John Dehner
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John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performance credits, often in roles as sophisticated
con men A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have de ...
, shady authority figures, and other smooth-talking villains. His credits just in
feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
, televised series, and in
made-for-TV movies A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
number almost 300 productions. Dehner worked extensively as an actor radio during the latter half of that medium's "
golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...
", accumulating hundreds of additional credits on nationally broadcast series. His most notable starring role was as
Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...
on the radio version of the television
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
''
Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was rated number t ...
'', which aired for 106 episodes on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
from 1958 to 1960. He continued to work as a
voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
in film, such as narrating the film ''
The Hallelujah Trail ''The Hallelujah Trail'' is a 1965 American Western mockumentary spoof directed by John Sturges, with top-billed stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton and Pamela Tiffin. It was based on the book of the same title (originally released as ...
''. Earlier in his career, Dehner also worked briefly for Walt Disney Studios, serving as an assistant animator from 1940 to March 1941 at the company's facilities in Burbank, California.


Early life

Born in 1915 in New York City on Staten Island, John Dehner was the middle child of three children of Ella Susana (née Dehner) and Ralph LeRoy Forkum."United States Census, 1930", J. Dahner Forkum in household of Ella D. Forkum,
Hastings-on-Hudson Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of midtown Manh ...
, Westchester, New York, census date April 7, 1930; enumeration district 139, sheet 6A; National Archives Records Administration (NARA), Washington D.C. Digital image of original census page retrieved via
FamilySearch FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family Hist ...
, Salt Lake City, Utah, January 4, 2022.
John's father was an accomplished artist who was widely recognized in the United States as a landscape painter, illustrator, and a specialist in painting "highly realistic" backgrounds for stage productions and later for
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
features Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...
and
shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...
. John's mother was a gifted musician with artistic talents as well. Prior to the 1920s, Ella Forkum even collaborated with her husband on art projects and in some instances was co-credited for helping him to compose content for his drawings and paintings widely used in newspaper and magazine advertising. One example is a full-page advertisement in the March 18, 1917 issue of the Washington, D.C. newspaper '' Evening Star''."Djer-Kiss"
advertisement for French soap and credited at lower left to Ralph LeRoy Forkum and Ella Dehner Forkum, ''Evening Star'' (Washington, D.C.), Sunday edition, March 18, 1917, p. 42. ''Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers''. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
That ad is for ''Djer-Kiss'', a very exclusive line of French perfumes and soaps. It depicts a highly stylized, fairytale-like scene of young women bathing beneath a waterfall. The artwork itself bears the attribution to both of John's parents, to "R.L. + E.D. Forkum". By the early 1920s, R. L. or "Roy" Forkum's growing artistic reputation earned him a commission that allowed him to take young John and the rest of his family to live in
Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...
while he produced illustrations for an elaborate publication celebrating the music of Norwegian composer
Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
.Minnette, Marcia
"Paladin Rides the Airwaves"
''TV Radio Mirror'', March 1959, pp. 46–47, 80–81. Retrieved via Internet Archive, April 22, 2022.
It was in Oslo where John gained his first experiences performing publicly in musicales and school plays.Minnette
p. 80
Following the completion of his work on the Grieg project, Roy took Ella and the children for extended stays in Stockholm,
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and finally in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, where for two and a half years in the French capital's suburb of
Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of ...
, John and his two sisters, Amy and Alice, continued their education in public schools.


Schooling in France

John's studies in France expanded his interests in art, music, and theatre, as well as in the sport of
fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
, in which he demonstrated sufficient skills by his early teens to qualify as a "champion" competitor.John Dehner, Actor", obituary, "Washington Post", February 10, 1992, p. D4. Retrieved November 14, 2021—via
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Historical Newspapers, hereinafter cited "ProQuest".
In her interview with Dehner in 1959, Marcia Minnette, a reporter for the New York
trade magazine A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for thi ...
''
TV-Radio Mirror Macfadden Communications Group is a publisher of business magazines. It has a historical link with a company started in 1898 by Bernarr Macfadden that was one of the largest magazine publishers of the twentieth century. History Macfadden Publ ...
'', quotes the actor's recollections of attending French schools three decades earlier, in particular his reactions to the rigorous study and strict discipline demanded by his teachers: Living and studying in Europe "at a formative age" certainly expanded Dehner's knowledge of different cultures and languages. In addition to becoming fluent in Norwegian and French, he also spoke "some" Swedish, Spanish, German, and Italian. That broad knowledge of languages would prove to be very helpful later during his acting career, when Dehner's characters were required to speak with accents or to sprinkle their English dialogue with various foreign words and phrases.


Return to the United States from Europe

While in France, John's parents separated in Paris and on November 15, 1929 were granted a divorce there. Ella Forkum soon returned to the United States with 14-year-old John and his sisters and resettled in the Riverview Manor section of
Hastings-on-Hudson Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of midtown Manh ...
, a village located approximately 20 miles north of midtown
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, where John's father resided separately. Between 1930 and 1932, "Dehner Forkum", his mother, and sisters were cited periodically in society columns in the ''New York Herald Tribune'', which reported their attendance and personal performances at charity events, dances, music recitals, and plays presented in Hastings."Hastings Plans Community Dance To Raise Funds for Relief Work", ''New York Herald Tribune'', February 28, 1932, p. E2. ProQuest. In February 1932, as part of their high school's bicentennial celebration of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
's birthday, Dehner and his older sister Amy performed in ''Conway Cabal'', a historical play written by one of their classmates. The siblings then acted the next month in an adaptation of the 1900 novel '' Monsieur Beaucaire'', a production that won Hastings High School first prize in a regional competition for student plays. After graduating from Hastings High School in June 1932, Dehner enrolled in the
Grand Central School of Art The Grand Central School of Art was an American art school in New York City, founded in 1923 by the painters Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark and John Singer Sargent. The school was established and run by the Grand Central Art Galleries, an ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, evidently with intentions to pursue a career in art like his father, who soon relocated to California to continue painting and to work in set design and later drawing backgrounds and storyboards for animation projects being made by
Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lant ...
,
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
, and other producers. Despite Dehner's early work in amateur stage productions and his natural talents and training as a painter and sculptor, he did not immediately embrace acting or studio art as a long-term profession.


University studies, 1935–1937

By the fall of 1934, Dehner and his sisters left New York with their mother and relocated to the West Coast, where Amy enrolled at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. The next year John enrolled as well at Berkeley to continue his formal studies in fine arts. While at the university, he also gained more practical experience acting in campus stage productions and refining his musical talents by playing piano and composing arrangements for three local dance bands. Later school and military records indicate that he decided to leave Berkeley in the summer of 1937 after completing two years of study."United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946", John Dehner Forkum, enlisted March 5, 1941, Los Angeles, California; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938–1946", National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); College Park, Maryland. Retrieved March 14, 2022 via
FamilySearch FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family Hist ...


Professional stage training

Dehner left Berkeley at the end of his sophomore year to return to New York City to try acting in professional stage productions. There he joined a
troupe Troupe may refer to: General * Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers ** Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers * Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games * Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical perform ...
associated with the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT), where he obtained intensive training in the " system" of method acting established by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
theatre practitioner A theatre practitioner is someone who creates theatrical performances and/or produces a theoretical discourse that informs his or her practical work. A theatre practitioner may be a director, dramatist, actor, designer or a combination of these t ...
Konstantin Stanislavski."John Dehner: Successful Actor With a 'Character'", ''Los Angeles Times'', September 23, 1971, p. SG, A11. ProQuest. Years later, long after Dehner had established himself as a popular actor in films and on radio and television, he credited MAT for profoundly influencing his performance style, although it was a style that over time required him to adjust substantially his acting techniques in order to achieve widespread success with American audiences. In particular, he recognized Mikhail Chekov, a former student of Stanislavski and the leading consultant to the New York troupe, as being professionally "'the most important man in my career.'" The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' in a 1971 interview with Dehner recounted how his approach to acting evolved with his MAT training: One of the notable stage productions in which Dehner was cast in New York is ''The Bridal Crown'' (1901) by Swedish playwright
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...
. Premiering on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
at the
Vanderbilt Theatre The Vanderbilt Theatre was a New York City Broadway theatre, designed by architect Eugene De Rosa for producer Lyle Andrews. It opened in 1918,Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...
, then a critic for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', reviewed the stage work by "The New York Players", whom he characterized as "serious-minded" and composed of "young people with a passion for the theatre and in most cases slim pocketbooks".Atkinson, Brooks. "Experimental Theatre Opens With Performance of Strindberg's 'Bridal Crown' by N.Y. Players", review, ''The New York Times'', February 7, 1938, p. 11.
ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
Historical Newspapers.
While citing "Dehner Forkum" among the principal actors and serving in the role of "Mats", Atkinson deemed the troupe's overall effort to be only "a respectable student performance". Dehner continued to perform, although sporadically, in other plays in New York and with a few nearby stock companies. He did receive some financial support from his mother, but the lack of consistent, paid acting work required Dehner to find employment elsewhere in the city to support himself, including taking daytime jobs as a sales clerk in a tobacco shop and parking cars at the 1939 New York World's Fair.Minnette
81
Frustrated by his meager lifestyle and the limited prospects of establishing a livable stage career in the city, he decided by the end of 1939 to return, as he described it, to the "life-line" of California.


