David Janssen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Janssen as Richard Kimble (1963)

David Janssen (* 27. March 1931 in Naponee , Nebraska as David Harold Meyer ; † 13. February 1980 in Malibu , California ) was an American film actor , who in the 1960s in the hit TV series The Fugitive as Dr . Richard Kimble became famous.

Life

David Janssen spent his youth in Hollywood after his mother, Berniece Graf, a former Miss Nebraska who had also performed with the Ziegfeld Follies , separated from his father. In 1937 she married Eugene Janssen, whose name her son used when he started working in show business. Janssen, who initially wanted to pursue a career in sports, had to give it up due to an accident. In 1945 he had his first role in It's a Pleasure , but the production company 20th Century Fox soon dropped him because of his protruding ears. He moved to Universal Studios and received numerous roles there in the early 1950s, although in most cases they remained small. During this time he met Clint Eastwood , whom Janssen encouraged to try it as an actor as well.

Janssen made his acting breakthrough in 1958 with the series Richard Diamond, Private Detective , in which he played the title role of the private detective. He was even more successful with his portrayal of Richard Kimble in Auf der Flucht (1963–1967). He was then in numerous other television roles, such as in the cult series Harry O (1974-1978) and in Colorado Saga (1978) to see. After becoming popular around the world with Auf der Flucht , Janssen received high-profile roles in several movies in the late 1960s, for example in In the Fisherman's Shoes (1968) alongside Laurence Olivier and in the science fiction film Lost in Space (1969). In the 1970s, he could no longer build on these box office successes.

From 1958 until their divorce in 1973, Ellie Graham was Janssen's partner. From 1975 he lived with the actress Dani Crayne. Janssen was heavily alcoholic and a heavy smoker . The reasons for his sudden death in 1980 due to a heart attack are assumed to be his excessive lifestyle and overwork. He found his final resting place in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City , California .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Rock: For Clint Eastwood's 85th Birthday. May 31, 2015, accessed June 8, 2020 (German).
  2. ↑ knerger.de: The grave of David Janssen
personal data
SURNAME Janssen, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meyer, David Harold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Naponee , Nebraska
DATE OF DEATH February 13, 1980
Place of death Malibu , California