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John Archer (actor)

{{Short description|American actor (1915–1999)}}

{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{infobox person

| name = John Archer

| image = John Archer in The Big Trees (1955).jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Archer in The Big Trees (1952)

| birth_name = Ralph Bowman

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|05|08|mf=yes}}

| birth_place = Osceola, Nebraska, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|12|03|1915|05|08|mf=yes}}

| death_place = Redmond, Washington, U.S.

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 1938–1996

| spouse = {{ubl

| {{marriage|Marjorie Lord|1941|1955|end=div}}

| {{marriage|Ann Leddy
|1956}}

}}

| children = 4, including Anne Archer

| relatives = Tommy Davis (grandson)

}}

John Archer (born Ralph Bowman; May 8, 1915 – December 3, 1999) was an American actor.

Early life

Archer was born Ralph Bowman in Osceola, Nebraska, the son of Eunice Melba (née Crawford) and Joseph Emmett Bowman.{{cite journal|author=Staff|year=1948|title=Profile|journal=World Biography|volume=1|location=New York City, New York, U.S.|publisher=Institute For Research In Biography|oclc=760070148|access-date=March 12, 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qsA8AQAAIAAJ&q=john+archer+Osceola+1915}}

Archer moved to California at the age of five. He attended Hollywood High School and the University of Southern California, where he studied cinematography, expecting to work behind the camera.

Radio

When finding work in the field of cinematography proved difficult Archer drifted into acting, working as a radio announcer and actor, including one year (beginning in 1944DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-2834-2}}. P. 14) in the starring role of Lamont Cranston in The Shadow, a role originally played by Orson Welles.

Stage

Archer honed his acting skills in plays at the Ben Bard Playhouse. He appeared on Broadway in The Odds on Mrs. Oakley (1944), a farce; One-Man Show (1945); A Place of Our Own (1945), the musical The Day Before Spring (1945-1946); This Time Tomorrow (1947); and the comedies Strange Bedfellows (1948); and Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1950-1951).{{cite web|title=John Archer|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/114681/John-Archer|website=Playbill Vault|access-date=6 November 2015}}{{ibdb name|3004|John Archer}}

Film

Archer made his film debut in 1938. He acted in films for Universal and Republic under his birth name. In a radio contest sponsored by Jesse L. Lasky on the program Gateway to Hollywood, he won the top prize, an RKO contract in the name of "John Archer." He appeared in the films Hello, Frisco, Hello; Guadalcanal Diary; White Heat; Destination Moon; Rock Around the Clock; She Devil; Ten Thousand Bedrooms; Decision at Sundown; Blue Hawaii; and How to Frame a Figg.

Television

Archer appeared in television series such as Rescue 8, Science Fiction Theatre, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, and The Millionaire, The Loretta Young Show, Private Secretary, The Bob Cummings Show, Mackenzie's Raiders, This Man Dawson, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Californians, Sea Hunt, Maverick (in the series' only 2-part episode, titled "The Devil's Necklace"), The Twilight Zone, The Tall Man, Surfside 6 with Van Williams, 77 Sunset Strip, Wagon Train, Bat Masterson, Hawaiian Eye, McHale's Navy, The Silent Service, Bonanza, Hazel, Mannix, and The Name of the Game.

In 1960 Archer was cast as Joe Holman in the episode "Phantom Trail" of the western series Colt .45.{{Citation needed |date=July 2020}} He made five guest appearances on Perry Mason. He played Frank Maddox in the show's second episode in 1957, "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece". In 1958 he played murder victim Maj. Frank Lessing in the episode "The Case of the Sardonic Sergeant", and in 1959 he played murderer J. R. Bradbury in the episode "The Case of the Lucky Legs". He also played murder victim Harry Arnold in the 1965 episode "The Case of Candy Queen". He also made seven guest appearances on Lassie and six on Bonanza. He played the outlaw Matt Grundy in a 1962 episode of Laramie, entitled "The Confederate Express".{{Citation needed |date=July 2020}}

Personal life

Archer was married twice. From 1941 to 1955,{{cite news|last1=Vallance|first1=Tom|title=Obituary: John Archer|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-john-archer-1132305.html|access-date=23 March 2018|work=Independent|date=December 14, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030041121/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-john-archer-1132305.html|archive-date=30 October 2017}}{{cite web|title=john archer (1915-1999)|url=http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/johnarcher.html|website=Brian's Drive-In Theater|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209071901/http://briansdriveintheater.com/johnarcher.html|archive-date=9 February 2017}} he was married to actress Marjorie Lord. They had two children, including daughter actress Anne Archer. Archer had two children with his second wife, Ann Leddy, to whom he was married from 1956 until his death. Archer was a grandfather of Tommy Davis, son of his daughter Anne, both of whom are noted members of the Church of Scientology.{{cite web |url=https://tonyortega.org/2016/09/26/scientologys-20-biggest-celebrities-in-order-of-those-most-like-to-defect/ |title=SCIENTOLOGY'S TOP 20 CELEBRITIES — in order of those most likely to defect |date=September 26, 2016 |publisher=The Underground Bunker |access-date=March 16, 2018}}

On December 3, 1999, Archer died{{cite book|last1=Katz|first1=Ephraim|last2=Nolen|first2=Ronald Dean|title=The Film Encyclopedia 7th Edition: The Complete Guide to Film and the Film Industry|date=2013|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=9780062277114|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUujVPHXBZIC&q=%22Ralph+Bowman%22+actor&pg=PA1592|access-date=23 March 2018|language=en}} from lung cancer in Redmond, Washington, at age 84.

Selected filmography

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{{div col end}}

References

{{reflist}}

{{Portal|California|United States|Theatre|Film|Television}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

  • {{IMDb name}}
  • [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/5168%7C85063/John-Archer#overview John Archer] at Turner Classic Movies
  • {{IBDB name}}
  • {{Rotten Tomatoes person|john_archer}}
  • {{Find a Grave}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, John}}

Category:1915 births

Category:1999 deaths

Category:Male actors from Nebraska

Category:People from Osceola, Nebraska

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male stage actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:People from Redmond, Washington

Category:USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:RKO Pictures contract players

Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Washington (state)