Return to California

Upon his return to California, Dehner did not resettle in Berkeley to resume his university studies or to find an off-campus job there. His mother, who by then was living on Arch Street in Berkeley and managing a "
variety store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It u ...
", chose to remain in the city while John relocated to Southern California, to Los Angeles County, where in Hollywood there were greater opportunities for trained actors and artists to find employment in the film industry. An added advantage to moving there was that John's father was already working regularly for different studios. One was Walt Disney Studios, where Roy Forkum served as a "story artist" at new facilities being constructed by Disney in Burbank, just a short distance from Hollywood.Obituary for Roy Forku
"Obituaries / Roy Forkum"
''Variety'', April 20, 1955, p. 71, cols. 2–3. Retrieved via Internet Archive, April 10, 2022.
Dehner moved in with his father and new
stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Step ...
, Eileen, who were living in a house that Roy owned in Burbank at 454 South Fairview Street."California, County Marriages, 1850–1952," database with images, Ralph Leroy Forkum and Eileen Isobel Washington Abernethy, August 23, 1937, county courthouse records for Los Angeles, California. Copy of original marriage record retrieved via FamilySearch, April 5, 2022."Sixteenth Census of the United States Census: 1940", Ralph L. Forkum household, Burbank, Los Angeles County, California, April 15, 1940; image of original enumeration page, district (ED) 19-843, sheet 9A, line 6, family 238. Bureau of the Census, National Archives Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C. Retrieved via FamilySearch, March 31, 2022.


Walt Disney Studios

The 1940 federal census also documents that both father and son were employed that year at "motion picture studios"; Roy Forkum, as an "artist"; and 24-year-old John, as a "new worker & student" (
apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
). Other period records, however, provide some details about John's work at that time, more specifically that he, like his father, was working at Disney, where as an animator he assisted in producing drawings for Disney's 1940 animated classic ''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
'' as well as for '' The Reluctant Dragon'' (1941) and for the early development of ''
Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...
'' (1942). Dehner worked for a year at Disney, and in the previously cited 1959 interview with ''
TV-Radio Mirror Macfadden Communications Group is a publisher of business magazines. It has a historical link with a company started in 1898 by Bernarr Macfadden that was one of the largest magazine publishers of the twentieth century. History Macfadden Publ ...
'' he describes his job there as an "'in-betweener'", as an assistant artist "'who draws everything that goes 'in between' bits of action as sketched by the animators.'" "'Sometimes'", he states in that interview, "'I spent days merely drawing curly lines to simulate waves, or leaf outlines, or horizons.'" A Disney film distributed by RKO Pictures in 1941 actually shows Dehner working at the studio."The Reluctant Dragon 1941 Disney Movie"
freely available on the streaming service
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(San Bruno, California). Retrieved April 26, 2022.
Titled '' The Reluctant Dragon'', the first part of the film follows American actor and humorist
Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...
taking a behind-the-scenes tour of various production departments at Disney's facilities in Burbank. Benchley in one segment visits a storyboard room for Disney animators who are portrayed composing and drawing a future cartoon short featuring the character "Baby Weems". Dehner is briefly shown among fellow staff greeting Benchley and later doing a sketch of Baby Weems.


Military service

After registering with the military draft in Los Angeles County in October 1940, John left Disney's animation department in early March 1941 to volunteer for the United States Army, a full nine months before Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
and officially drew the United States into
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. In his enlistment papers, he identifies his civilian occupation as an artist and art teacher specializing in sculpture. John's initial army training prepared him to serve as a gunnery instructor, although he was soon selected for
officer candidate school An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...
. Additional physical exams during routine screening for his candidacy revealed that Dehner had a
stomach ulcer The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
, one so severe that it prompted army physicians by the end of 1941 to honorably discharge him from military service on medical grounds.


