:David Janssen

{{Infobox person

| name = David Janssen

| image = David Janssen Richard Kimble 1963.JPG

| imagesize =

| caption = Janssen in The Fugitive (1963)

| birth_name = David Harold Meyer

| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1931|03|27}}

| birth_place = Naponee, Nebraska, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1980|02|13|1931|03|27}}

| death_place = Malibu, California, U.S.

| resting_place = Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery

| years_active = 1945–1980

| occupation = Actor

| family =

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Ellie Graham|1958|1968|end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Dani Crayne|1975}}

}}

David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer; March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive (1963–1967). Janssen also had the title roles in three other series: Richard Diamond, Private Detective; O'Hara, U.S. Treasury; and Harry O.

In 1996, TV Guide ranked him number 36 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.{{cite web |title=TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time [1996] |url=http://www.amiannoying.com/%28S%28g1g1bocjrzwlurkwaw4mhsqb%29%29/collection.aspx?collection=1194 |website=Am I annoying}}

Early life

David Janssen was born on March 27, 1931, in Naponee, a village in Franklin County in southern Nebraska. His father was Harold Edward Meyer, a banker, and his mother, Berniece Graf, was formerly Miss Nebraska and a Ziegfeld girl.{{cite news |last=Eder |first=Shirley |title='Angels' Will Be Back – Without Shelly Hack |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19800220&id=TWhQAAAAIBAJ&pg=3044,1222316 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Independent |date=February 20, 1980 |page=12-B |agency=Knight–Ridder Newspapers}} Following his parents' divorce in 1935, his mother moved with David to Los Angeles and married Eugene Janssen in 1940. David used his stepfather's name after he entered the show business as a child.{{cite web |title=David Janssen |url=https://walkoffame.com/david-janssen/ |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |date=October 25, 2019 |access-date=March 30, 2024}}

He attended Fairfax High School, where he excelled on the basketball court, setting a school scoring record that lasted over 20 years. His first film part was at the age of thirteen, and by the age of twenty-five, he had appeared in twenty films and served two years as an enlisted man in the United States Army. During his Army days, Janssen became a friend of fellow enlistees Martin Milner and Clint Eastwood while posted at Fort Ord, California.{{cite web |last=VRIES |first=HILARY de |date=1992-08-02 |title=COVER STORY : His Own Man . . . Always : Clint Eastwood used to be the actor with no name. Respect came, but only after years of spaghetti cowboy and Dirty Harry jokes. Now, as he saddles up again, he still deals with life on his own terms. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-02-ca-5559-story.html |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{cite web |date=2015-09-07 |title=Martin Milner, star of 'Adam-12' and 'Route 66,' dies |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/09/07/npr-martin-milner-star-of-adam12-and-route-66-dies-at-83 |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=MPR News}}

Acting career

File:David Janssen Harry O 1975.JPG

Janssen starred in four television series of his own:

Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957–1960){{Cite web |title=Richard Diamond, Private Detective |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/richard-diamond-private-detective/1030217771/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}
The Fugitive (1963–1967){{Cite web |title=The Fugitive |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-fugitive/1030068474/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971–1972){{Cite web |title=O'Hara, United States Treasury |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/ohara-united-states-treasury/2000117767/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}
Harry O (1974–1976){{Cite web |title=Harry O |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/harry-o/1030005958/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}

At the time of its airing in August 1967, the final episode of The Fugitive held the record for the greatest number of American homes to watch a series finale – 72 percent.{{cite news|last=Battaglio|first=Stephen|date=August 26, 2017|title=50 years before peak TV, 'The Fugitive' set a precedent for big series finales|newspaper=LA Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-et-st-fugitive-fiftieth-anniversary-20170828-story.html|access-date=July 25, 2021}} In 1996 TV Guide ranked The Fugitive number 36 on its 50 Greatest Shows of All Time list.{{cite book |title=TV Guide Guide to TV |year=2004 |publisher=Barnes and Noble |location=New York |isbn=978-0760756348 |page=693 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760756348/page/692/mode/2up/search/50+greatest |access-date=March 30, 2020}}

His films include: To Hell and Back, the biography of Audie Murphy, who was the most decorated American soldier of World War II; Hell to Eternity, a 1960 American World War II biopic starring Jeffrey Hunter as a Hispanic boy who fought in the Battle of Saipan and who was raised by Japanese-American foster parents; John Wayne's Vietnam war film The Green Berets; opposite Gregory Peck, in the space story Marooned, in which Janssen played an astronaut sent to rescue three stranded men in space; and The Shoes of the Fisherman, as a television journalist in Rome reporting on the election of a new Pope (Anthony Quinn).

