John Russell (actor)
Encyclopedia
John Lawrence Russell was an American
actor, and World War II
veteran
, most noted for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the successful ABC
western
television series Lawman
from 1958 to 1962.
Born in Los Angeles, California
, he fit the Hollywood image of tall, dark, and handsome. He attended the University of California as a student athlete. Following the outbreak of World War II
, he joined the United States Marines, though he was initially rejected because of his height []. He was commissioned as second lieutenant on November 11, 1942, and was assigned to the 6th Marine Regiment. His division was sent to Guadalcanal
, where he served as an assistant intelligence officer
. He contracted malaria
and returned home with a medical discharge.
He was discovered by a talent agent while in a Beverly Hills restaurant and made his film debut in 1945. Russell was contracted to 20th Century Fox
in several supporting roles, and later was signed with Republic Pictures
. He primarily played secondary roles, often in western films, but in 1952 starred opposite Judy Canova
in Oklahoma Annie.
In 1955 Russell was given the lead role in a television drama called Soldiers of Fortune
. The half-hour adventure show placed him and his sidekick, played by Chick Chandler
, in a dangerous jungle setting. While the show proved popular with young boys, it did not draw enough adult viewers to its prime slot and was canceled in 1957. In 1957 Russell made a memorable appearance as a tough lawman in Untamed Youth
. In 1959, Russell guest starred in an episode of NBC
's adventure
series Northwest Passage
, a fictionalized account of the exploits of Major Robert Rogers
in the French and Indian War
.
In 1958, Russell was cast in his best-known role as Marshal Dan Troop, the lead character in Lawman
, an ABC
hit western series that ran for five years. Co-starring with Peter Brown
, who played Deputy Johnny McKay, Russell portrayed a U.S. frontier peace officer mentoring his younger compatriot.
Russell appeared in other motion pictures for Warner Brothers, notably as the villain in Yellowstone Kelly
with other Warner Brothers Television contract stars as well as the Howard Hawks
1959 western, Rio Bravo, which starred John Wayne
, Dean Martin
, Ricky Nelson
, and Walter Brennan
.
In 1969, Russell appeared in 5 episodes of It Takes a Thief starring Robert Wagner as SIA agent William Dover. They included #29 "Guess Who's Coming To Rio?" (January 9, 1969), #43 "Saturday Night In Venice" (September 25, 1969), #48 "The Blue, Blue Danube" (October 30, 1969), #50 "Payoff In The Piazza" (November 13, 1969) and #52 "A Friend In Deed" (November 27, 1969).
Throughout the 1960s to the 1980s, he returned to secondary roles, appearing in more than twenty films, including three directed by his friend Clint Eastwood
.
Russell appeared in the second season of the Filmation
children's science fiction series Jason of Star Command
. He played the role of Commander Stone, a blue-skinned alien from Alpha Centauri. He replaced James Doohan
, who played the Commander in the previous season but left to start working on Star Trek: The Motion Picture
.
John Russell died from emphysema
in 1991 and was interred in the Los Angeles National Cemetery
, a former U.S. Veterans Administration cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor, and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
, most noted for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the successful ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television series Lawman
Lawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
from 1958 to 1962.
Born in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, he fit the Hollywood image of tall, dark, and handsome. He attended the University of California as a student athlete. Following the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he joined the United States Marines, though he was initially rejected because of his height []. He was commissioned as second lieutenant on November 11, 1942, and was assigned to the 6th Marine Regiment. His division was sent to Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, where he served as an assistant intelligence officer
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
. He contracted malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and returned home with a medical discharge.
He was discovered by a talent agent while in a Beverly Hills restaurant and made his film debut in 1945. Russell was contracted to 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in several supporting roles, and later was signed with Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
. He primarily played secondary roles, often in western films, but in 1952 starred opposite Judy Canova
Judy Canova
Judy Canova , born Juliette Canova, was an American comedienne, actress, singer and radio personality. She appeared on Broadway and in films...
in Oklahoma Annie.