Radio

After Dehner was medically discharged from the army, he did not resume his job at Disney; instead, he embarked on a radio career, working initially as an announcer. '' Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', a widely read radio publication based in Washington, D.C., reported in March 1942 that "John Dehner Forkum...has joined the KFAC, Los Angeles, announcing staff, replacing Jack Little". By September that year, Dehner was working in Beverly Hills at
KMPC KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean– ...
, where he was promoted from serving as a "relief announcer" to a full-time position at the station."Behind the Mike"/"John Dehner"
job promotion announcement, ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', September 7, 1942, p. 31, col. 1. Retrieved via Internet Archive April 22, 2022.
It was at that time too when he began to identify himself professionally and consistently as "John Dehner", dropping his surname. KMPC soon promoted the "announcer-writer" and occasional
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
yet again, elevating him to news editor. Dehner then moved to radio station
KFWB KFWB (980 AM) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It airs a classic Regional Mexican music format. KFWB is owned by Lotus Communications. The station has a colorful history, being the radio voice of Warner Bros. Studios i ...
, also broadcasting from Los Angeles, where he was part of a news team that won a Peabody Award for its reporting on the first
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
conference held in San Francisco in 1945.Folkart, Burt A. "John Dehner; Multifacted Actor, Artist", obituary, ''Los Angeles Times'', February 7, 1992, p. SB A26. ProQuest. Dehner in the early 1940s also began performing as an actor on radio, and he continued to do so throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. Among his earliest radio-based acting jobs was while he was employed at station KMPC, where from late 1942 to 1944 he voiced the title character and narrated the syndicated horror anthology ''
The Hermit's Cave ''The Hermit's Cave'' was a syndicated radio horror series. The syndication was done via scripts, so that stations could broadcast the program with their own casts. The program began in September 1937 and continued into the mid-1940s on WJR AM ...
'', which was produced by William Conrad.Shreve, Jr., Ivan G. (2021)
"John Dehner"
originally posted November 23, 2021 on ''Radio Classics''. Sirius XM Satellite Radio (New York, N.Y). Retrieved May 4, 2022.
For the rest of the 1940s and for the remaining years of the " Golden Age of Radio", into the early 1960s, Dehner served as a guest star, a recurring character, or lead on some of the greatest nationally broadcast series of that period, all while working as well in films and on television. A few of those major radio productions are ''
Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...
'', ''
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962. The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a private investigator drama, with Charles Russell, Edmond O'B ...
'', '' Let George Do It'', ''California Caravan'', '' The Count of Monte Cristo''; '' Crime Classics''; '' Lassie'', ''
NBC University Theater The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
'', ''
The Adventures of Philip Marlowe ''The Adventures of Philip Marlowe'' was a radio series featuring Raymond Chandler's private eye, Philip Marlowe. Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, in their book, ''The A to Z of Old Time Radio'', noted that the program differed from most other ...
'', ''Rogers of the Gazette'', '' Suspense'', ''
The Man Called X ''The Man Called X'' is an espionage radio drama that aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944, to May 20, 1952. The radio series was later adapted for television and was broadcast for one season, 1956–1957. People Herbert Marshall had the lead ...
'', ''
The Silent Men "The Silent Men" (French: ''Les muets'') is a short story written in 1957. It is the third short story published in the volume ''Exile and the Kingdom'' by Albert Camus. Plot summary The silent men are the workers at a cooper's shop during the w ...
'', ''Smilin' Ed's Buster Brown Gang'', ''
Voyage of the Scarlet Queen ''Voyage of the Scarlet Queen'' was a radio drama portraying the adventures of the 78-foot ketch ''Scarlet Queen'' in the South Pacific. It was broadcast on Mutual from 3 July 1947 to 14 February 1948. Personnel James Burton produced the scr ...
'', ''
The Whistler ''The Whistler'' is an American radio mystery drama which ran from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955, on the west-coast regional CBS radio network. The show was also broadcast in Chicago and over Armed Forces Radio. On the west coast, it w ...
'', ''
Family Skeleton ''Family Skeleton'' is an American old-time radio serial drama, "the story of a girl with a dark past and highly uncertain future." It was broadcast on CBS from June 8, 1953, to March 5, 1954. ''Family Skeleton'' focused on Sara Ann Spence and h ...
'', ''The Black Book'', and ''
The Adventures of Sam Spade ''The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective'' was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for '' The Maltese Falcon''. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episod ...
''.Wright, Stephen
"The Reluctant Westerner"
article in ''Radio Recall'' (February 2012), journal of the Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
Dehner was also one of three actors to perform as Scotland Yard inspector Peter Black on the radio crime drama ''Pursuit'', which aired on CBS Radio between 1949 and 1952. Between 1950 and 1951, he co-starred as Elmer in the radio comedy ''The Truitts''. In 1952, he played the title character on ''The Judge'', a single episode audition (equivalent to a
television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...
), but it never went to series.Dunning, John
"The Truitts"
''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 682. Retrieved Internet Archive, May 2, 2022.
Articulate and possessing a rich baritone voice, Dehner during the 1950s was recognized by ''Radio Life Magazine'' for having the entertainment industry's "best radio voice", an asset that continued to provide him many more opportunities in broadcasting."John Dehner"
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...
(TCM),
Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
, a division of Time Warner, Inc., New York City. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
Much of his work in that period was performing as an array of characters in radio
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
s such as ''
The Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in '' Everybody's Magaz ...
'', ''Wild Bill Hickok'', '' Gunsmoke'', and ''
Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...
''. He also starred in two Western series on CBS Radio in 1958. In February that year, he began voicing the title character for ''
Frontier Gentleman ''Frontier Gentleman'' is a short-lived radio Western series originally broadcast on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) radio network from February 2 to November 16, 1958, initially heard Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) th ...
'', a weekly series that followed the "action-filled" exploits of J. B. Kendall, a British Army veteran who as a newspaper reporter traveled throughout the
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
gathering stories for ''
The London Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''. Although that series lasted only nine months, Dehner's representation of Kendall in 42 episodes was well received by period reviewers, one of whom described the actor's portrayal of the main character as "elegant and icily effective". Only a week after the final broadcast of ''Frontier Gentleman'' in November 1958, Dehner premiered as the gunfighter-private detective Paladin on the radio version of '' Have Gun Will Travel''. That series, which totaled 106 episodes, continued for two full years, ending in November 1960.


Films

Dehner during his 50-year entertainment career performed in over 125 feature films and
shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...
. He made his first " big screen" appearances in the early 1940s after he was discharged from the army, performing in uncredited bit parts while still working predominantly in radio. For several years he worked picture-to-picture as a modern
journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
, visiting casting offices, auditioning, and building screen time and experience at Republic,
RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
,
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...
, and
Twentieth Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. Among Dehner's initial film appearances are his uncredited role in a Republic Western in which he broke his right hand in a fight scene and as "Sheik Ameer" in the 1943
Sol Lesser Sol Lesser (February 17, 1890 – September 19, 1980) was an American film producer. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1961. Biography In 1913, while living in San F ...
production ''
Tarzan's Desert Mystery ''Tarzan's Desert Mystery'' is a 1943 American Tarzan film directed by Wilhelm Thiele and starring Johnny Weissmuller and Nancy Kelly. Like its immediate predecessor, ''Tarzan Triumphs'', the film mentions Tarzan's mate, Jane, but does not show ...
''. Other roles in which he was cast include a military officer, radio announcer, miner, medical intern, and state trooper in films such as ''
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, ...
'' (1944), ''
Lake Placid Serenade ''Lake Placid Serenade'' is a 1944 American musical romance film directed by Steve Sekely and starring Vera Ralston, Eugene Pallette and Barbara Jo Allen.Martin p.103 Following the German invasion of Czechoslovakia a Czech ice-skating champion goe ...
'' (1944), ''
The Corn Is Green ''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Mo ...
'' (1945), '' Twice Blessed'' (1945), ''
Captain Eddie ''Captain Eddie'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon, based on ''Seven Were Saved'' by "Eddie" Rickenbacker and Lt. James Whittaker's ''We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing''. The film stars Fred MacMurray, Lynn Bari and Char ...
'' (1945), ''
Christmas in Connecticut ''Christmas in Connecticut'' is a 1945 American Christmas romantic comedy film about an unmarried city magazine writer who pretends to be a farm wife and mother and then falls in love with a returning war hero. The film was directed by English d ...
'' (1945), ''
State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...
'' (1945), ''
She Went to the Races ''She Went to the Races'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Willis Goldbeck and starring James Craig, Frances Gifford and Ava Gardner. The screenplay concerns a team of scientists who discover a seemingly foolproof way of discovering ...
'' (1945), and '' Club Havana'' (1945). Although Dehner's early performances in these motion pictures were not actually credited on screen, his name began to appear in cast credits published in leading film-industry publications. For instance, his name and roles in both ''Captain Eddie'' and ''State Fair'' are cited in the nation's top movie-fan magazine in 1945, '' Photoplay'', as well as in ''
The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...
'' and the ''
Showmen's Trade Review ''Showmen's Trade Review'' was a weekly trade magazine for exhibitors and distributors of motion pictures published by Charles E. "Chick" Lewis (February 6, 1896 - October 22, 1953) out of offices in New York City. History and profile The first ...
''. For the rest of the 1940s, Dehner continued to perform in assorted film genres: crime dramas, mysteries, seafaring and jungle adventures,
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
stories, and a growing number of Westerns. Steadily during his early years of film acting, Dehner established a reputation among casting directors and theater audience as a reliable performer who could portray a myriad of characters, although most often in villainous roles as crooked gamblers, evil bankers, distinguished foreign spies,
grifter A grifter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Grifters (band), a 1990s American indie rock band * ''The Grifters'' (novel), a 1963 American novel by Jim Thompson * ''The Grifters'' (film), a 1990 American adaptation of the novel * Grifter (ch ...
s, edgy gunfighters, and other " heavies". In fact, a news item titled "John Dehner Turns to Right of Law" and published in Ohio in the July 21, 1950 issue of the '' Toledo Union Journal'' underscores how entrenched that reputation was. The newspaper describes for movie fans the actor's role in an upcoming picture:


