David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer; March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980) was a popular American film and television actor, whose career ranged from the mid-1940s until his death.
David was born in Naponee, Nebraska to a banker and a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer. His mother encouraged his desire to be an actor, and in 1945, he made his movie debut in It's a Pleasure. When he turned 18, he signed his first contract with 20th Century Fox, only to be dropped because the studio didn't like his hairline and prominent ears.
He had much more success when he signed a contract with Universal-International at the age of 20. However, the Army called him up, and Janssen served two years at Fort Ord in Northern California before getting discharged at the age of 23 with the rank of corporal.
At U-I, he made some 33 films from 1952 to 1956, but nothing really memorable. Most of the films he did were standard B-movie fare, like Francis, the Talking Mule films. His contract with U-I finished, Janssen moved over to Warner Bros. for two films.
A big break in David's career came in 1957, when he was cast in the detective series Richard Diamond, Private Detective. The series was adapted from an earlier radio program that starred Dick Powell, on which Powell often crooned a song or two. Powell wanted to do a television series based on Diamond, but since he was 54 years old at the time, felt that a younger actor was needed. Janssen was cast without even a screen test (the producers screened some of his films instead). The series, produced by Powell's Four Star Television, ran for 3½ seasons, the first 2½ on CBS and the final season on NBC. While it was a serviceable action series, it is probably more remembered nowadays as Mary Tyler Moore's first acting role (as Sam, the secretary at Diamond's answering service).
In 1960, David appeared in the film Hell to Eternity, which netted him a Golden Globe as Best Promising Newcomer. With the Diamond series finished, Janssen decided to try his luck in films once again, but had no luck, most of the films being standard B-movie fare from Allied Artists. His most successful film role during this period was a supporting role in a Debbie Reynolds film, My Six Loves. He also made TV appearances during this time, on shows like Target! The Corruptors, Naked City and Route 66.
Then, in the fall of 1963, David Janssen landed his most successful role. Producer Quinn Martin had inherited a story outline from fellow producer Roy Huggins. The outline as it was concerned a man who was falsely convicted of murder in the Old West and broke custody to prove his innocence. Huggins developed this idea during his short term as the head of 20th Century Fox Television, but abandoned it in a desk when he left Fox. It fell into the hands of ABC, who turned it over to Martin, who ran a fledgling production company financed by the network. Changing the setting from The Wild West to The Present Day, the series debuted in September 1963, as The Fugitive. Janssen was cast in the lead role as Dr. Richard Kimble, who was falsely accused of the murder of his wife, convicted and sentenced to death. However, a train wreck en route to the death house freed him, and Kimble spent the next four years searching for the one-armed man he believed was the killer of his wife, pursued by the dogged Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse). Janssen's performance netted him an Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Series, but he didn't win. The series, however, won for Best Dramatic Series at the 1965 Emmys.
In 1966, Janssen decided that the upcoming season of The Fugitive would be its last, as he was tired of playing the part. He had appeared in almost every scene of the series and was tired of the grind. A two-part episode was made to give the series a proper wrap-up. Titled "The Judgement", it ran for two consecutive weeks in late August 1967, and garnered record-breaking ratings that were later surpassed by Dallas and the resolution of the 'Who shot J.R.?' storyline.
With the series ended, Janssen once again concentrated on his movie career, but now on a much bigger scale. Sadly, the name David Janssen did not register with the box office, as he appeared in a number of flops in the late 1960s. He fared much better with movies he had supporting roles in, like The Green Berets and Marooned.
His movie career floundering, Janssen returned to the small screen once again, with the 1970 TV movie Night Chase. This movie found him in somewhat familiar territory, as a man who kills his wife's lover and forces a cabbie (Yaphet Kotto) at gunpoint to take him to Mexico. A few months later, he starred in another TV-movie, Operation: Cobra, for Jack Webb, in which he played a Treasury agent. That movie led to the series O'Hara: United States Treasury, which debuted on CBS in the fall of 197l. The series, co-produced by Webb's Mark VII Productions, David Janssen Enterprises and Universal Television, lasted one season. It was alleged that Webb, concerned about David's drinking, hired a sober companion to see that the actor showed up to the set on time and ready to work. However, many of Janssen's fellow actors, including his close friend and Fugitive co-star Barry Morse, insisted that his drinking was never a problem and that he was never less than courteous and professional on the set.
Putting the failure of O'Hara behind him, Janssen discovered a comfortable niche in TV movies and did quite a few over the next couple of years. In 1973, he did a film titled Harry O: Some Dust as Dreams Are Made On, in which he played a hard-luck private detective named Harry Orwell. A second film with the Orwell character was made, Smile, Jenny, You're Dead. The film proved successful enough that ABC gave the producer, Warner Bros. Television, the go-ahead for a series. Harry O debuted in the fall of 1974, to rave reviews from critics, but less-than-stellar ratings. However, the network stuck with the series, and the ratings improved. The series was in the Top 20 ratings-wise, but was canceled anyway when Fred Silverman took over as president of ABC. An upset Janssen vowed never to do another series.
During the run of Harry O, Janssen once again attempted to boost his movie career, appearing in Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough and Two-Minute Warning. However, when he was free of his series commitment, he went back into TV movies and mini-series once again, landing a prime part as the narrator of the hit mini-series Centennial. He continued with TV movies until his tragic passing from a heart attack at age 48. Many of his fellow actors and friends opined that his workaholic lifestyle contributed to his early death. When he passed away, he had just started filming the TV movie Father Damian: The Leper Priest. Ken Howard was brought in to replace him. The film featured a dedication to Janssen's memory.
His last TV movie, City in Fear, aired a month after his death. Also after his death, the movie Inchon was released. Janssen, like many of the other actors in the film, took the role to have the opportunity to work with Sir Laurence Olivier. The film, financed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, was a major bomb and is seen very little today. Janssen's part in the film was allegedly edited out in his memory, though a full cut with his part intact is in existence.
Films featuring David Janssen with TV Tropes pages:
- To Hell and Back (1955) (as Lt. Lee, 1955)
- The Green Berets (as George Beckworth, 1968)
- Marooned (as Ted Dougherty, 1969)
- Two-Minute Warning (as Steve, 1976)
- Superdome (as Mike Shelly, 1978)
- Inchon (as David Feld, 1981)
Television series featuring David Janssen with TV Tropes pages:
- Route 66 (one episode as Karno Starling, 1962)
- The Fugitive (120 episodes as Dr. Richard Kimble, 1963-1967)
- Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (one episode as self, 1969)
- Cannon (one episode as Ian Kirk, 1973)
- Harry O (44 episodes as Harry Orwell, 1974-1976)
- Police Story (1973) (one episode as Sgt. Joe Wilson, 1977)
- Centennial (10 episodes as Narrator, 1978-1979)
Tropes associated with David Janssen:
- Typecasting: Several of Janssen's post-Fugitive projects feature elements of his most famous role. To wit:
- The TV movie Night Chase (1970) featured him as a killer on the run.
- His guest appearance on Cannon in 1973, "He Who Digs a Grave", in which he played an accused wife-killer.
- The Harry O episode "APB: Harry Orwell", in which his character, Harry Orwell, is framed for murder and breaks police custody to prove his innocence.