In 1955 Russell was given the lead role in a television drama called Soldiers of Fortune
Soldiers of Fortune (TV)
Soldiers of Fortune was a 1955 syndicated half hour American television adventure series. It starred John Russell as Tim Kelly and Chick Chandler as his sidekick Toubo Smith who were international adventurers. Each episode would take place in a different country...
. The half-hour adventure show placed him and his sidekick, played by Chick Chandler
Chick Chandler
Chick Chandler was an American film actor. best known for his appearances in dozens of B-Movies and his role as Tubo Smith in the short lived Universal produced series Soldiers of Fortune...
, in a dangerous jungle setting. While the show proved popular with young boys, it did not draw enough adult viewers to its prime slot and was canceled in 1957. In 1957 Russell made a memorable appearance as a tough lawman in Untamed Youth
Untamed Youth
Untamed Youth is a 1957 film starring Mamie Van Doren and released by Warner Bros. The film has been featured on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.-Plot:...
. In 1959, Russell guest starred in an episode of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
series Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage (TV series)
Northwest Passage is a 26-episode half-hour adventure television series produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer about Major Robert Rogers during the time of the French and Indian War . The show derived its title and the main characters Rogers, Towne, and Marriner from the 1937 novel of the same name by...
, a fictionalized account of the exploits of Major Robert Rogers
Robert Rogers (soldier)
Robert Rogers was an American colonial frontiersman. Rogers served in the British army during both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution...
in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
.
In 1958, Russell was cast in his best-known role as Marshal Dan Troop, the lead character in Lawman
Lawman (tv series)
Lawman is an American Western television series originally telecast from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay on the ABC Television Network. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during the mid to late 1870s. Warner Bros....
, an ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
hit western series that ran for five years. Co-starring with Peter Brown
Peter Brown (actor)
Peter Brown is an American television actor known for his role as Deputy Johnny McKay opposite John Russell in the 1958 Warner Bros. western series Lawman.-Early life:...
, who played Deputy Johnny McKay, Russell portrayed a U.S. frontier peace officer mentoring his younger compatriot.
Russell appeared in other motion pictures for Warner Brothers, notably as the villain in Yellowstone Kelly
Yellowstone Kelly
Yellowstone Kelly is a 1959 Warner Bros Western Technicolor movie based upon a novel by Heck Allen, with a screenplay by Burt Kennedy starring Clint Walker as Yellowstone Luther Kelly, and directed by Gordon Douglas...
with other Warner Brothers Television contract stars as well as the Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
1959 western, Rio Bravo, which starred John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
, and Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
.
In 1969, Russell appeared in 5 episodes of It Takes a Thief starring Robert Wagner as SIA agent William Dover. They included #29 "Guess Who's Coming To Rio?" (January 9, 1969), #43 "Saturday Night In Venice" (September 25, 1969), #48 "The Blue, Blue Danube" (October 30, 1969), #50 "Payoff In The Piazza" (November 13, 1969) and #52 "A Friend In Deed" (November 27, 1969).
Throughout the 1960s to the 1980s, he returned to secondary roles, appearing in more than twenty films, including three directed by his friend Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
.
Russell appeared in the second season of the Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
children's science fiction series Jason of Star Command
Jason of Star Command
Jason of Star Command was a live action television series by Filmation which ran between 1978 and 1979. The show revolved around the exploits of space adventurer Jason and his colleagues, including Professor E.J. Parsafoot and the pocket robot "Wiki"...
. He played the role of Commander Stone, a blue-skinned alien from Alpha Centauri. He replaced James Doohan
James Doohan
James Montgomery "Jimmy" Doohan was a Canadian character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek...
, who played the Commander in the previous season but left to start working on Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
.
John Russell died from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
in 1991 and was interred in the Los Angeles National Cemetery
Los Angeles National Cemetery
The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in West Los Angeles, at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard. The cemetery was dedicated in 1889. Interred there are war veterans, from the Spanish-American war, World War I, World War II, Korean War,...
, a former U.S. Veterans Administration cemetery in Los Angeles, California.