1950s–1965

The 1950s were Dehner's busiest years performing in theatrical films. He was cast in at least 63 features released during that decade and fully half of those pictures are Westerns, several of which offered Dehner the most substantial parts of his screen career."John Dehner"
catalog, American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
After getting good notices for his supporting role in the 1956 RKO production ''
Tension at Table Rock ''Tension at Table Rock'' is a 1956 American Western (genre), Western Drama (genre), drama film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Richard Egan (actor), Richard Egan and Dorothy Malone. Wes Tancred (Richard Egan (actor), Richard Eg ...
'', Dehner was chosen by
Howard W. Koch Howard Winchel Koch (April 11, 1916 – February 16, 2001) was an American producer and director of film and television. Life and career Koch was born in New York City, the son of Beatrice (Winchel) and William Jacob Koch. His family was Jewish. ...
and
Aubrey Schenck Aubrey Schenck (August 26, 1908, New York City – April 14, 1999, Murrieta, California) was an American film producer from the 1940s through the 1970s. Biography The son of George Schenck, a Russian immigrant theatrical manager, and Mary Schen ...
of Bel-Air Productions to be the lead in ''
Revolt at Fort Laramie ''Revolt at Fort Laramie'' is a 1957 American Color by Deluxe Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring John Dehner, Gregg Palmer, Frances Helm and Don Gordon. The film was shot in Kanab, Utah with Harry Dean Stanton making his debu ...
'' (1957), playing cavalry officer Major Seth Bradner. The actor, though a very familiar face to motion picture audiences, was still not considered by most producers to have significant drawing power at the box office. The film-industry publication ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'', which had a large readership of theater owners in 1957, commends the overall quality of ''Revolt at Fort Laramie'' in its March 20 review but alludes to the film's lack of star power. The journal describes the 73-minute Western as a "Good programmer" with "competent” performances by Dehner and other cast and a "sufficient" number of action scenes that "holds interest despite lack of name values." The next year, in 1958, Dehner received second billing in ''
The Left Handed Gun ''The Left Handed Gun'' is a 1958 American Western film and the film directorial debut of Arthur Penn, starring Paul Newman as Billy the Kid and John Dehner as Pat Garrett. The screenplay was written by Leslie Stevens from a teleplay by Gore V ...
'', playing opposite Paul Newman who stars as the title character, the outlaw
Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...
. Dehner in that film portrays Sheriff Pat Garrett, who tracks down and kills Billy. Moving into the 1960s, Dehner began that decade co-starring in '' The Canadians'' (1961), yet another Western, although it was not a United States production. It was instead an Anglo-Canadian project filmed entirely in Canada by a predominantly English and Canadian cast and crew."The Canadians (1961)"
catalog, AFI. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
Dehner, once again playing the villain as an "
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
-hating rancher", shared top billing with fellow American actor
Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...
and British actor
Torin Thatcher Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher (15 January 1905 – 4 March 1981) was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains. Personal life Thatcher was born in Bombay, British India, to British parents, Torin James Blair T ...
. For Dehner's next three motion pictures, however, he accepted three supporting roles outside the realm of Westerns and set in contemporary times: the drama ''
The Chapman Report ''The Chapman Report'' is a 1962 American Technicolor drama film starring Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom and Glynis Johns. It was made by DFZ Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by ...
'' (1962); another contemporary drama, ''
Youngblood Hawke ''Youngblood Hawke'' is a 1962 novel by American writer Herman Wouk about the rise and fall of a talented young writer of hardscrabble Kentucky origin who briefly becomes the toast of literary New York City. The plot was suggested by the life o ...
'' (1962); and a comedy starring
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
and
Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...
, '' Critics Choice'' (1963). In 1964, Dehner co-starred with
Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and then became the title character of the popular early U.S. television series ''Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 19 ...
in ''Invitation to Ohio'', a film sponsored by the
Ohio Bell Telephone Company The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, now doing business as AT&T Ohio, is the Bell Operating Company serving most of Ohio and parts of West Virginia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. Its headquarters is the Ohio Bell Building at 750 Huron Roa ...
. Cox portrays Doc Hutton, the owner of a small popcorn and peanut wagon, who is seeking to relocate his tiny business to a more profitable area. After reading an advertisement in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' about the economic advantages of working in Ohio, Hutton calls the state's Director of Development, a role played by Dehner. Comedy ensues when the Director, mistaking the popcorn-peanut vendor as the president of a large industrial corporation, invites Hutton to tour the state with him.


Final theatrical films, 1966–1985

By 1966, Dehner's success in films had been almost exclusively in supporting roles, so in an effort to obtain more leading parts, he decided to establish that year his own production company. ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' reports in its July 6, 1966 issue that Dehner had recently formed "J. D. Productions", an enterprise with "one of its primary functions" being to purchase story ideas and scripts to develop into projects in which Dehner "would star in the film versions". To what extent Dehner's company developed projects or directed him to parts in future screen productions is unknown, but Dehner continued to act in films for the next 20 years, although not in roles for which he received top billing. His first feature after the establishment of J. D. Productions is the crime drama '' Stiletto'' (1969) starring
Alex Cord Alexander Viespi Jr. (May 3, 1933 – August 9, 2021), known professionally as Alex Cord, was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Michael Coldsmith Briggs III, better known as Archangel, in 55 episodes of the television series '' ...
,
Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (; born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress, model and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Double Man'' (1967), '' The Night They Raided ...
, and Patrick O'Neal. Dehner once again plays in a supporting role but on the "right side" of the law, portraying a district attorney. After appearing in three consecutive Westerns in 1970 and 1971, including ''
Support Your Local Sheriff ''Support Your Local Sheriff!'' (also known as ''The Sheriff'') is a 1969 American comedy Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring James Garner, Joan Hackett, and Walter Brennan. The supporting cast features Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, ...
'', Dehner completed his film career performing almost exclusively in productions outside the genre of "cowboy pictures". He was cast in historic dramas like '' The Lincoln Conspiracy'' (1977) and '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), in science-fiction features such as ''
Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to h ...
'' (1972) and '' The Boys From Brazil'' (1978); in comedies like '' Fun with Dick and Jane'' (1977) and '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982); and in
neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
thrillers such as ''
The Killer Inside Me ''The Killer Inside Me'' is a 1952 novel by American writer Jim Thompson published by Fawcett Publications. In the introduction to the anthology ''Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s'', it is described as "one of the most blistering and ...
'' (1976) and '' Jagged Edge'' (1985). Dehner in this period did star in one film as the title character, in the 1977 production ''Guardian of the Wilderness'' in which he portrays the early American naturalist and "Father of the National Parks"
John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...
.


Television

As Dehner's radio and film careers continued to progress in the 1950s, he also began working increasingly in the rapidly expanding medium of television, and over more than 35 years he performed on a wide range of Western series, situation comedies, science-fiction anthologies, crime dramas, made-for-TV movies, and in guest appearances on variety shows. Among his early performances on televised series are in two 1952 episodes"The Parachute Story" and "The Dead General Story"on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's ''
Dangerous Assignment ''Dangerous Assignment'' was an NBC Radio Network, NBC Radio drama starring Brian Donlevy broadcast in the US 1949–1953, a syndicated television series distributed in the US 1951–52 (also starring Brian Donlevy), and an Australian radio series ...
'' starring
Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are '' Beau Geste'' (19 ...
. While Dehner in those cited episodes and in many other series was identified foremost as a dramatic actor, he was cast too on assorted sitcoms throughout his career. Some of the televised series on which he performed in the 1950s and 1960s are ''
The Soldiers The Soldiers is a singing trio consisting of serving British Army soldiers, whose debut album, ''Coming Home'', was released on 26 October 2009, and who have since continued their singing career whilst remaining full-time army personnel. Signe ...
'', ''
The Real McCoys ''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Company, ...
'', ''
The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...
'', ''
The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...
'', ''
F Troop ''F Troop'' is a satirical American television sitcom Western about U.S. soldiers and Native Americans in the Wild West during the 1860s that originally aired for two seasons on ABC. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965, and ...
'', ''
The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...
'', ''
Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...
'', and '' Hogan's Heroes''. Dehner is featured as well on the classic science-fiction series ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'', appearing in three episodes between 1959 and 1964: as Captain Allenby, a spaceship pilot, in "
The Lonely "The Lonely" is episode seven of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on November 13, 1959 on CBS. Opening narration Plot In 2046, an inmate named Corry, convic ...
"; as Alan Richards in "
The Jungle ''The Jungle'' is a 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States. However, most readers we ...
", a story about a construction-company owner who is terrorized by African spiritual forces; and as a
con man A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
, who in "
Mr. Garrity and the Graves "Mr. Garrity and the Graves" is an episode of the American anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone''. Opening narration Plot In the year 1890, a traveling peddler named Jared Garrity arrives in the little recently renamed town of Happine ...
" arrives in the small 1890 town of "Happiness",
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
claiming he can raise the dead.Zicree, Marc Scott
"Mr. Garrity and the Graves"
and other episodes, ''The Twilight Zone Companion''. Toronto and New York: Bantam Books, 1982, pp. 413–414. Retrieved via Internet Archive, May 2, 2022.
Dehner's performance in the latter episode showcases one example of his talent for projecting subtle humor.
Marc Scott Zicree Marc Scott Zicree (born 1955) is an American science fiction author, television writer and screenwriter. Zicree has written for major studios and networks including Paramount, Universal, Disney, Sony/Columbia Tri-Star, MGM, New Line, CBS, NBC, ...
in the 1989 edition of his book ''The Twilight Zone Companion'' highlights that quality in Dehner's portrayal of Garrity, describing the actor as "marvelously dry as a con man".


