John Derek

John Derek (born Derek Delevan Harris; August 12, 1926 – May 22, 1998) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer and photographer."John Derek."
''The New York Times''. Retrieved: August 12, 2011. He appeared in such films as '' Knock on Any Door'', '' All the King's Men'' (both 1949), and '' Rogues of Sherwood Forest'' (1950).

Early life

Derek Delevan Harris
was born in Hollywood, California, on August 12, 1926, the son of actor/director Lawson Harris and actress Dolores Johnson.

Film career

His good looks were soon noticed, and he was groomed for a movie career by both his agent Henry Willson (who gave him the temporary stage name of Dare Harris) and David O. Selznick with small roles in the Selznick pictures '' Since You Went Away'' (1944) and '' I'll Be Seeing You'' (1944).

He was drafted in 1944 into the United States Army, and saw service in the Philippines during the last days of World War II.

Columbia Pictures

After the war, Derek had a small role in '' A Double Life'' (1947) when he was approached by Humphrey Bogart, who renamed him John Derek and cast him as Nick "Pretty Boy" Romano, an unrepentant killer, in '' Knock on Any Door'' (1949), a socially conscious melodrama directed by Nicholas Ray. Derek was recognized as a talented newcomer, "plainly an idol for the girls", as Bosley Crowther wrote in a review for ''The New York Times''.Maltin 1994, p. 224. The ''Los Angeles Times'' called him "a handsome hot-eyed newcomer who makes the case for this product of the city's slums—'live fast, die young and have a good looking corpse'—all too fascinating for everybody's comfort."

The film was made for Bogart's Santana company and released through Columbia Pictures, who signed Derek to a seven-year contract in April 1948. Derek followed it with a supporting role as the son of Broderick Crawford in '' All the King's Men'' (1949), the Best Picture Oscar winner for its year. In September 1950, he had his name formally changed to John Derek.

Columbia promoted him to lead roles, as Robin Hood in '' Rogues of Sherwood Forest'' (1950) with Alan Hale; the ''Los Angeles Times'' called him a "slim and beautiful youth". He was meant to follow it with ''The Gainesville Circus'', but it was never made.

Instead, Columbia put him in another swashbuckler, '' Mask of the Avenger'' (1951), then gave him a good dramatic role in a prestige film, '' Saturday's Hero'' (1951), as a college football player. The novel was bought specifically as a vehicle for Derek. He was in a crime noir, '' The Family Secret'' (1951), then reunited with Crawford in '' Scandal Sheet'' (1952).

Derek was borrowed by Republic Pictures for a war film, '' Thunderbirds'' (1952). He went back to Columbia for '' Prince of Pirates'' (1953), a swashbuckler for Sam Katzman; two Westerns, ''Ambush at Tomahawk Gap'' (1953), with John Hodiak and ''The Last Posse