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John P. Ryan

John P. Ryan

Actor · 1936 – 2007 · New York City, New York, USA

Character actor John P. Ryan was born on July 30, 1936 in New York City. The son of Irish immigrant parents, Ryan graduated from Rice High School and studied English at the City College of New York, where he first developed an interest in acting. He served six years in the US Army and worked as a welfare investigator prior to pursuing an acting career. John made his film debut in the 1967 comedy "The Tiger Makes Out." He appeared in five pictures for Jack Nicholson; he's especially memorable as male nurse Spicer in "Five Easy Pieces." Manic, pale-eyed and craggy-faced, with an often intense and explosive screen presence, Ryan was frequently cast as nasty villains, hard-boiled police officers, and strict military men. John gave a strong and touching performance in a rare change-of-pace sympathetic role as Frank Davis, the bitter and regretful father of a murderous monster mutant baby in Larry Cohen's excellent "It's Alive." He also portrayed Davis in the okay sequel "It Lives Again." Other notable movie parts include the fanatical Colonel Hardcore in "Shamus," shrewd mob capo Patsy O'Neill in the witty "Cops and Robbers," evil scientist Schneider in "Futureworld," the dogged Lt. Parmental in "Breathless," vicious Irish mobster Joe Flynn in "The Cotten Club;" at his ferocious best as sadistic prison Warden Ranken in the powerful "Runaway Train," hateful fascist lunatic Glastenbury in the exciting "Avenging Force," ruthless drug kingpin Nathan White in the cruddy "Death Wish IV: The Crackdown," ramrod high school principal Mr. O'Rourke in the amusing "Three O'Clock High," and lethal robot history teacher Mr. Hardin in "Class of 1999." Among the TV shows Ryan did guest spots on are "M.A.S.H.," "The Rockford Files," "Hawaii Five-O," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," "Starsky & Hutch," "Kojak," "Hart to Hart," "The F.B.I.," and "Miami Vice." John had a recurring role on the TV series "Archer." In addition to his film and TV credits, Ryan also appeared in over 90 stage plays. Following his final film appearance in "Bound," John spent his later years giving acting lessons and was an advocate of spiritual healing. John P. Ryan died from a stroke at age 70 on March 20, 2007 in Los Angeles, California; he's survived by two daughters.

Movies24

  • Movie7.2

    Bound

    1996 · 1.1K votes

  • Movie7.5
  • Movie6.5

    Best of the Best

    1989 · 356 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Runaway Train

    1985 · 683 votes

  • Movie7.4

    The Right Stuff

    1983 · 1K votes

  • Movie6.5

    The Cotton Club

    1984 · 454 votes

  • Movie5.7
  • Movie7.5

    The Pixar Story

    2007 · 250 votes

  • Movie6.5
  • Movie6.8

    Three O'Clock High

    1987 · 315 votes

  • Movie6.3

    Hoffa

    1992 · 375 votes

  • Movie7.1

    Five Easy Pieces

    1970 · 618 votes

  • Movie5.9

    White Sands

    1992 · 183 votes

  • Movie5.6
  • Movie6.0

    Class of 1999

    1990 · 275 votes

  • Movie5.9

    Futureworld

    1976 · 374 votes

  • Movie6.5

    The Missouri Breaks

    1976 · 257 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Avenging Force

    1986 · 90 votes

  • Movie5.9

    Breathless

    1983 · 278 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Dillinger

    1973 · 124 votes

  • Movie6.0

    It's Alive

    1974 · 227 votes

  • Movie5.6

    Fatal Beauty

    1987 · 102 votes

  • Movie4.7

    Rent-a-Cop

    1987 · 47 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Shamus

    1973 · 28 votes

Series21

  • TV7.4

    Miami Vice

    1984 · 541 votes

  • TV7.9

    M*A*S*H

    1972 · 770 votes

  • TV7.6

    The Rockford Files

    1974 · 133 votes

  • TV7.2

    Hawaii Five-O

    1969 · 164 votes

  • TV6.6

    American Playhouse

    1982 · 8 votes

  • TV5.6

    The F.B.I.

    1965 · 25 votes

  • TV6.7

    Simon & Simon

    1981 · 99 votes

  • TV6.4

    Police Woman

    1974 · 33 votes

  • TV7.0

    Cagney & Lacey

    1982 · 74 votes

  • TV6.9

    Hart to Hart

    1979 · 133 votes

  • TV7.3

    Starsky & Hutch

    1975 · 208 votes

  • TV6.3

    Matt Houston

    1982 · 28 votes

  • TV7.3

    Kojak

    1973 · 154 votes

  • TV7.0
  • TV8.1

    Faerie Tale Theatre

    1982 · 24 votes

  • TV7.1
  • TV7.8

    Matt Helm

    1975 · 6 votes

  • TV7.0

    Kaz

    1978 · 2 votes

  • TV5.0

    Hollywood Beat

    1985 · 1 votes

  • TV6.5

    Paris

    1979 · 2 votes

  • TV7.7

    Archer

    1975 · 3 votes