Western series

For most of Dehner's television career, the genre he performed most often in was the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. He was cast, at times repeatedly, as a guest star or major supporting character in over 40 Western series. These include ''
The Adventures of Kit Carson ''The Adventures of Kit Carson'' is an American Western that aired from 1951 to 1955. The show ran for four seasons and consisted of 104 episodes over four years. The original air date was Saturday, August 11, 1951. It concluded on January 22, 19 ...
'', ''
Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...
'' with
Clint Walker Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker (May 30, 1927 – May 21, 2018) was an American actor. He played cowboy Cheyenne Bodie in the ABC/ Warner Bros. western series ''Cheyenne'' from 1955 to 1963. Early life Clint Walker was born Norman Eugene W ...
, ''
Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...
'' with Guy Williams, ''
Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...
'' (including the episode "
Shady Deal at Sunny Acres "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres", starring James Garner and Jack Kelly, remains one of the most famous and widely discussed episodes of the Western comedy television series ''Maverick''. Written by series creator Roy Huggins (teleplay) and Douglas He ...
") with
James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...
, '' Zane Gray Theatre'', '' Tales of Wells Fargo'' with
Dale Robertson Dayle Lymoine Robertson (July 14, 1923February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' and railroad owner Ben ...
, ''
Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...
'' with
Gene Barry Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass, June 14, 1919 – December 9, 2009) was an American stage, screen, and television actor and singer. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films '' The Atomic City'' (1952) and ''The War of The Worl ...
, '' Rawhide'' with Clint Eastwood, '' Bonanza'', ''
Law of the Plainsman ''Law of the Plainsman'' is a Western (genre), Western television series starring Michael Ansara that aired on NBC from October 1, 1959, until September 22, 1960. The character of Native Americans in the United States, Native American United St ...
'', '' The Rebel'' with Nick Adams, ''
Cimarron City Cimarron City is a town in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 150 at the 2010 census, a 39.4 percent gain over the figure of 110 in 2000.
'', ''
The Alaskans ''The Alaskans'' is a 1959–1960 ABC/Warner Bros. western television series set during the late 1890s in the port of Skagway, Alaska. The show features Roger Moore as "Silky Harris" and Jeff York as "Reno McKee", a pair of adventurers int ...
'' with Roger Moore, ''
The Restless Gun ''The Restless Gun'' is an American Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is a ...
'' with John Payne,''
The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...
'' with
Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...
, ''
Stagecoach West Stagecoach West is the trading name of Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company Limited, a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. ...
'', '' The Texan'' with
Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...
, ''
Black Saddle ''Black Saddle'' is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original backdoor ...
'', ''
Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...
'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'' with Steve McQueen, ''
Wichita Town ''Wichita Town'' is a half-hour western television series starring Joel McCrea, Jody McCrea, Carlos Romero, and George Neise that aired on NBC from September 30, 1959, until April 6, 1960. Joel McCrea played Marshal Mike Dunbar, in charge of ...
'' with
Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...
, '' Stoney Burke'', ''
A Man Called Shenandoah ''A Man Called Shenandoah'' is an American western series that aired Monday evenings on ABC-TV from September 13, 1965 to May 16, 1966. It was produced by MGM Television. Some of the location work for the 34 half-hour black and white episodes we ...
'' with Robert Horton, '' Branded'' with Chuck Connors, '' The Virginian'', '' The Wild Wild West'', '' The Big Valley'' with Barbara Stanwyck, and ''
The High Chaparral ''The High Chaparral'' television series, which was broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971, is an American Western action adventure drama set in the 1870s. It stars Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell. The series was made by Xanadu Productions ...
''.Lentz, Harris M. ''Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits, 19031995''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1996. Retrieved via Internet Archive, April 23, 2022. In the September 1960 issue of the ''
TV-Radio Mirror Macfadden Communications Group is a publisher of business magazines. It has a historical link with a company started in 1898 by Bernarr Macfadden that was one of the largest magazine publishers of the twentieth century. History Macfadden Publ ...
'', staff reporter Sam Campbell commented about Dehner's frequent appearances on television in a feature article and highlights the actor's ongoing reputation as one of the American television industry's top villains in weekly Westerns. Campbell also observes that being a frequently working supporting actor like Dehner has distinct advantages over the higher pressures and role requirements of stardom: Dehner in the 1950s and 1960s was cast too in numerous roles on both the radio and television versions of the long-running Western '' Gunsmoke''. His performances as different characters in 12 televised episodes of that series demonstrate the range of his acting talents. He portrays an unlikable drifter in the televised series' second episode, "Hot Spell" (1955); an old gold miner named Nip Cullers, who is desperate to find a wife in "Tap Day for Kitty" (1956); the long-lost, devious father of Dodge City bar owner Kitty Russell in "Daddy-O" (1957); a psychotic gunman in the episode "Crack Up" (1957); a pathetic town drunk—yet a desperately protective father—in "Bottleman" (1958); a sadistic bandit in "The Badge" (1960); a lonely widower who in "The
Squaw The English word ''squaw'' is an ethnic and sexual slur, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered derogatory, misogynist, and racist.King, C. Richard,De/Sc ...
" (1961) marries a much-younger
Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho ba ...
woman and must cope with the resulting hostility of his only son; as a nomadic and lazy would-be farmer traveling with two scheming older children in "Root Down" (1962); a brain-damaged freight operator who undergoes a drastic personality change in "Ash" (1963); a dejected and childless
homesteader Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres * Homestead principle, a legal concept ...
in "Caleb" (1964); a timid resident of Dodge City who gains fleeting celebrity after killing an outlaw in "The Pariah" (1965); and as Sam Wall, a ruthlessly exploitive businessman in "Dead Man's Law" (1968).Barabas, SuzAnne and Barabas, Gabor (1990). ''Gunsmoke: A Complete History and Analysis of the Legendary Broadcast Series''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 1990, related cast listings and episode descriptions.


Later televised performances, 19701988

By 1970, the number of Western series on American television had substantially declined, a development that offered Dehner opportunities during the final years of his career to play once again more parts outside that genre. Those opportunities, however, coincided with his expressed dissatisfaction with the state of acting in the entertainment industry. In a one-on-one interview with Dehner, which was published in ''
The Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' and other newspapers in October 1971, syndicated Hollywood columnist
Dick Kleiner Richard Arthur Kleiner (March 9, 1921 – February 13, 2002) was an American columnist whose breezy question-and-answer column, "Ask Dick Kleiner," about Hollywood celebrities appeared in hundreds of newspapers across the country. He was also an a ...
quoted the actor's views about his profession at that time: Despite Dehner's changing attitudes regarding the state of his profession, he continued to perform regularly on television series and in made-for-TV movies until just a few years before his death. He played the part of veteran magazine editor Cy Bennett for two seasons (1971–1973) on the weekly sitcom ''
The Doris Day Show ''The Doris Day Show'' is an American sitcom which was originally broadcast on CBS from September 1968 until March 1973, remaining on the air for five seasons and 128 episodes. The series is remembered for its multiple format and cast chang ...
'' and was cast in multiple episodes as a recurring character on other weekly series such as in the second season of the
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...
''
The New Temperatures Rising Show ''Temperatures Rising'' is an American television sitcom that aired on the ABC network from September 12, 1972 to August 29, 1974. During its 46-episode run, it was presented in three different formats and cast line-ups. The series was develo ...
'' (1973), as Barrett Fears in ''
Big Hawaii ''Big Hawaii'' is an American drama television series that aired from September 21 until November 23, 1977. The pilot film ''Danger In Paradise'' aired on May 12, 1977 (the series was also screened on ITV in Britain under that title). Premise A ...
'' (1977), in the
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s ''
Bare Essence ''Bare Essence'' is an American prime time soap opera television series which aired on NBC from February 15 to June 13, 1983, during the 1982–83 season. It starred Genie Francis as Tyger Hayes, and explored the intrigues of the perfume industry ...
'' (1983) and ''
The Colbys ''The Colbys'' (originally titled ''Dynasty II: The Colbys'') is an American prime time television soap opera that originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and Eileen and Robert ...
'' (1986–1987), and a return to a Western role as the "humorless, businesslike" Marshal Edge Troy in the series ''
Young Maverick ''Young Maverick'' is a 1979 television series and a sequel to the 1957–1962 series ''Maverick'', which had starred James Garner as roving gambler Bret Maverick. Charles Frank played Ben Maverick, the son of Bret's first cousin Beau Maverick, ma ...
'' (1979–1980). Some of his other roles in that closing period of his career are in docudramas, miniseries, and in movies produced specifically for television. Dehner portrays, for example, former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson in the 1974
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
presentation ''
The Missiles of October ''The Missiles of October'' is a 1974 docudrama made-for-television play about the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The title evokes the 1962 book ''The Guns of August'' by Barbara Tuchman about the missteps amongst the great powers and the ...
''; and for his final role on television, which originally aired on November 23, 1988, he appears as Admiral
Ernest King Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the U ...
in part seven of the 12-part World War II dramatic miniseries ''
War and Remembrance ''War and Remembrance'' is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in October 1978 as the sequel to Wouk's '' The Winds of War'' (1971). ''The Winds of War'' covers the period 1939 to 1941, and ''War and Remembrance'' continues the story of the extende ...
''.


