biography
Born Derek Harris in Hollywood on August 12, 1926, actor/director John Derek was practically born into show business with a father who
was a director and a mother who was a silent screen actress. With his matinee-idol looks, Derek was a natural for films and got his
start in bit parts as a teenager. His first role came in the wartime tear-jerker Since You Went Away (1944), the film in which
Guy Madison made his debut. After military service and a few years of small roles, Derek signed with
Columbia Pictures in 1948. He was immediately cast in two Columbia film noir thrillers: Knock on Any Door (1949; with Humphrey
Bogart) and All the King's Men (1949; with Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, and Joanne Dru).Columbia later used Derek in swashbucklers such as Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950) and Prince of Pirates (1953). Derek left Columbia in 1953 to freelance for other studios, including Republic, Allied Artists, and United Artists. By the late 1950s, with no studio to fall back on, Derek's acting career was stalling. In 1961, he took a role on the CBS television series Frontier Circus, but the network canceled the show in April 1962. By the mid 1960s, he stepped behind the camera as a director and cinematographer, leaving acting behind.    
LEFT and CENTER A: Beefcake poses from the 1950s. CENTER B: Derek with Katy Jurado. RIGHT: With fourth wife Bo Derek in 1984In addition to his films, John Derek was also known for marrying some of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood. His four wives were actresses Pati Behrs, Ursula Andress, Linda Evans, and Bo Derek. In his later career as a director, Derek directed films starring three of his wives, including Once Before I Die (1965) with Ursula Andress; Childish Things (1969) with Linda Evans; and Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981) with Bo Derek. |
the films of john derekKnock on Any Door (1949) 
From Columbia's film noir Knock on Any Door. LEFT: With Susan Perry. RIGHT: With Humphrey BogartRogues of Sherwood Forest (1950) 
From Rogues of Sherwood Forest, released in color by Columbia. LEFT: Derek as Robin, Earl of Huntington. RIGHT: With Diana Lynn as Lady MarianneMask of the Avenger (1951) 
From the Columbia swashbuckler Mask of the Avenger. The right photo includes Jody LawranceScandal Sheet (1952)
From the Columbia film noir thriller Scandal SheetAmbush at Tomahawk Gap (1953)
With Maria Elena Marques in Columbia's Ambush at Tomahawk Gap, the first of several westerns for John DerekPrince of Pirates (1953)
With Barbara Rush in the Columbia swashbuckler Prince of PiratesThe Outcast (1954)
From the Republic western The Outcast with Catherine McLeodAn Annapolis Story (1955)
From the Allied Artists drama An Annapolis Story with Kevin McCarthy and Diana LynnRun For Cover (1955)
With James Cagney and Viveca Lindfors in Nicholas Ray's Run For Cover, a western released by ParamountThe Leather Saint (1956)   
LEFT and CENTER A: Derek portrays Father Gil Allen, who boxes in order to raise money for a boys club, in Paramount's The Leather Saint. CENTER B: With Jody Lawrance and Cesar Romero. RIGHT: With Paul Douglas and Richard ShannonThe Ten Commandments (1956)
With Charlton Heston in Cecil B. DeMille's final film The Ten Commandments, released by Paramount (thanks to Tom)The Flesh Is Weak (1957)
With Joe Robinson in the prostitution expose The Flesh Is WeakFury at Showdown (1957)
With Nick Adams in the western Fury at ShowdownOmar Khayyam (1957)
With Debra Paget in Paramount's costume adventure Omar KhayyamHigh Hell (1958)
Derek and Elaine Stewart portray an adulterous couple in the Paramount adventure High HellExodus (1960)
As Taha in Otto Preminger's historical drama ExodusNightmare in the Sun (1965)
Derek stars in the crime drama Nightmare in the Sun, which was the first film he directedlater yearsFollowing the release of Once Before I Die (1965), in which he produced, directed, and starred alongside his second wife, actress Ursula Andress, John Derek abandoned his acting career. He chose instead to serve as director, producer, writer, and cinematographer for a number of film projects. In the late 1960s he directed A Boy... a Girl (1969) and Childish Things (1969), the latter with his then-wife Linda Evans. His best-known effort is the adventure Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981; with Miles O'Keeffe and Bo Derek). With his health deteriorating, Derek stepped out of the business following the release of Ghosts Can't Do it (1990; with Bo Derek and Julie Newmar). After suffering with a heart ailment for more than a decade, he passed away on May 22, 1998, at the age of 71. He was survived by his fourth wife, Bo Derek, and son Russell and daughter Sean Catherine. |
filmographyFILMS
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This page premiered August 26, 2003.
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