John Kerr
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 15, 1931
- Died
- February 2, 2013 (aged 81)
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, USA
Biography
John Grinham Kerr (November 15, 1931 – February 2, 2013), was an American actor and lawyer. He made his Broadway debut in 1953 in Mary Coyle Chase's Bernardine, a high-school comedy for which he won a Theatre World Award. In 1953-54, he received critical acclaim as a troubled prep school student in Robert Anderson's play Tea and Sympathy. In 1954, he won a Tony Award for his performance, and he starred in the film version in 1956. Kerr's first television acting role was in 1954 on NBC's Justice as a basketball player who believes that gamblers have ruined his success on the court. His mother appeared with him on the series, which focuses on the cases of attorneys with the Legal Aid Society of New York. He made The Cobweb for MGM, who liked his work so much they co-starred him with Leslie Caron in Gaby (1956), the third remake of Waterloo Bridge, which, in its original pre-Code 1931 version, featured John's grandfather, actor Frederick Kerr. Kerr starred with Deborah Kerr (no relation) in Tea and Sympathy in 1956. In a widely publicized decision in 1956, Kerr declined to play the role of Charles Lindbergh in The Spirit of St. Louis because he did not respect Lindbergh's early support of the Nazi regime in Germany prior to America's entry into World War II. "I don't admire the ideals of the hero", Mr. Kerr told The New York Post. The part went to James Stewart. Kerr had a major role in the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (1958), playing Lt. Joe Cable, the newly arrived marine about to be sent on a dangerous spy mission. In The Crowded Sky (1960), Kerr played a pilot who helps the Captain (Dana Andrews) steer a crippled airliner back to earth. Another film appearance was in Roger Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum (1961). In 1963, Kerr had a continuing role on Arrest and Trial, playing Assistant DA Barry Pine. During the 1960s, Kerr guest starred on several TV series including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Rawhide, Gunsmoke and Adam-12. He had a regular role on the ABC-TV primetime TV series, Peyton Place, playing District Attorney John Fowler during the 1965-66 season. Also in 1964-65 he appeared as guest star on several episodes of Twelve O'Clock High. In the 1970s, Kerr had a recurring role as prosecutor Gerald O'Brien on The Streets of San Francisco and he made guest appearances in several other TV programs including The Mod Squad, Columbo, McMillan and Wife, Barnaby Jones and The Feather and Father Gang. Kerr's last acting appearance was a minor role in The Park Is Mine (1986), a made-for-TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones.
Known For
Filmography
James Dean: Forever Young
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Anthony Perkins: A Life in the Shadows
Movie · as Self
Bay Coven
Movie · as Ferry Captain
The Ray Bradbury Theater
TV · as Don · 1 ep
The Amateur
Movie · as CIA Security Guard
Search and Destroy
Movie · as MacPherson
Plague
Movie · as Escaping Guard
The Silent Partner
Movie · as Detective #3
Medical Story
TV · as Dr. Barrett · 1 ep
Only God Knows
Movie · as Health Inspector
Class of '44
Movie · as Hotel Bartender, Ford Hotel Bartender (uncredited)
Incident on a Dark Street
Movie · as Gallagher - Trenier's Lawyer
Police Story
TV · 5 eps
Toma
TV · 1 ep
The Longest Night
Movie · as Agent Jones
The Rookies
TV · as Price · 1 ep
The Streets of San Francisco
TV · 7 eps
Search
TV · 1 ep
Yuma
Movie · as Capt. White
Alias Smith and Jones
TV · 1 ep
Columbo
TV · as Roger Dutton · 1 ep
The Mod Squad
TV · 2 eps
Adam-12
TV · as Father Joe · 1 ep
The Name of the Game
TV · as Billy Keaton, Stuart Clark · 1 ep
The High Chaparral
TV · as Creed Hallock · 1 ep
The F.B.I.
TV · as SAC Gary Morgan, Chicago Special Agent, SAC William Converse, S.A.C. Douglas Parker, Clayton McGregor · 3 eps
The Long, Hot Summer
TV · 26 eps
Run for Your Life
TV · as Alex Ryder · 1 ep
Profiles in Courage
TV · as Whitlock · 1 ep
Arrest and Trial
TV · as Barry Pine · 30 eps
The Virginian
TV · as Oliver Smith · 1 ep
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV · as Glendon Baker · 1 ep
The Pit and the Pendulum
Movie · as Francis Barnard
King of Kings
Movie · as Man at Sermon on the Mount (uncredited)
Bus Stop
TV · 1 ep
The Defenders
TV · as Jonathan Winthrop · 1 ep
The Crowded Sky
Movie · as Mike Rule
Girl of the Night
Movie · as Larry Taylor
Rawhide
TV
Riverboat
TV · as Jefferson Carruthers · 1 ep
South Pacific
Movie · as Lt. Joseph Cable, USMC
The Vintage
Movie · as Ernesto Barandero
The Ninth Day
Movie · as David McAdam
Snowshoes: A Comedy of People and Horses
Movie · as Self - Announcing Next Week's Show
Tea and Sympathy
Movie · as Tom Robinson Lee
Gaby
Movie · as Gregory Y. Wendell
The Corn is Green
Movie · as Morgan Evans
The Cobweb
Movie · as Steven W. Holte
The Quatermass Xperiment
Movie · as Photo Lab Technician (uncredited)
Gunsmoke
TV · as Lute · 1 ep
MGM Parade
TV · as self · 2 eps
Climax!
TV · as Matt Sloane, Danny Barron/Steve Barron, Poggi · 1 ep
The Wonderful World of Disney
TV · as Martin Didler · 1 ep
Horace Mann's Miracle
Movie · as student
Rex Newman
Movie · as Howie Madden
General Electric Theater
TV · as Freddie · 1 ep
The United States Steel Hour
TV · 1 ep
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV · as Peter Standish · 1 ep
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Tony · 1 ep
Suspense
TV · as Derek Howard · 1 ep
Studio One
TV · as The Boy · 1 ep
The Philco Television Playhouse
TV · as George Avery · 1 ep