David Janssen

Actor

About

Read More

Also Known As

David Harold Meyer, Dave Janssen

Birth Place

Naponee, Nebraska, USA

Born

March 27, 1931

Died

February 13, 1980

Cause of Death

Heart Attack

Biography

Read More

Actor David Janssen is best remembered for his role as Dr. Richard Kimble in "The Fugitive," the classic suspense television show that ran for four seasons in the mid 1960s. Accused and convicted of murdering his wife, Janssen becomes an outlaw when the train taking him to prison crashes, and he begins his own manhunt for the one-armed murderer who got away. Before hitting it big with th...

Filmography

Read More

City in Fear (1980)

High Ice (1980)

Glencoe Macdonald

The Golden Gate Murders (1979)

Detective Sergeant Paul Silver

S.O.S. Titanic (1979)

Superdome (1978)

Photos & Videos

View All

Lafayette Escadrille (1958) -- (Movie Clip) In Good Company

Lafayette Escadrille (1958) -- (Movie Clip) He's Forgotten You Exist

Family & Companions

Read More

Ellie Graham

Wife

Married in 1958; divorced in 1973.

Dani Saval Crayne

Wife

Married in 1975 until his death; later married director Hal Needham.

Biography

Actor David Janssen is best remembered for his role as Dr. Richard Kimble in "The Fugitive," the classic suspense television show that ran for four seasons in the mid 1960s. Accused and convicted of murdering his wife, Janssen becomes an outlaw when the train taking him to prison crashes, and he begins his own manhunt for the one-armed murderer who got away. Before hitting it big with the show, he played numerous bit parts in forgettable B movies over the years, but his movie career never really took off. Television was where Janssen made his name and fortune. In 1957, he played one of TV's first tough-guy detectives in "Richard Diamond, Private Detective." Post-"Fugitive," he starred in the crime show "O'Hara, United States Treasury," co-created by "Dragnet"'s Jack Webb, and in the short-lived "Harry O," the latter show fondly remembered by viewers and critics as one of the best crime shows of its day. Although his big-screen career never panned out, many action fans will remember him best as the doubting journalist in need of some political indoctrination from John Wayne in the gung-ho Vietnam War film "The Green Berets." Janssen died in 1980 of a heart attack at the age of 48.

Filmography

Cast (Feature Film)

City in Fear (1980)

High Ice (1980)

Glencoe Macdonald

The Golden Gate Murders (1979)

Detective Sergeant Paul Silver

S.O.S. Titanic (1979)

Superdome (1978)

Nowhere to Run (1978)

A Sensitive, Passionate Man (1977)

Michael Delaney

Golden Rendezvous (1977)

Stalk the Wild Child (1976)

Two-Minute Warning (1976)

Mayday At 40,000 Feet! (1976)

The Swiss Conspiracy (1975)

David Christopher

Smile Jenny, You're Dead (1974)

Fer-De-Lance (1974)

The Pioneer Woman (1973)

Birds Of Prey (1973)

Moon Of The Wolf (1972)

Sheriff Aaron Whitaker

The Longest Night (1972)

O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra (1971)

Macho Callahan (1970)

Diego "Macho" Callahan

Generation (1969)

Where It's At (1969)

Marooned (1969)

The Green Berets (1968)

George Beckworth

The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)

Warning Shot (1967)

Sgt. Tom Valens

My Six Loves (1963)

Belle Sommers (1962)

Man-Trap (1961)

Ring of Fire (1961)

Sgt. Steve Walsh

Twenty Plus Two (1961)

King of the Roaring 20's--The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961)

Arnold Rothstein

Hell to Eternity (1960)

Sgt. Bill Hazen

Lafayette Escadrille (1958)

All That Heaven Allows (1956)

The Square Jungle (1956)

Francis in the Haunted House (1956)

Never Say Goodbye (1956)

The Toy Tiger (1956)

Away All Boats (1956)

Showdown at Abilene (1956)

The Girl He Left Behind (1956)

Francis in the Navy (1955)

Lieutenant Anders

Chief Crazy Horse (1955)

Lt. Colin Cartwright

To Hell and Back (1955)

Cult of the Cobra (1955)

The Private War of Major Benson (1955)

Young lieutenant

Yankee Buccaneer (1952)

Francis Goes to West Point (1952)

Untamed Frontier (1952)

Young man in dance hall

No Room for the Groom (1952)

Bonzo Goes to College (1952)

Music (Feature Film)

A Sensitive, Passionate Man (1977)

Cast (Special)

Circus of the Stars (1977)

Bob Hope Special: Bob Hope in "Joys" (1976)

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

The Word (1978)

Life Events

Photo Collections

The Green Berets - Movie Poster

Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for The Green Berets (1968), co-directed by and starring John Wayne. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

Marooned - Movie Poster

Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for Marooned (1969), starring Gregory Peck, David Janssen, and Gene Hackman. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

Videos

Lafayette Escadrille (1958) -- (Movie Clip) In Good Company Clint Eastwood's first scene, as the Yanks (David Janssen, Jody McCrea, Tab Hunter, William Wellman Jr., as his dad) spend their first night in France, the de facto honor roll being much of the point for narrator, director and producer William A. Wellman, in Lafayette Escadrille, 1958.

