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John Dierkes

John Dierkes

Actor · 1905 – 1975 · Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Dierkes was born on February 10, 1905 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Brown University and subsequently went to work as an economist for the United States Department of State. In 1941 he joined the Red Cross and served in the Britain duringWorld War II. There he met director John Huston who recommended that he try Hollywood after the war. Instead, Dierkes went to work for the U.S. Treasury Department which coincidentally sent him to Hollywood to function as technical advisor for the film To the Ends of the Earth (1948). Because of his appearance and very tall frame (6 feet, 6 inches), Dierkes enjoyed a long career as a character actor, often portraying villains or soldiers. In the 1953 film Shane, Dierkes portrays villain Morgan Ryker, who is the last man shot by the title character, Shane, in the final bar room shootout. One of his more memorable scenes is in the 1960 film, The Alamo. Dierkes portrays a Tennessean named Jocko, who is torn between leaving before the attack to care for his blind wife, or staying to support the Texans' cause. Understanding that if Jocko stays to fight she will likely be widowed, Jocko's wife coaxes him to stay and defend the fort, despite her disability. Dierkes died in 1975 of emphesyma and was survived by his wife Cynthia, two sons, and two daughters.

Movies24

  • Movie7.7

    Touch of Evil

    1958 · 1.6K votes

  • Movie7.3

    Shane

    1953 · 707 votes

  • Movie7.1

    The Alamo

    1960 · 411 votes

  • Movie6.2

    The Omega Man

    1971 · 638 votes

  • Movie6.3

    The Raven

    1963 · 287 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Friendly Persuasion

    1956 · 145 votes

  • Movie6.8

    One-Eyed Jacks

    1961 · 262 votes

  • Movie6.7
  • Movie6.7

    The Comancheros

    1961 · 219 votes

  • Movie6.9

    Jubal

    1956 · 92 votes

  • Movie6.7

    The Haunted Palace

    1963 · 202 votes

  • Movie7.3

    Macbeth

    1948 · 188 votes

  • Movie6.9

    The Fastest Gun Alive

    1956 · 66 votes

  • Movie5.3

    Johnny Cool

    1963 · 23 votes

  • Movie6.6
  • Movie6.6

    The Naked Jungle

    1954 · 124 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Gun Fury

    1953 · 50 votes

  • Movie6.2

    Not as a Stranger

    1955 · 49 votes

  • Movie6.0

    The Left Handed Gun

    1958 · 122 votes

  • Movie6.5

    The Buccaneer

    1958 · 52 votes

  • Movie6.3

    The Premature Burial

    1962 · 148 votes

  • Movie6.4

    The Red Badge of Courage

    1951 · 72 votes

  • Movie6.3
  • Movie6.3

Series11

  • TV7.1

    The Rifleman

    1958 · 54 votes

  • TV7.2

    Rawhide

    1959 · 49 votes

  • TV7.1

    Wanted: Dead or Alive

    1958 · 38 votes

  • TV6.7

    Gunsmoke

    1955 · 119 votes

  • TV7.2

    Tales of Wells Fargo

    1957 · 16 votes

  • TV6.6

    Peter Gunn

    1958 · 26 votes

  • TV6.5

    Telephone Time

    1956 · 4 votes

  • TV5.7

    State Trooper

    1956 · 7 votes

  • TV6.7

    Lux Video Theatre

    1950 · 7 votes

  • TV6.0

    The Aquanauts

    1960 · 3 votes

  • TV7.2