David Janssen(1931-1980)
- Actor
- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
David Janssen was born David Harold Meyer in 1931 in Naponee, Nebraska, to Berniece Mae (Graf) and Harold Edward Meyer, a banker. He was of German, and some Swiss-German and Ulster-Scots, descent. David took the surname of his stepfather, Eugene Janssen. The
Janssen family settled in Hollywood when he was a teenager and he
attended Fairfax High School, where he developed an interest in acting.
His film debut was a bit part in
It's a Pleasure (1945), and at
the age of 18 signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox. However, the
studio dropped him after allegedly becoming disenchanted with his odd
hairline and big prominent ears. Janssen had better luck at Universal,
where he signed on in the early 1950s and became a supporting player in
32 films before appearing on TV as the star of
Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957).
He resumed his movie career in 1961, a year after the series ended. His
biggest success came from his lead in the series
The Fugitive (1963), playing
the haunted, hunted Dr. Richard Kimble, on the run for a murder he
didn't commit. After the series ended, Janssen launched himself into a
grueling schedule by appearing in lead and supporting roles in movies,
but he had better luck with made-for-TV-movie roles and a short-lived
series,
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971).
He had another hit series with the cult favorite
Harry O (1973). Janssen continued
appearing in lead roles in nearly 20 made-for-TV-movies during the
1970s as well as other TV projects. He died in 1980 from a sudden heart
attack at his Malibu home at the age of 48. Unfounded speculation holds
that Janssen succumbed to alcoholism, a problem that plagued him most
of his adult life. There were even unfounded rumors about drug use.
However, a much more reasonable explanation for David Janssen's sudden
demise is that this intense, dedicated, determined actor simply worked
himself to death.