Lafayette Escadrille (1958) -- (Movie Clip) He's Forgotten You Exist Just arrived in 1914 France, American volunteer fliers (William Wellman Jr., Jody McCrea, David Janssen and especially Tab Hunter as "Thad") notice Renee' (Etchika Choreau) and other locals, early in director William A. Wellman's Lafayette Escadrille, 1958.

Lafayette Escadrille (1958) -- (Movie Clip) Got Ya' Scared, Princeton? American hijinks on the French airfield, David Janssen leads the jokers and the last bit baseball, with "Billy Jack" (Tom Laughlin) pitching to "Dirty Harry" (Clint Eastwood), in producer-director William A. Wellman's tribute to the World War One flying corps, Lafayette Escadrille, 1958.

Marooned (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Have You Given Up Hope? Having confirmed that the astronauts are stuck in orbit, NASA chief Keith (Gregory Peck) instructs mission control officer Dougherty (David Jansen) to manage the wives (Lee Grant, Nancy Kovack, Mariette Hartley) before he takes on the press, John Sturges directing, in Marooned, 1969.

Girl He Left Behind, The (1956) -- (Movie Clip) While You're In Dog Company Still less than committed but now in the U.S. Army, Andy (Tab Hunter) and comrades (including Henry Jones, Alan King) get an early talking-to from Sgt. Hanna (Jim Backus) and Capt. Genaro (David Janssen), in The Girl He Left Behind, from an original screenplay by Marion Hargrove.

Shoes Of The Fisherman, The (1968) -- (Movie Ciip) I Saw The World Colorful Vatican envoy Telemond (Oskar Werner) is escorting Russian archbishop Lakota (Anthony Quinn), freed from Siberia, to Rome, where American reporter Faber (David Janssen), delayed by a girlfriend (Rosemarie Dexter), has been promised an exclusive, in The Shoes Of The Fisherman, 1968.

Marooned (1969) -- (Movie Clip) This Is Launch Control An impressive start, with NASA cooperation, though seen by some as accurate to a fault, the launch of astronauts James Franciscus, Gene Hackman and Richard Crenna in the fictional Ironman spacecraft, John Sturges directing, from Marooned, 1969, starring Gregory Peck.

Marooned (1969) -- (Movie Clip) A Serious Decline John Sturges directs a transition from astronauts Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman and James Franciscus, giddy with their first spacewalk, to months later, mission control chief David Jansen and NASA administrator (Gregory Peck as “Keith,”), electing to terminate the mission, early in Marooned, 1969.

Green Berets, The (1968) -- (Movie Clip) Communist Domination Col. York (John Wayne, the producer and co-director) observing reporter Beckworth (David Janssen) and soldiers Muldoon (Aldo Ray) and McGee (Raymond St. Jacques) discussing Vietnam in a state-side press event, early in The Green Berets, 1968.

King Of The Roaring 20's (1961) -- (Movie Clip) Jekyll And Company Showgirl Carolyn (Dianne Foster) backstage with Madge (Diana Dors) and company, then on her second date with Arnold (David Janssen) in King Of The Roaring 20's -- The Story Of Arnold Rothstein, 1961.

Dondi (1961) -- (Movie Clip) Sarge Hates Kids Dealey (David Janssen) and buddies (Louis Quinn, Dick Patterson, Arnold Stang) send their Italian war orphan (David Kory) to wash up, when the Sergeant (Mickey Shaughnessy) arrives to inspect, in Dondi, 1961, from the popular comic strip.

Dondi (1961) -- (Movie Clip) No Mama No Papa American G.I. Dealey (David Janssen), headed into town on Christmas leave, meets an as-yet un-named Italian war orphan (David Kory), introducing him to Peewee (Arnold Stang), in Dondi, 1961, based on the famous comic strip.

Companions

Ellie Graham

Wife

Married in 1958; divorced in 1973.

Dani Saval Crayne

Wife

Married in 1975 until his death; later married director Hal Needham.

Bibliography

By using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use