Returns to stage

Dehner's decades of overlapping commitments to perform on radio, films, and television left him relatively little time during his career to participate regularly in stage productions as well. He did not, though, leave behind entirely theatre work. Over the years, particularly during the 1960s, Dehner enjoyed returning to the stage to direct and to act in roles ranging from leads to minor parts in a variety of plays, usually productions offered at small venues by local theatre groups located near Dehner's home in California. In its "On Stage" section in August 1961, the ''Los Angeles Times'' announced a presentation at the
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...
Women's Club of
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's play ''
Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...
'', starring
Jocelyn Brando Jocelyn Brando (November 18, 1919November 27, 2005) was an American actress and writer. She is best known for her role as Katie Bannion in the film noir ''The Big Heat'' (1953). Early life Brando, the older sister of Marlon Brando, was born ...
and supported by John Dehner,
Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr.; February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and premature white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Alt ...
,
Marvin Miller Marvin Julian Miller (April 14, 1917 – November 27, 2012) was an American baseball executive who served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players ...
,
Robert Middleton Robert Middleton (born Samuel G. Messer, May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977) was an American film and television actor known for his large size, beetle-like brows, and a deep, booming voice (for which he was known as "Big Bob Middleton"), usually ...
, and other experienced performers. The next year, in September, Dehner directed fellow prominent actors in performances of John Mortimer's comedy ''I Spy'' at the " Rustic Canyon Playground clubhouse". Two months later, in November 1962 at the
El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre) is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as the ...
in Hollywood, Dehner joined Lee Marvin again, along with
James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...
,
Louis Nye Louis Nye (May 1, 1913 – October 9, 2005) was an American comedic actor. He was an entertainer to the troops during World War II and is best known for his work on countless television, film and radio programs. Early years He was born Louis ...
, and Paul Fix, to play pirates in a production of ''Peter Pan'' with Peggy Webber in the title role.


Personal life and death

Dehner married twice, the first time in 1941 to Roma Leonore Meyers, a California native who was five years older than John. The couple had two daughters, Kirsten and Sheila, and remained together for nearly 30 years, until divorcing in October 1970. Three years later, in Los Angeles, Dehner wed Evelyn (née Severance) Elliott, also a native of California. They remained together until his death. In 1992, a little over three years after performing in the televised miniseries ''War and Remembrance'', Dehner died at age 76 in Santa Barbara, California due to complications from emphysema and
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
. His body was cremated and the ashes interred at the city cemetery in
Carpinteria Carpinteria (; es, Carpintería, meaning "Carpentry") is a small seaside city in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, it had a population of 13,264 at the 2020 census. Carpinteria is a po ...
, a small seaside community situated a short distance east of Santa Barbara.


