Richard Jaeckel


Actor

About

Also Known As
Richard Hanley Jaeckel
Birth Place
Long Beach, California, USA
Born
October 10, 1926
Died
June 14, 1997
Cause of Death
Cancer

Biography

A journeyman player of Hollywood films and action TV series who also has acted in martial arts movies, Jaeckel came up in the waning days of the studio system and has played supporting parts--often pugnacious ones--in some "A" movies and numerous leads in "B" movies and low-budget actioners. Breaking in as a delivery boy at Fox Studios, the teenaged Jaeckel made his film debut as a G.I. ...

Photos & Videos

Battleground - Action Publicity Stills
The Green Slime - Scene Stills

Family & Companions

Antoinette Jaeckel
Wife
Survived him.

Biography

A journeyman player of Hollywood films and action TV series who also has acted in martial arts movies, Jaeckel came up in the waning days of the studio system and has played supporting parts--often pugnacious ones--in some "A" movies and numerous leads in "B" movies and low-budget actioners. Breaking in as a delivery boy at Fox Studios, the teenaged Jaeckel made his film debut as a G.I. in "Guadalcanal Diary" (1943). He appeared in other war and Western movies during the late 1940s and early 50s including "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) and "The Gunfighter" (1950). He won praise as Turk, the hormonally-charged suitor to Terry Moore in "Come Back, Little Sheba" (1952).

Despite appearing in a prestige film, Jaeckel went back to "B" action programmers in the late 50s, before landing supporting parts in bigger budget action films in the 60s, such as Robert Aldrich's "The Dirty Dozen' (1967). There were some exceptions, such as his turn as an American soldier accused of rape in a small town in post-war Germany in "A Town Without Pity" (1961) and as Paul Newman's lumberjack brother who, in a startling scene, drowns while caught under a log during high tide in "Sometimes a Great Notion" (1971). The latter earned Jaeckel an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He followed with roles in Aldrich's "Ulzana's Raid" (1972) and Sam Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973) and a reteaming with Newman in "The Drowning Pool" (1975). Jaeckel was featured in Aldrich's "Twilight's Last Gleaming" (1977) and "All the Marbles" (1981) and was effective as the government agent tracking an alien (Jeff Bridges) in John Carpenter's "Starman" (1984). In the 90s, he was in such martial arts quickies as "The King of Kickboxers" (1990) and "Martial Outlaw" (1993).

Jaeckel began performing in TV anthology series such as "The U.S. Steel Hour" and "Playhouse 90" during the 1950s. In 1961, he joined the cast of "Frontier Circus" (CBS) as the advance man for a traveling troupe in the Old West. His series resume reads with a long list of action or crime series in which he co-starred, but which did not last long on the airwaves -- Lt. McNeil in "Banyon" (NBC, 1972-73), Hank Myers in "Firehouse" (ABC, 1974), Klinger in "Salvage I" (ABC, 1979), Master Chief Rivers in "Supercarrier" (ABC, 1988) and Lt. Quirk in "Spencer for Hire" (ABC, 1986-87). Jaeckel also co-starred on the ABC sitcom "At Ease" (1983), playing the by- the-book security boss, Major Hawkins, and he was the older, wiser figure in the first syndicated season of "Baywatch." His work in TV-movies has been somewhat more sporadic. He did a well- received turn opposite Linda Lavin in "The $5.20 an Hour Dream" (CBS, 1980) and returned to "The Dirty Dozen" for the franchise's TV movies in the mid-80s.