He also played pilot Harry Walker in the 1973 action movie Birds of Prey. He starred as a Los Angeles police detective trying to clear himself in the killing of an apparently innocent doctor in the 1967 film Warning Shot, which was shot during a break in the spring and summer of 1966 between the third and fourth seasons of The Fugitive.

Janssen played an alcoholic in the 1977 TV movie A Sensitive, Passionate Man, which co-starred Angie Dickinson, and played an engineer who devises an unbeatable system for blackjack in the 1978 made-for-TV movie Nowhere to Run, co-starring Stefanie Powers and Linda Evans. Janssen's impressively husky voice was used to good effect as the narrator for the TV mini-series Centennial (1978–79); he also appeared in the final episode. And in 1979 he starred in the made-for-TV mini series S.O.S. Titanic as John Jacob Astor, playing opposite Beverly Ross as his wife, Madeleine.

Though Janssen's scenes were cut from the final release, he also appeared as a journalist in the film Inchon, which he accepted to work with Laurence Olivier, who played General Douglas MacArthur. At the time of his death, Janssen had just begun filming a television movie playing the part of Father Damien, the priest who dedicated himself to the leper colony on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. The part was eventually reassigned to actor Ken Howard of the CBS series The White Shadow.

File:David Janssen Richard Diamond 1957.JPG|{{center|David Janssen in 1957}}

File:David Janssen Richard Diamond 1959.JPG|{{center|Janssen as Richard Diamond (1959)}}

File:David Janssen Fugitive 1967.JPG|David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble in the TV series The Fugitive, 1967 (final episode)

Personal life

File:David Janssen 1974.JPG

Janssen was married twice, first to interior decorator Ellie Graham from 1958 until their divorce in 1968.{{cite web|title=Private Eye Caught|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19580824&id=piYzAAAAIBAJ&pg=1779,3120891| work=The Miami News|date=August 25, 1958}}{{cite web|last=Arar|first=Yardena|title=Actor David Janssen Dies of Heart Attack at Age 48|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19800214&id=bE80AAAAIBAJ&pg=5190,5977891|work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|date=February 14, 1980}} In 1964, amid marital problems with Ellie, Janssen had a three-month affair with Suzanne Pleshette.{{cite youtube|title=Suzanne Pleshette Interview|date=February 9, 2006|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWX7RZVSowY|time=25:50}}{{cite web|title=The Ups and Downs of David Janssen’s Love Life: Meet the Late ‘Fugitive’ Actor’s 2 Wives|url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/david-janssen-meet-the-late-fugitive-actors-2-wives|work=Closer|date=February 1, 2020}} In 1975, he married actress-turned-socialite Dani Crayne, and they remained married until Janssen's death in 1980.{{cite web|last=Gliatto|first=Tom|title=The First Fugitive|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20106237,00.html|work=People|date=September 13, 1993}}

Death

Janssen was a heavy drinker, and a chain smoker who smoked up to four packs of cigarettes a day.{{cite news |author=Heather Keets |title=The end of The Fugitive |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/08/27/end-fugitive/ |access-date=December 21, 2022 |work=EW |date=August 27, 1993}} He died from a sudden heart attack in the early morning of February 13, 1980, at his beachfront home in Malibu, California, at the age of 48.{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-david-janssen-19800214-story.html|title=From the Archives: Massive Heart Attack Kills Actor David Janssen, 48| first=Michael| last=Seiler| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=February 14, 1980| access-date=March 30, 2020}} At the time of his death, Janssen was filming the television movie Father Damien. Janssen was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.{{cite book| year=2000| first1=Robert| last1=White| first2=Phyllis| last2=White| publisher=Hunter Publishing| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySfgH36imU4C&q=david+janssen+%22hillside+memorial%22&pg=PA569| title=Hollywood and the Best of Los Angeles| page=569| isbn=978-1588433343}} A non-denominational funeral was held at the Jewish chapel of the cemetery on February 17. Suzanne Pleshette delivered the eulogy at the request of Janssen's widow. Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, Tommy Gallagher, Richard Harris, Stan Herman, Rod Stewart, and Gregory Peck were among Janssen's pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers included Jack Lemmon, George Peppard, James Stewart, and Danny Thomas.{{cite news| title=Friends turn out to bid farewell to David Janssen| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19800218&id=tlsxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5324,3894053| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| date=February 19, 1980| page=69| agency=United Press International}}{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19860428&id=-vIcAAAAIBAJ&pg=6686,4938755| title=Janssen 'Scandal Saga' in Works| newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune| first=Liz| last=Smith| author-link=Liz Smith (journalist)| date=April 28, 1986}}

For his contribution to the television industry, David Janssen has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located on the 7700 block of Hollywood Boulevard.{{cite web| title=Hollywood Star Walk: David Janssen| url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/david-janssen/| newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}

