JOHN DEHNER BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

John Dehner was born on November 23rd, 1915 in Staten island, New York City, New York with the birth name, John Forkum.  His career was not only limited to acting, he worked numerous other positions within the entertainment industry.  Dehner worked on radio, television and films.  Between 1941 and 1988, Dehner appeared in over 260 films and television programs.   

Dehner began his career working as an assistant animator at the Walt Disney Studios and also worked as a professional pianist, Army publicist, radio disk jockey and radio journalist. 

His film debut was in 1945 and many film roles followed.  His first major screen appearance was in, "Out California Way" (1946).  His physical appearance was that of a distinguished man and many of his roles were portraying a character that was an outlaw leader, crooked banker or a saloon owner.  Many films were Westerns or adventures.

In 1956 alone, he appeared in seven films in one year, one of the more crucial film roles was in, "Carousel" (1956).   He also worked numerous television roles within a year.  In 1959 alone, he made a total of nine guest appearances in a variety of television series.

Dehner did not limit himself to television, film and radio.  He also worked on the stage such as in the production of, "Bridal Crown" and was the director of "Alien Summer". 

When he worked radio, it was the same type of characters he portrayed.  The 'bad guy' image such as on his role on, "Gunsmoke".  He was cast as a newspaper reporter for the television series, "The Roaring 20's" (1960) under his contract with Warner brothers.  He was also a regular guest star on, "The Westerner" (1960), "The Baileys of Balboa" (1964) and "The Doris Day Show" (1968).   He also guest starred on, "Texas Ranger" (1957) with Gale Storm.

Two of the most memorable performances of his career were on ABC's, "Maverick" (1957) on the episodes, "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres" and "Greenbacks Unlimited".  Dehner never stopped working on furthering his career.  He made an appearance numerous times on, "Rifleman" episodes and also guest starred on an episode of, "The Andy Griffith Show".

His film roles played characters that ranged from a mad scientist to a sheriff.  The more well known films he was cast on were, "The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters" (1954), "The Left-Handed Gun" (1958) starring Paul Newman and "The Right Stuff" (1983).

On CBS radio he starred in, "Frontier Gentleman" which was a radio Western series.  He also took a chance at a soap opera, "Bare Essence" (1983) as the title role character, but this Soap Opera did not last long.  One of his last appearances was on, "Jagged Edge" (1985) as a judge.     

John Dehner never really retired from his career and worked all the way up to his passing on Feb 04, 1992 in Santa Barbara, California from Emphysema and diabetes at the age of seventy six.  He is  interred  at Carpinteria, California's cemetery.

 
 