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

Martial Outlaw (1993)
The King of the Kickboxers (1991)
Captain Block
Delta Force 2: The Columbian Connection (1990)
John Page
Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier (1989)
Al Gibson
Ghettoblaster (1989)
Black Moon Rising (1986)
Killing Machine (1986)
Martin
Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission (1985)
Starman (1984)
The Awakening of Candra (1983)
The Delta Fox (1983)
Santana
The Fix (1983)
Charles Dale
Pacific Inferno (1982)
Dealer
Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
Cold River (1981)
Mike Allison
. . . All the Marbles (1981)
Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)
The $5.20 an Hour Dream (1980)
Albert Kleinschmidt
Reward (1980)
Champions: A Love Story (1979)
Salvage (1979)
Jack Klinger
The Dark (1979)
Go West, Young Girl (1978)
Billy
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
Speedtrap (1977)
Billy
The Jaws of Death (1976)
Grizzly (1976)
Arthur Scott; Naturalist
Day Of The Animals (1976)
Professor Taylor Macgregor
The Last Day (1975)
Gratt Dalton
The Drowning Pool (1975)
The Outfit (1974)
Born Innocent (1974)
Chosen Survivors (1974)
Gordon Ellis
Partners in Crime (1973)
Firehouse (1973)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
The Red Pony (1973)
James Creighton
Ulzana's Raid (1972)
Sergeant
Sometimes a Great Notion (1971)
Joe Ben
The Deadly Dream (1971)
Delgreve
Latitude Zero (1970)
Perry Lawton
Chisum (1970)
Jess Evans
The Green Slime (1969)
Vince Elliot
The Devil's Brigade (1968)
Omar Greco
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Sergeant Bowren
Once Before I Die (1966)
Lieutenant Custer
Town Tamer (1965)
Honsinger
Nightmare in the Sun (1964)
The Young and the Brave (1963)
Cpl. John Estway
4 for Texas (1963)
Mancini
Town Without Pity (1961)
Bidie
The Gallant Hours (1960)
Lt Cmdr. Roy Webb
Platinum High School (1960)
Hack Marlow
Flaming Star (1960)
Angus Pierce
The Lineup (1958)
Sandy McLain
The Naked and the Dead (1958)
Gallagher
Cowboy (1958)
Paul Curtis
The Gun Runners (1958)
Buzurki
When Hell Broke Loose (1958)
Karl
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Charlie Prince
Attack (1956)
Pfc. Snowden
The Violent Men (1955)
Wade Matlock
Apache Ambush (1955)
Lee Parker
Sea of Lost Ships (1954)
Hap O'Malley
The Shanghai Story (1954)
Knuckles Greer
Big Leaguer (1953)
Bobby Bronson
Come Back, Little Sheba (1953)
Turk Fisher
My Son John (1952)
Chuck Jefferson
Hoodlum Empire (1952)
Ted Dawson
Fighting Coast Guard (1951)
Tony Jessup
The Sea Hornet (1951)
Johnny Radford
The Gunfighter (1950)
Eddie
Wyoming Mail (1950)
Nate
Battleground (1949)
Bettis
City Across the River (1949)
Bull
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Pfc. F. Flynn
Jungle Patrol (1948)
Dick Carter
Wing and a Prayer (1944)
"Beezy" Bessemer
Guadalcanal Diary (1943)
Pvt. Johnny "Chicken" Anderson

Cast (Special)

Hot W.A.C.S. (1981)
Princess (1980)
The Petrified Forest (1955)
Ruby

Life Events

1943

Feature film acting debut, "Guadalcanal Diary"

1952

Played Turk in "Come Back, Little Sheba"

1961

TV series debut, "Frontier Circus"

1971

Co-starred in "Sometimes a Great Notion"; earned Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor

1974

Appeared regularly on short-lived series "Firehouse" (ABC)

1979

Co-starred as FBI agent on short-lived series "Salvage I"

1980

Key TV-movie, "The $5.20 An Hour Dream"

1983

Played Major Hawkins on "At Ease" (ABC)

1988

Appeared as regular on "Supercarrier" (ABC)

Photo Collections

Battleground - Action Publicity Stills
Here are several action-oriented publicity stills taken for MGM's Battleground (1949). Publicity stills were specially-posed photos, usually taken off the set, for purposes of publicity or reference for promotional artwork.
The Green Slime - Scene Stills
Here are some scene stills from the monster movie The Green Slime (1969), co-produced by MGM and Toho.

