David Janssen

Birthday: 27 March 1931, Naponee, Nebraska, USA

Birth Name: David Harold Meyer

Height: 183 cm

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 Scottish-Irish, 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. Hide

[on Jack Webb, the producer of O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971)] Jack Webb marches to a drummer that is Show more [on Jack Webb, the producer of O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971)] Jack Webb marches to a drummer that is not my drummer. Hide

Good living I've learned, not inherited. Good living I've learned, not inherited.

[on his divorce from his first wife Ellie]: After 11 years of marriage I dived into what I considere Show more [on his divorce from his first wife Ellie]: After 11 years of marriage I dived into what I considered a newfound freedom. I was working hard and playing hard. Flying my own plane to parties all over the country and down to Mexico, having what I thought was a great time. I participated in life on what might be considered the grand scale, before I decided I had one hangover too many, one party too many, one charted plane and 14 servants too many. Too many cars that I never got around to drive. Hide

[on high school athletics] I broke a cartilage in my left knee cap while pole vaulting. Calcium form Show more [on high school athletics] I broke a cartilage in my left knee cap while pole vaulting. Calcium formed in my knee, and it is still very painful at times. As for being against athletics in high school - on the contrary, I'm all for it! We don't want to produce a generation of eggheads, do we? Hide

TV is my sleeping pill. TV is my sleeping pill.

[on why he takes so many acting roles]: I have always considered myself basically unemployed. I'm fr Show more [on why he takes so many acting roles]: I have always considered myself basically unemployed. I'm from Nebraska and I feel guilty when I'm not working. Hide

[on Fred Silverman, ABC's programming chief, who canceled Harry O (1973) after two seasons] Silverma Show more [on Fred Silverman, ABC's programming chief, who canceled Harry O (1973) after two seasons] Silverman wanted more sex and violence in the show. I wanted more humor - more relationship between myself and Anthony Zerbe. Hide

You have no idea how much work goes into an hour show. It's three times harder than doing a half-hou Show more You have no idea how much work goes into an hour show. It's three times harder than doing a half-hour show and that's not faulty arithmetic. Hide

[on the violence depicted in Two-Minute Warning (1976)] We live in a violent world. Unfortunately. I Show more [on the violence depicted in Two-Minute Warning (1976)] We live in a violent world. Unfortunately. I don't care for it. But it's the only world I got to live in. So if motion picture producers and people are depicting what's happening in the world today, which is what we all want to see even though we don't admit it, then you have to have violence as part of our everyday life. If it changes, and if we can make it change, that's something else. In the meantime, this is entertainment as it is today. Hide

David Janssen's FILMOGRAPHY

as Actor (37)

Los Angeles Plays Itself

Cannon - Season 1

Francis in the Navy

Cannon - Season 2

Two-Minute Warning

Harry O - Season 1

Rowan and Martins Laugh-In - Season 2

Marooned

Francis Goes to West Point

Death Valley Days - Season 1

The Fugitive - Season 4 (1963)

Moon of the Wolf

The Fugitive - Season 3 (1963)

Naked City - Season 1

The Dean Martin Show - Season 1

Never Say Goodbye

Richard Diamond Private Detective - Season 2

Richard Diamond Private Detective - Season 3

Away All Boats

Chief Crazy Horse

Hell to Eternity

Richard Diamond Private Detective - Season 1

Cannon - Season 5

The Dean Martin Show - Season 2

Cannon - Season 4

Once Is Not Enough

David Janssen'S roles

George Beckworth