Filmography
 
1988   War and Remembrance
1986-1987  The Colbys
1986   Help Wanted: Kids 
1985   Creator
1985   Jagged Edge
1985   Hardcastle and McCormick
1983   The Right Stuff
1983   Bare Essence
1983   The Winds of War
1982   Airplane II: The Sequel
1982   Bare Essence
1981   Hart to Hart
1981   California Gold Rush
1980   Nothing Personal
1980   Hawaii Five-O
1979-1980  Young Maverick
1979   Quincy M.E.
1978   Greatest Heroes of the Bible Debuknar
1978   The Boys from Brazil
1977   Big Hawaii
1977   The Lincoln Conspiracy
1977   Danger in Paradise
1977   Fun with Dick and Jane
1977   How the West Was Won
1977   The Rockford Files
1976   Guardian of the Wilderness
1976   The Killer Inside Me
1976   The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe
1974-1976  Columbo
1975   Barbary Coast
1975   Ellery Queen
1975   Movin' On
1975   Switch
1975   McCoy
1975   The Big Rip-Off
1975   Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1975   Petrocelli
1974   The Missiles of October
1974   Honky Tonk
1974   The Magician
1973-1974  The New Temperatures Rising Show
1973   The Day of the Dolphin
1973   Love, American Style
1971-1973  The Doris Day Show
1972   Slaughterhouse-Five
1971   Support Your Local Gunfighter
1970   Dirty Dingus Magee
1970   The Immortal 
1970   The Silent Force
1970   The Cheyenne Social Club
1965-1970  Insight
1970   Quarantined
1970   Land of the Giants
1970   Then Came Bronson 
1969   The High Chaparral 
1969   Get Smart 
1963-1969  The Virginian
1969   Stiletto
1969   The Queen and I 
1967-1969  Judd for the Defense 
1969   Mannix 
1968   Ironside 
1968   Something for a Lonely Man
1968   The Outcasts
1968   Mission: Impossible
1956-1968  Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color 
1968   The Flying Nun
1968   The Beverly Hillbillies 
1955-1968  Gunsmoke  
1968   Tiger by the Tail
1967   Tarzan
1967   The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1967   Captain Nice 
1967   Winchester 73
1967   The Monroes 
1966   The Road West 
1966   T.H.E. Cat 
1965-1966  Hogan's Heroes
1966   Jericho
1966   Run for Your Life 
1966   Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea 
1965-1966  The Wild Wild West 
1965   Morning Star
1965   The Big Valley 
1965   A Man Called Shenandoah 
1965   F Troop
1965   O.K. Crackerby! 
1965   The Hallelujah Trail 
1965   Branded 
1964-1965  The Baileys of Balboa 
1964   Youngblood Hawke  
1964   The Rogues
1959-1964  Twilight Zone 
1964   Mr. and Mrs.
1964   East Side/West Side  
1963-1964  Temple Houston 
1964   The Great Adventure 
1960-1964  Rawhide 
1960-1964  Bonanza
1964   Combat! 
1964   The Greatest Show on Earth
1963   Glynis
1963   Critic's Choice 
1960-1963  77 Sunset Strip 
1963   The Andy Griffith Show
1963   Stoney Burke
1962   Empire 
1962   The Gallant Men 
1962   The Chapman Report  
1961-1962  Surfside 6 
1958-1962  Maverick 
1962   Hawaiian Eye
1962   Lawman 
1960-1962  The Roaring 20's
1961   Aquamania 
1961   Checkmate
1961   The Litterbug
1959-1961  Tales of Wells Fargo 
1961   The Aquanauts
1961   The Untouchables
1961   Stagecoach West 
1959-1961  The Rifleman 
1961   The Canadians 
1959-1961  Bat Masterson
1961   The Tom Ewell Show
1960-1961  The Rebel
1960   The Westerner 
1960   Adventures in Paradise
1957-1960  Zane Grey Theater
1960   The Brothers Brannagan 
1959-1960  The Alaskans 
1960   Startime
1959-1960  Black Saddle
1960   Laramie
1960   The Texan
1959   Law of the Plainsman 
1959   Wichita Town 
1959   Philip Marlowe
1959   Wanted: Dead or Alive
1959   Goodyear Theatre
1959   Alcoa Theatre 
1959   Cast a Long Shadow
1958-1959  The Restless Gun 
1959   Playhouse 90 
1959   The David Niven Show 
1959   Timbuktu
1957-1959  Wagon Train
1959   Bronco
1958   Yancy Derringer 
1958   Cimarron City 
1958   Perry Mason 
1958   Man of the West
1958   Apache Territory
1958   The Left Handed Gun 
1958   The Real McCoys 
1957-1958  Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre 
1958   The Betty White Show 
1958   Zorro 
1957   Have Gun - Will Travel 
1957   The Girl in Black Stockings
1957   Trooper Hook  
1957   Cheyenne 
1957   The Iron Sheriff
1957   Revolt at Fort Laramie 
1957   Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers  
1956   Sheriff of Cochise
1956   Tension at Table Rock
1956   The Fastest Gun Alive 
1956   Frontier 
1956   Crusader
1956   Lux Video Theatre
1956   A Day of Fury 
1956   Terror at Midnight 
1956   Please Murder Me 
1956   Carousel 
1956   The Adventures of Falcon 
1956   The Forest Ranger
1955   Top Gun 
1954-1955  Four Star Playhouse 
1955   Duel on the Mississippi  
1955   Your Play Time
1955   The King's Thief 
1955   The Scarlet Coat 
1955   The Man Behind the Badge 
1955   Tall Man Riding 
1955   The Prodigal 
1955   The Man from Bitter Ridge
1955   The Millionaire
1954   Schlitz Playhouse
1954   Big Town 
1954   Waterfront 
1954   Apache  
1954  The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters
1954   Stories of the Century 
1954   Southwest Passage  
1954   Strauss Fantasy
1953   The Steel Lady  
1953   Vicki 
1953   Gun Belt  
1953   Fort Algiers  
1953   Powder River
1953   Man on a Tightrope 
1953   Fireside Theatre
1953   The Adventures of Kit Carson 
1952   Plymouth Adventure  
1952   Dangerous Assignment 
1952   Junction City  
1952   Lady in the Iron Mask
1952   Cripple Creek 
1952   California Conquest
1952   Desert Passage 
1952   Scaramouche 
1952   Aladdin and His Lamp  
1952   The Gauntlet  
1952   Harem Girl  
1951   Ten Tall Men  
1951   Hot Lead
1951   Corky of Gasoline Alley
1951   China Corsair 
1951   The Texas Rangers  
1951   Lorna Doone 
1951   When the Redskins Rode 
1951   Fort Savage Raiders 
1951   Al Jennings of Oklahoma 
1950   The Flying Missile 
1950   Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard  
1950   Last of the Buccaneers 
1950   Three Secrets 
1950   David Harding, Counterspy  
1950   Rogues of Sherwood Forest  
1950   Destination Murder
1950   Texas Dynamo  
1950   Captive Girl
1950   Dynamite Pass
1950   Backfire  
1949   Bodyhold  
1949   Horsemen of the Sierras 
1949   Mary Ryan, Detective
1949   Feudin' Rhythm
1949   Bandits of El Dorado 
1949   Prejudice 
1949   Barbary Pirate 
1949   The Secret of St. Ives 
1949   Kazan
1949   Riders of the Pony Express
1949   Tulsa
1949   I Cheated the Law
1949   State Department: File 649
1948   Let's Live a Little  
1948   He Walked by Night 
1948   Dream Girl 
1947   Bury Me Dead
1947   Blonde Savage
1947   Golden Earrings
1947   Big Town 
1947   Vigilantes of Boomtown
1947   It's a Joke, Son!
1946   Out California Way
1946   The Last Crooked Mile 
1946   The Searching Wind 
1946   O.S.S.
1946   Rendezvous 24
1946   Her Kind of Man 
1946   The Catman of Paris 
1946   The Undercover Woman 
1945   Club Havana
1945   She Went to the Races 
1945   State Fair
1945   Christmas in Connecticut 
1945   Captain Eddie 
1945   Twice Blessed 
1945   The Corn Is Green 
1944   Lake Placid Serenade 
1944   Hollywood Canteen 
1944   Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 
1941   The Reluctant Dragon