Filmography


1940s

*''
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
'' (1940, animator) *'' The Reluctant Dragon'' (1941) as Tall Baby Weems Storyboard Artist with Mustache (uncredited) *''
Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...
'' (1942, animator) *''
Bellboy Donald ''Bellboy Donald'' is a 1942 Donald Duck animated cartoon, animated short film, produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. This cartoon made the debut of Pete (Disney), P ...
'' (1942) as Hotel Manager (voice, uncredited) *''
Tarzan's Desert Mystery ''Tarzan's Desert Mystery'' is a 1943 American Tarzan film directed by Wilhelm Thiele and starring Johnny Weissmuller and Nancy Kelly. Like its immediate predecessor, ''Tarzan Triumphs'', the film mentions Tarzan's mate, Jane, but does not show ...
'' (1943) as Prince Ameer (uncredited) *''
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, ...
'' (1944) as Lieutenant Commander (uncredited) *''
Hollywood Canteen The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Hollywood between October 3, 1942, and November 22, 1945 (Thanksgiving Day), as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for serv ...
'' (1944) as Norwegian Sailor (uncredited) *''
Lake Placid Serenade ''Lake Placid Serenade'' is a 1944 American musical romance film directed by Steve Sekely and starring Vera Ralston, Eugene Pallette and Barbara Jo Allen.Martin p.103 Following the German invasion of Czechoslovakia a Czech ice-skating champion goe ...
'' (1944) as Radio Announcer (uncredited) *''
The Corn Is Green ''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Mo ...
'' (1945) as Miner with Pipe in Bar (uncredited) *'' Twice Blessed'' (1945) as Contest Announcer (uncredited) *''
Captain Eddie ''Captain Eddie'' is a 1945 American drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon, based on ''Seven Were Saved'' by "Eddie" Rickenbacker and Lt. James Whittaker's ''We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing''. The film stars Fred MacMurray, Lynn Bari and Char ...
'' (1945) as Ambulance Attendant (uncredited) *''
Christmas in Connecticut ''Christmas in Connecticut'' is a 1945 American Christmas romantic comedy film about an unmarried city magazine writer who pretends to be a farm wife and mother and then falls in love with a returning war hero. The film was directed by English d ...
'' (1945) as State Trooper #2 (uncredited) *''
State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...
'' (1945) as Hog Contest Announcer (uncredited) *''
She Went to the Races ''She Went to the Races'' is a 1945 American comedy film directed by Willis Goldbeck and starring James Craig, Frances Gifford and Ava Gardner. The screenplay concerns a team of scientists who discover a seemingly foolproof way of discovering ...
'' (1945) as Winner's Announcer (uncredited) *'' Club Havana'' (1945) as Jeffreys (uncredited) *'' The Undercover Woman'' (1946) as Walter Hughes *'' The Catman of Paris'' (1946) as Georges *''
Her Kind of Man ''Her Kind of Man'' is a 1946 American crime film noir directed by Frederick De Cordova, and starring Dane Clark, Janis Paige and Zachary Scott. The film is not to be confused with ''His Kind of Woman'' (1951) starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Ru ...
'' (1946) as Guest (uncredited) *''
Rendezvous 24 ''Rendezvous 24'' is a 1946 American drama film directed by James Tinling and written by Aubrey Wisberg. The film stars William Gargan, Maria Palmer, Patrick O'Moore, Herman Bing, Kay Connors and Kurt Katch. The film was released on May 6, 1946, ...
'' (1946) as Harris (uncredited) *'' O.S.S.'' (1946) as German Radar Captain (uncredited) *''
The Searching Wind ''The Searching Wind'' is a 1946 American feature film directed by William Dieterle and starring Robert Young, Sylvia Sidney, and Ann Richards. It is based on the play of the same name by Lillian Hellman. It had originally been planned for prod ...
'' (1946) as American Reporter in Paris (uncredited) *''
The Last Crooked Mile ''The Last Crooked Mile'' is a 1946 American crime film directed by Philip Ford and written by Jerry Sackheim and Jerome Gruskin. The film stars Don "Red" Barry, Ann Savage, Adele Mara, Tom Powers, Sheldon Leonard and Nestor Paiva. The film was ...
'' (1946) as Jarvis – Gang Leader *''
Big Town ''Big Town'' is a popular long-running radio drama featuring a corruption-fighting newspaper editor initially played from 1937 to 1942 by Edward G. Robinson in his first radio role, with echoes of the conscience-stricken tabloid editor he had ...
'' (1946) as Willard Erskine (uncredited) *''
Out California Way ''Out California Way'' is a 1946 American Western musical film directed by Lesley Selander for Republic Pictures. It starred Monte Hale, Lorna Gray (billed as Adrian Booth) and Robert Blake. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans made cameo appearances. T ...
'' (1946) as Rod Mason *''
It's a Joke, Son! ''It's a Joke, Son!'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff (in his final directorial role in a film) featuring radio comedian Kenny Delmar as Senator Beauregard Claghorn, the inspiration for the cartoon character Foghorn L ...
'' (1947) as Reporter (uncredited) *''
Vigilantes of Boomtown ''Vigilantes of Boomtown'' is a 1947 American Western film in the Red Ryder film series directed by R. G. Springsteen, written by Earle Snell, and starring Allan Lane, Robert Blake, Martha Wentworth, Roscoe Karns, Roy Barcroft and Peggy Stewa ...
'' (1947) as Bob Fitzsimmons *''
Golden Earrings ''Golden Earrings'' is a 1947 romantic spy film made by Paramount Pictures and starring Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen and produced by Harry Tugend from a screenplay by Frank Butler, Helen Deutsch and Ab ...
'' (1947) as SS Officer with Hoff (uncredited) *'' Blonde Savage'' (1947) as Joe Comstock *''
Bury Me Dead ''Bury Me Dead'' is a 1947 American film noir directed by Bernard Vorhaus. The drama features Cathy O'Donnell, June Lockhart, Hugh Beaumont and Mark Daniels.. Plot When the remains of a woman's body are found after a fire consumes the stables ...
'' (1947) as Reporter (uncredited) *'' Dream Girl'' (1948) as Radio Announcer (uncredited) *''
He Walked by Night ''He Walked by Night'' is a 1948 American police procedural film noir directed by Alfred L. Werker and an uncredited Anthony Mann. The film, shot in semidocumentary tone, was loosely based on newspaper accounts of the real-life actions of Erwin ...
'' (1948) as Assistant Bureau Chief (uncredited) *''
Let's Live a Little ''Let's Live a Little'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Wallace and starring Hedy Lamarr and Robert Cummings. Written by Howard Irving Young, Edmund L. Hartmann, Albert J. Cohen, and Jack Harvey, the film is about an o ...
'' (1948) as Dempster (uncredited) *'' State Department: File 649'' (1949) as Third Oral Examiner (uncredited) *''
I Cheated the Law ''I Cheated the Law'' is a 1949 American crime film directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by Richard G. Hubler. The film stars Tom Conway, Steve Brodie (actor), Steve Brodie, Robert Osterloh, Barbara Billingsley, Russell Hicks and James Seay. Th ...
'' (1949) as Newspaperman (uncredited) *''
Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
'' (1949) as Oilman (uncredited) *''Riders of the Pony Express'' (1949) as John Dakin * ''
Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...
'' (1949) as Henri Le Clerc *''
The Secret of St. Ives ''The Secret of St. Ives'' is a 1949 American historical adventure film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Richard Ney, Vanessa Brown and Henry Daniell. It is adapted from the 1897 novel '' St. Ives'' by Robert Louis Stevenson.Goble p.442 Set du ...
'' (1949) as Couguelat *''
Barbary Pirate The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe ...
'' (1949) as Murad Reis *''Prejudice'' (1949) as Office Bigot (uncredited) *''
Bandits of El Dorado ''Bandits of El Dorado'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Barry Shipman. The film stars Charles Starrett, George J. Lewis, Fred F. Sears, John Dehner, Clayton Moore and Smiley Burnette. The film was relea ...
'' (1949) as Charles Bruton *''
Feudin' Rhythm ''Feudin' Rhythm'' is a 1949 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Edward Bernds and written by Barry Shipman. The film stars Eddy Arnold, Gloria Henry, Kirby Grant, Isabel Randolph, Tommy Ivo, Fuzzy Knight and Carolina Cotton. The ...
'' (1949) as Serious Actor (uncredited) *''
Mary Ryan, Detective ''Mary Ryan, Detective'' is a 1949 American crime drama, directed by Abby Berlin, which stars Marsha Hunt, John Litel, and June Vincent. Cast list * Marsha Hunt as Mary Ryan, also known as Mae Smith * John Litel as Captain Billings * June Vinc ...
'' (1949) as Belden (uncredited) *''
Horsemen of the Sierras ''Horsemen of the Sierras'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by Fred F. Sears and written by Barry Shipman. The film stars Charles Starrett, Smiley Burnette, T. Texas Tyler, Lois Hall, Tommy Ivo and John Dehner. The film was released ...
'' (1949) as Duke Webster *''
Bodyhold ''Bodyhold'' is a 1949 American crime film noir sport film directed by Seymour Friedman and starring Willard Parker, Lola Albright, and Hillary Brooke. Premise Tommy Jones, a well-built plumber, is invited to join a troupe of wrestlers, but is su ...
'' (1949) as Sir Raphael Brokenridge


