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John Kerr

1931 - 2013 (age 81) • Acting

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

Columbo

81%

Roger Dutton

1971

The Pit and the Pendulum

68%

Francis Barnard

1961

South Pacific

61%

Lt. Joseph Cable, USMC

1958

Gunsmoke

67%

Lute

1955

The Streets of San Francisco

71%

Unknown

1972

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

79%

Glendon Baker

1962

Tea and Sympathy

70%

Tom Robinson Lee

1956

Adam-12

71%

Father Joe

1968

Anthony Perkins: A Life in the Shadows

80%

Self

1999

Bay Coven

43%

Ferry Captain

1987

The Ray Bradbury Theater

69%

Don

1985

The Amateur

54%

CIA Security Guard

1981

Search and Destroy

71%

MacPherson

1979

Plague

61%

Escaping Guard

1979

The Silent Partner

71%

Detective #3

1978

Only God Knows

57%

Health Inspector

1974

Toma

68%

Unknown

1973

Class of '44

66%

Hotel Bartender

1973

Class of '44

66%

Ford Hotel Bartender (uncredited)

1973

Police Story

70%

Unknown

1973

Incident on a Dark Street

53%

Gallagher - Trenier's Lawyer

1973

The Streets of San Francisco

71%

Unknown

1972

Search

71%

Unknown

1972

The Longest Night

73%

Agent Jones

1972

The Rookies

69%

Price

1972

Columbo

81%

Roger Dutton

1971

Yuma

59%

Capt. White

1971

Alias Smith and Jones

70%

Unknown

1971

The Mod Squad

61%

Unknown

1968

Adam-12

71%

Father Joe

1968

The Name of the Game

70%

Stuart Clark / Billy Keaton

1968

The High Chaparral

68%

Creed Hallock

1967

The F.B.I.

56%

SAC Gary Morgan / S.A.C. Douglas Parker / Clayton McGregor / Chicago Special Agent / SAC William Converse

1965

The Long, Hot Summer

60%

Unknown

1965

Run for Your Life

71%

Alex Ryder

1965

Profiles in Courage

75%

Whitlock

1964

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