Videos

Movie Clip

Violent Men, The (1955) -- (Movie Clip) Who Seen What Happened? Rancher Parrish (Glenn Ford) with doctor (Raymond Greenleaf), planning to leave town, then watching thug Matlock (Richard Jaeckel) with a farmer (Frank Ferguson) and the sheriff (Willis Bouchey), gathering resolve, in Rudolph Mate`'s The Violent Men, 1955.
Green Slime, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Nothing Left But Dust The General (Bud Widom) in charge of space command has already told others that he plans to interrupt the resignation of hero officer Rankin (Robert Horton) because he’s the only man to save planet earth from a threatening asteroid, early in the Japanese-American co-production The Green Slime, 1969.
Green Slime, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Your Orders Have Been Modified Richard Jaeckel is Vince, in charge of the space station, Luciana Paluzzi staffer Lisa, and Robert Horton as Rankin is arriving to take charge of the mission to blow up the asteroid bearing down on earth, their love and maybe professional triangle explained, early in The Green Slime, 1969.
Green Slime, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) You Can't Bring It With You! Robert Horton as Rankin, running the crew planting bombs to blow up the giant asteroid before it hits planet earth, Richard Jaeckel the number-two with whom he has history, Ted Gunther the scientist who wants to save some of the strange goo they’ve found, in The Green Slime, 1969.
Green Slime, The (1969) -- (Movie Clip) I Want A Gas Gun And A Net Suddenly space station crew members are being killed, we know by something that grew from the goo they accidentally brought back from the asteroid, Richard Jaeckel is captain Vince who overrules the mission commander, his former boss (Robert Horton), and it’s a bad call, in The Green Slime, 1969.
Drowning Pool, The (1975) -- (Movie Clip) The Door Was Unlocked Paul Newman as the title character, an L-A detective based on Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer, having learned that the client who flew him to New Orleans was an ex-lover, heads for his motel across Lake Ponchartrain, meeting teenage Schuyler (Melanie Griffith), and cop Richard Jaeckel, early in The Drowning Pool, 1975.
Dirty Dozen, The (1967) -- (Movie Clip) Stop By Anytime, Bozo Maj. Reisman (Lee Marvin) returns to camp just as his martinet superior Breed (Robert Ryan) is trying to interrogate his semi-legitimate all-convict unit (John Cassavetes, Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, et al) in Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen, 1967.
Dirty Dozen, The (1967) -- (Movie Clip) I Pick My Own Enemies With MP’s commanded by Richard Jaeckel, Lee Marvin as Reisman interviews military death row inmates for his maybe-suicidal with possible-amnesty mission, notably football hero Jim Brown as Jefferson, with Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland et al, in The Dirty Dozen, 1967.
Gunfighter, The (1950) -- (Movie Clip) Death And Glory The preface ends the credits, star Gregory Peck rides into town where cocky Richard Jaeckel lurks in the saloon, Harry Shannon the barkeep and Pierce Lyden the friend trying to talk him down, in producer Nunnally Johnson’s high-end Western The Gunfighter, 1950, directed by Henry King.
3:10 To Yuma (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Let The Dust Settle The chilling opening, from Elmore Leonard's story, Delmer Daves directing, introducing Glenn Ford as the bandit Wade, and Van Heflin as the rancher Evans, Barry Curtis and Jerry Hartleben his sons, from 3:10 To Yuma, 1958.
3:10 To Yuma (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Here's To The Boss Robber Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) and gang, supported by his second in command (Richard Jaeckel), ride into Bizby and report the crime they've just committed to bar-girl Emmy (Felicia Farr), early in 3:10 To Yuma, 1958, directed by Delmer Daves, from the Elmore Leonard story.
3:10 To Yuma (1958) -- (Movie Clip) You Won't Touch Ground Disinterested rancher Evans (Van Heflin), having been inconvenienced earlier by the visitor the townspeople now realize is notorious killer thief Ben Wade (Glenn Ford), helps the marshal (Ford Rainey) effect an arrest in the town saloon, in Delmer Daves' 3:10 To Yuma, 1958.

Trailer

Gunfighter, The - (Re-issue Trailer) The fastest gun in the West (Gregory Peck) tries to escape his reputation in The Gunfighter (1950).
Green Slime, The - (Original Trailer) A mysterious fungus invades a space station and turns the inhabitants into monsters in The Green Slime (1969).
Drowning Pool, The - (Original Trailer) Paul Newman returns as detective Lew Harper when a threatening letter leads to murder in The Drowning Pool (1975).
Devil's Brigade, The - (Original Trailer) Experienced Canadian soldiers and misfit Americans join to beat the Nazis in The Devil's Brigade (1968).
Dirty Dozen, The - (Original Trailer) A renegade officer trains a group of misfits for a crucial mission behind enemy lines in The Dirty Dozen (1967) starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown.
Big Leaguer - (Original Trailer) Edward G. Robinson plays an aging ballplayer turned manager in Robert Aldrich's first movie Big Leaguer (1953).
3:10 To Yuma (1957) - (Original Trailer) A rancher (Van Heflin) must run the gauntlet to get a prisoner (Glenn Ford) to the 3:10 To Yuma, directed by Delmer Daves.
Young and the Brave, The - (Original Trailer) Three American POWs fight to escape from North Korea in The Young and the Brave (1963) starring Rory Calhoun.
Sands of Iwo Jima - (Original Trailer) During World War II a marine sergeant must turn his recruits into fighting men in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), directed by Allan Dwan and starring John Wayne.
Naked and the Dead, The - (Original Trailer) A green lieutenant comes up against incompetent officers and a sadistic sergeant during World War II in The Naked and the Dead (1958), directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Aldo Ray.
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid - (Original Trailer) The legendary outlaw clashes with his former best friend, now the sheriff in director Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973).

Family

Dorothy Jaeckel Hamlin
Sister
Survived him.
Barry Jaeckel
Son
Professional golfer. Survived him.
Richard Jaeckel
Son
Survived him.

Companions

Antoinette Jaeckel
Wife
Survived him.

Bibliography