born on 1 October 1928, in Detroit, Michigan USA, and was an actor perhaps best known for his part in the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” alongside Audrey Hepburn in 1961. He was also in many other films and television shows including “The Carpetbaggers”. All of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing.
So just how rich was George Peppard? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $5 million, mostly earned through a successful career in acting. He had numerous high profile roles, including portraying Col. John “Hannibal” Smith in the hit action show “The A-Team”. All of these endeavors ensured the position of his wealth.
George Peppard Net Worth $5 million
George attended Dearborn High School and after matriculating enlisted in the US Marine Corps, rising to the rank of corporal before the end of his service in 1948. After returning home, he attended Purdue University and then moved to the Carnegie Institute of Technology, graduating in 1955 and later training at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, where one of his first acting opportunities came in 1949.
After being part of several productions, he moved to New York City and studied at the Actors Studio. During this time, he worked a variety of jobs to make ends meet, including as a mechanic and a taxi driver. After making his debut on Broadway, he was then cast in his first television role, “The United States Steel Hour”. He would then appear in “Bang the Drum Slowly” as a guitar-playing baseball player. In 1957, he would make his film debut in “The Strange One”. His net worth was rising.
The following year, he was part of the Broadway production “The Pleasure of His Company”, and would then be cast in “Home from the Hill” also starring Robert Mitchum which became highly successful. George would then be cast in “The Subterraneans”, an adaptation of the a novel of the same name. With him rising in popularity, he was cast in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” which elevated him to one of the top film stars of the era. He started to turn down television roles to focus on films, and his next major appearance would be in “How the West Was Won”. In 1963, he starred in “The Victors” and later “The Carpetbaggers” which was also based on a novel. Over the next few years, he would continue to make more films, including “The Blue Max” and “Operation Crossbow”. He was also cast for “Sands of the Kalahari”, but walked off the set after a few days of filming. He was becoming very difficult to work with partly became of alcoholism, and his career would then decline into a string of B-movies, which nevertheless maintained his net worth.
The next films that he would appear in would have very little impact, or be considered disappointments, including “House of Cards”, “Tobruk”, “Cannon for Cordoba”, and “Rough Night in Jericho”. He then decided to return to television, and found success in 1972’s “Banacek”. He also delivered a critically acclaimed performance in the television movie “Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case”, and was then cast in “Doctors’ Hospital”, however, in the late 1970s he could barely get any acting work.
He got his form back in 1980, when he was cast in “Dynasty”, however, he disagreed with the direction of the show and was subsequently fired. Two years later, he auditioned successfully for “The A-Team”, playing the iconic character “Hannibal”; the show would run for five seasons until 1987, significantly improving his net worth. During the end of his career, he would appear in several stage productions along with television movies.
For his personal life, it is known that Peppard married five times, firstly to Helen Davies(1954-64) with whom he had a son and daughter; then to Elizabeth Ashley from “The Carpetbaggers”(1966-72) and they had a son. His third wife was Sherry Boucher-Lytle(1975-79), then Alexis Adams(1984-86), and finally Laura Taylor(m. 1992) until his death. Peppard was a chain smoker, and it led to lung cancer in 1992.
Two years after being diagnosed, he died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, but is buried with his parents in Dearborn, Michigan..