Selected filmography

It's a Pleasure (1945) as Davey / Boy Referee (uncredited)
Swamp Fire (1946) as Emile's Eldest Son (uncredited)
No Room for the Groom (1952) as Soldier (scenes deleted)
Francis Goes to West Point (1952) as Corporal Thomas
Untamed Frontier (1952) as Lottie's Dance Partner (uncredited)
Bonzo Goes to College (1952) as Jack (uncredited)
Yankee Buccaneer (1952) as Beckett
Back at the Front (1952) as Soldier (uncredited)
Leave It to Harry (1954) as Quiz Show Host (short subject)
Chief Crazy Horse (1955) as Lieutenant Colin Cartwright
Cult of the Cobra (1955) as Rico Nardi
Francis in the Navy (1955) as Lieutenant Anders
The Private War of Major Benson (1955) as Young Lieutenant
To Hell and Back (1955) as Lieutenant Lee
All That Heaven Allows (1955) as Freddie Norton (uncredited)
The Square Jungle (1955) as Jack Lindsay
Never Say Goodbye (1956) as Dave Heller
The Toy Tiger (1956) as Larry Tripps
Francis in the Haunted House (1956) as Police Lieutenant Hopkins
Away All Boats (1956) as Talker (uncredited)
Mr. Black Magic (1956) as Master of Ceremonies (short subject)
Showdown at Abilene (1956) as Verne Ward
The Girl He Left Behind (1956) as Captain Genaro
Lafayette Escadrille (1958) as Duke Sinclair
Hell to Eternity (1960) as Sergeant Bill Hazen
Dondi (1961) as Dealey
King of the Roaring 20s – The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961) as Arnold Rothstein
Ring of Fire (1961) as Sergeant Steve Walsh
Twenty Plus Two (1961) as Tom Alder
Man-Trap (1961) as Vince Biskay
My Six Loves (1963) as Marty Bliss
Warning Shot (1967) as Sergeant Tom Valens
The Green Berets (1968) as George Beckworth
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) as George Faber
Where It's At (1969) as A.C.
Marooned (1969) as Ted Dougherty
Generation (1969) as Jim Bolton
Macho Callahan (1970) as Diego Callahan
Once Is Not Enough (1975) as Tom Colt
The Swiss Conspiracy (1976) as David Christopher
Two-Minute Warning (1976) as Steve
Warhead (1977) as Tony Stevens
Golden Rendezvous (1977) as Charles Conway
Covert Action (1978) as Lester Horton
Inchon (1981) as David Feld (scenes deleted after premiere; final film role; filmed in 1979; released posthumously)

=Television films=

Belle Sommers (1962) as Danny Castle
Night Chase (1970) as Adrian Vico
The Longest Night (1972) as Alan Chambers
Moon of the Wolf (1972) as Sheriff Aaron Whitaker
Hijack (1973) as Jake Wilkenson
Birds of Prey (1973) as Harry Walker
Harry O – Such Dust As Dreams Are Made On (1973) as Harry Orwell
Pioneer Woman (1973) as Robert Douglas
Harry O – Smile Jenny, You're Dead (1974) as Harry Orwell
Don't Call the Police (1974) as Harry Orwell
Fer-de-Lance (1974) as Russ Bogan
Stalk the Wild Child (1976) as Dr. James Hazard
Mayday at 40,000 Feet! (1976) as Captain Pete Douglass
A Sensitive, Passionate Man (1977) as Michael Delaney
Superdome (1978) as Mike Shelley
Nowhere to Run (1978) as Harry Adams
S.O.S. Titanic (1979) as John Jacob Astor
The Golden Gate Murders (1979) as Detective Sergeant Paul Silver
High Ice (1980) as Glencoe MacDonald
City in Fear (1980) as Vince Perrino (released posthumously)
Father Damien: The Leper Priest (1980) (Incomplete – Replaced by Ken Howard)