1950s

*'' Backfire'' (1950) as Blake – Plainclothes Cop (uncredited) *''
Dynamite Pass ''Dynamite Pass'' is a black and white 1950 Western film. It was described by the ''Los Angeles Times'' as being "very good of its type" and was released on a double bill with ''The Secret Fury''. Plot Near the Old West town of Clifton, New Mex ...
'' (1950) as Anson Thurber *''Captive Girl'' (1950) as Hakim *''Texas Dynamo'' (1950) as Stanton *''Destination Murder'' (1950) as Frank Niles *''Rogues of Sherwood Forest'' (1950) as Sir Baldric (uncredited) *''David Harding, Counterspy'' (1950) as Frank Reynolds (uncredited) *''Three Secrets'' (1950) as Gordon Crossley (uncredited) *''Last of the Buccaneers'' (1950) as Sgt. Belchue *''Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard'' (1950) as Agent Bob Reynolds *''The Flying Missile'' (1950) as Lieutenant Commander (uncredited) *''Fort Savage Raiders'' (1951) as Capt. Michael Craydon *''When the Redskins Rode'' (1951) as John Delmont *''Lorna Doone (1951 film), Lorna Doone'' (1951) as Baron de Wichehalse *''The Texas Rangers (1951 film), The Texas Rangers'' (1951) as John Wesley 'Wes' Hardin *''China Corsair'' (1951) as Pedro *''Corky of Gasoline Alley'' (1951) as Jefferson Jay – Confidence Man (uncredited) *''Hot Lead'' (1951) as Turk Thorne aka John H. Smith *''Ten Tall Men'' (1951) as Jardine *''Harem Girl'' (1952) as Khalil *''The Green Glove'' (1952) as Narrator (uncredited) *''Aladdin and His Lamp'' (1952) as Prince Bokra *''Scaramouche (1952 film), Scaramouche'' (1952) as Doutreval *''Desert Passage (film), Desert Passage'' (1952) as Bronson *''California Conquest'' (1952) as Fredo Brios *''Cripple Creek (film), Cripple Creek'' (1952) as Emil Cabeau *''Lady in the Iron Mask'' (1952) as Count de Fourrier *''Junction City (film), Junction City'' (1952) as Emmett Sanderson *''Plymouth Adventure'' (1952) as Gilbert Winslow *''Man on a Tightrope'' (1953) as The Chief *''Powder River (film), Powder River'' (1953) as Harvey Logan *''Fort Algiers'' (1953) as Major Colle *''Gun Belt (film), Gun Belt'' (1953) as Matt Ringo *''Vicki (film), Vicki'' (1953) as Police Capt. J. 'Chief' Donald (uncredited) *''The Steel Lady'' (1953) as Sid Barlowe *''Southwest Passage'' (1954) as Matt Carroll *''The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters'' (1954) as Dr. Derek Gravesend *''Apache (film), Apache'' (1954) as Weddle *''The Prodigal'' (1955) as Joram *''The Man from Bitter Ridge'' (1955) as Ranse Jackman *''Tall Man Riding'' (1955) as Ames Luddington *''The Scarlet Coat'' (1955) as Nathanael Greene *''The King's Thief'' (1955) as Capt Herrick *''Duel on the Mississippi'' (1955) as Jules Tulane *''Top Gun (1955 film), Top Gun'' (1955) as Tom Quentin *''Carousel (film), Carousel'' (1956) as Mr. Bascombe *''Please Murder Me'' (1956) as Ray Willis *''Terror at Midnight'' (1956) as Lew Hanlon *''A Day of Fury'' (1956) as Preacher Jason *''The Fastest Gun Alive'' (1956) as Taylor Swope *''
Tension at Table Rock ''Tension at Table Rock'' is a 1956 American Western (genre), Western Drama (genre), drama film directed by Charles Marquis Warren and starring Richard Egan (actor), Richard Egan and Dorothy Malone. Wes Tancred (Richard Egan (actor), Richard Eg ...
'' (1956) as Hampton *'' Gunsmoke'' (1957 episode "Daddy-O") as Wayne Russell, Kitty’s father. *''
Revolt at Fort Laramie ''Revolt at Fort Laramie'' is a 1957 American Color by Deluxe Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring John Dehner, Gregg Palmer, Frances Helm and Don Gordon. The film was shot in Kanab, Utah with Harry Dean Stanton making his debu ...
'' (1957) as Maj. Seth Bradner *''The Iron Sheriff'' (1957) as Roger Pollack *''Trooper Hook'' (1957) as Fred Sutliff *''The Girl in Black Stockings'' (1957) as Sheriff Jess Holmes *''
The Restless Gun ''The Restless Gun'' is an American Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is a ...
'' (1958) as Mr. Temple in Episode "The Coward" *''
The Restless Gun ''The Restless Gun'' is an American Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is a ...
'' (1958) as Sheriff Partridge in Episode "Quiet City" *''
The Left Handed Gun ''The Left Handed Gun'' is a 1958 American Western film and the film directorial debut of Arthur Penn, starring Paul Newman as Billy the Kid and John Dehner as Pat Garrett. The screenplay was written by Leslie Stevens from a teleplay by Gore V ...
'' (1958) as Pat Garrett *''Apache Territory'' (1958) as Grant Kimbrough *''Man of the West'' (1958) as Claude *''Timbuktu (1959 film), Timbuktu'' (1958) as Emir Bhaki aka The Lion of the Desert *''Wanted Dead or Alive (TV series), Wanted Dead or Alive'' (1959) as Sheriff Hayes *''Cast a Long Shadow'' (1959) as Chip Donohue *''
Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...
'' (1959) as Cleve Colter *''
The Restless Gun ''The Restless Gun'' is an American Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is a ...
'' (1959) in final series episode "The Hill of Death" *''
Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...
'' (1959) as a vengeful Sheriff *''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'' "The Lonely" episode (1959) as Captain Allenby


1960s

*''Vice Raid'' (1960) as Narrator (uncredited) *''The Tom Ewell Show'' (1961) as Newton Pickering *''
Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...
'' (1961) as Luther Cannonbaugh *'' The Canadians'' (1961) as Frank Boone *'' Gunsmoke'' (1961 episode "The Squaw") as Hardy Tate *''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'' (1961 episode "The Jungle") as Alan Richards *''
The Chapman Report ''The Chapman Report'' is a 1962 American Technicolor drama film starring Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom and Glynis Johns. It was made by DFZ Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by ...
'' (1962) as Geoffrey Harnish *'' The Virginian'' (1963 episode "To Make This Place Remember") as Frank Sturgis *'' The Virginian'' (1963 episode "Echo of Another Day") as Bleeck *''Critic's Choice (1963 film), Critic's Choice'' (1963) as S.P. Champlain *''
The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...
'' (1963 episode "Aunt Bee's Medicine Man") as Colonel Harvey *''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'' (1964 episode "Mr. Garrity and the Graves") as Jared Garrity *''Youngblood Hawke (1964 film), Youngblood Hawke'' (1964) as Scotty Hawke *''Combat!'' (1964) as Gen. Armand Bouchard *''The Baileys of Balboa'' (1964–1965) as Commodore Cecil Wyntoon *'' The Wild Wild West'' (1965) as John Maxwell Avery in "Night of the Casual Killer" and (1966) as Colonel "Iron Man" Torres in "The Night of the Steel Assassin" *''
The Hallelujah Trail ''The Hallelujah Trail'' is a 1965 American Western mockumentary spoof directed by John Sturges, with top-billed stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton and Pamela Tiffin. It was based on the book of the same title (originally released as ...
'' (1965) as Narrator (uncredited) *'' Hogan's Heroes'' (1966 two part episode “A Tiger Hunt in Paris”) as Colonel Backscheider *''The Helicopter Spies'' (1968) as Dr. Parviz Kharmusi *''
The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...
'' (1968) as Dr. Rex Goodbody *'' Stiletto'' (1969) as District Attorney Frank Simpson *''
The High Chaparral ''The High Chaparral'' television series, which was broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971, is an American Western action adventure drama set in the 1870s. It stars Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell. The series was made by Xanadu Productions ...
'' (1969) as Gar Burnett


1970s

*''Quarantined (film), Quarantined'' (1970) as Dr. John Bedford *''Tiger by the Tail (1970 film), Tiger by the Tail'' (1970) as Sheriff Chancey Jones *''The Cheyenne Social Club'' (1970) as Clay Carroll (uncredited) *''Dirty Dingus Magee'' (1970) as Brig. Gen. George *''Support Your Local Gunfighter'' (1971) as Colonel Ames *''
Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to h ...
'' (1972) as Prof. Rumfoord *''The Day of the Dolphin'' (1973) as Ben Wallingford – Foundation *''
The Missiles of October ''The Missiles of October'' is a 1974 docudrama made-for-television play about the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The title evokes the 1962 book ''The Guns of August'' by Barbara Tuchman about the missteps amongst the great powers and the ...
'' (1974) as Former Secretary of State Dean Acheson *''Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' (1975) as Capt. Vernon Rausch *''
The Killer Inside Me ''The Killer Inside Me'' is a 1952 novel by American writer Jim Thompson published by Fawcett Publications. In the introduction to the anthology ''Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s'', it is described as "one of the most blistering and ...
'' (1976) as Bob Maples *''Guardian of the Wilderness'' (1976) as John Muir *'' Fun with Dick and Jane'' (1977) as Jane's Father *'' The Lincoln Conspiracy'' (1977) as Col. Lafayette C. Baker *''The Boys from Brazil (film), The Boys from Brazil'' (1978) as Henry Wheelock


1980s

*''Nothing Personal (1980 film), Nothing Personal'' (1980) as Senator *'' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982) as The Commissioner *''The Winds of War (miniseries), The Winds of War'' (1983) as Admiral Ernest King *'' The Right Stuff'' (1983) as Henry Luce *'' Jagged Edge'' (1985) as Judge Carrigan *''Creator (film), Creator'' (1985) as Paul *''
War and Remembrance ''War and Remembrance'' is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in October 1978 as the sequel to Wouk's '' The Winds of War'' (1971). ''The Winds of War'' covers the period 1939 to 1941, and ''War and Remembrance'' continues the story of the extende ...
'' (part VII of miniseries, 1988) as Admiral Ernest King


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dehner, John 1915 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American pianists American male film actors American male pianists American male radio actors American male television actors Animators from New York (state) Artists from New York City Deaths from diabetes Deaths from emphysema Disney people Male Western (genre) film actors Male actors from New York City People from Los Angeles People from Staten Island Western (genre) television actors 20th-century American male musicians