=Television series=

Boston Blackie (1951) (Season 1 Episode 2: "Cop Killer") as Armored Car Driver (uncredited)
Lux Video Theatre (1955–1956) (3 episodes)
(Season 5 Episode 30: "It Grows on Trees") (1955) as Ralph
(Season 5 Episode 51: "Perilous Deception") (1955) as Joe Davies
(Season 6 Episode 27: "It Started With Eve") (1956) as Johnny Reynolds Jr.
Matinee Theatre (1956) (Episode 193: "Belong to Me") as Paul Merrick
Conflict (1957) (Season 1 Episode 12: "The Money") as Sid Lukes
You Are There (1957) (Season 5 Episode 8: "The End of the Dalton Gang (October 5, 1892)" as Grat Dalton
U.S. Marshal (1 episode {{Citation needed|date=March 2023}})
Alcoa Theatre (1957–1958) (2 episodes)
(Season 1 Episode 6: "Cupid Wore a Badge") (1957) as Mike Harper
(Season 1 Episode 20: "Decoy Duck") (1958) as Jim McCandless
The Millionaire (1957–1958) (2 episodes)
(Season 4 Episode 14: "The Regina Wainwright Story") (1957) as Peter Miller
(Season 5 Episode 5: "The David Barrett Story") (1958) as David Barrett
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (1957–1959) (4 episodes)
(Season 1 Episode 23: "There Were Four") (1957) as Danny Ensign
(Season 2 Episode 14: "Trial by Fear") (1958) as Tod Owen
(Season 3 Episode 1: "Trail to Nowhere") (1958) as Seth Larker
(Season 3 Episode 15: "Hang the Heart High") (1959) as Dix Porter
Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957–1960) (77 episodes) as Richard Diamond / Chuck Garrett
Sheriff of Cochise (1958) (Season 3 Episode 9: "The Turkey Farmers") as Arnie Hix
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959) (Season 1 Episode 25: "Two Counts of Murder") as Ross Ingraham
Death Valley Days (1961) (Season 9 Episode 18: "Deadline at Austin") as Dr. Bill Breckenridge
Adventures in Paradise (1961) (Season 3 Episode 6: "Show Me a Hero") as Scotty Bell
Naked City (1961–1963) (2 episodes)
(Season 3 Episode 5: "A Wednesday Night Story") (1961) as Blair Cameron
(Season 4 Episode 26: "On the Battle Front: Every Minute is Important") (1963) as Carl Ashland
Thriller (1962)
Target: The Corruptors (1962) (Season 1 Episode 19: "The Middle Man") as Robbie Wilson
General Electric Theater (1962) (Season 10 Episode 20: "Shadow of a Hero") as Pat Howard
Follow the Sun (1962) (Season 1 Episode 24: "A Choice of Weapons") as Johnny Sadowsky
Checkmate (1962) (Season 2 Episode 25: "Ride a Wild Horse") as Len Kobalsky
Cain's Hundred (1962) (Season 1 Episode 26: "Inside Track") as Dan Mullin
Kraft Mystery Theatre (1962)
Route 66 (1962) (Season 3 Episode 1: "One Tiger to a Hill") as Karno Starling
The Eleventh Hour (1962) (Season 1 Episode 3: "Make Me a Place") as Hal Kincaid
The Dick Powell Show (1963) (Season 2 Episode 23: "Thunder in a Forgotten Town") as Kenneth 'Ken' Morgan
The Fugitive (1963–1967) (120 episodes) as Dr. Richard Kimble / varied aliases
The Hollywood Palace (1965)
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971–1972) (23 episodes) as James O'Hara / Jim O'Hara
Cannon (1973) (Season 3 Episode 1: "He Who Digs a Grave") as Ian Kirk
Harry O (1973–1976) (45 episodes) as Harry Orwell
Police Story (1977) (Season 5 Episode 1: "Trigger Point") as Sergeant Joe Wilson
The Word (1978) (miniseries) (all 4 episodes) as Steve Randall
Centennial (1978–1979) (Narrator for all 12 episodes) (10 episodes as Paul Garrett)
Biography (1979) as Host {{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Bibliography

{{cite book|first1=Steve|last1=Aldous|first2=Gary|last2=Gillies|title=The Harry O Viewing Companion: History and Episodes of the Classic Detective Series|year=2025|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, NC|isbn=9781476694290|oclc=1443716997}}

{{cite book|first1=Ellie|last1=Janssen|first2=J.D. Michael|last2=Phelps|title=David Janssen – My Fugitive|year=1994|publisher=Lifetime Books|location=Hollywood, Fla.|isbn=978-0811907972|oclc=31134272}}
David Janssen – Our Conversations: The Early Years (1965–1972): Volume 1 Michael Phelps {{ISBN|978-0988777828}}
David Janssen: Our Conversations: The Final Years: (1973–1980): Volume 2 Michael Phelps {{ISBN|978-0988777811}}

References

External links

{{IMDb name|418148|David Janssen}}
[http://www.davidjanssen.net The David Janssen Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807101359/http://davidjanssen.net/ |date=August 7, 2020 }}
{{Discogs artist|David Janssen (2)}}
{{ Find a grave|1672}}

Category:1931 births

Category:1980 deaths

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:American people of Irish descent

Category:Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery

Category:Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) alumni

Category:Male actors from Nebraska

Category:People from Franklin County, Nebraska

Category:United States Army soldiers