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John Kerr

John Kerr

Actor · 1931 – 2013 · New York City, New York, USA

John Grinham Kerr (November 15, 1931 – February 2, 2013), was an American actor and lawyer. He made his Broadway debut in 1953 in Mary Coyle Chase's Bernardine, a high-school comedy for which he won a Theatre World Award. In 1953-54, he received critical acclaim as a troubled prep school student in Robert Anderson's play Tea and Sympathy. In 1954, he won a Tony Award for his performance, and he starred in the film version in 1956. Kerr's first television acting role was in 1954 on NBC's Justice as a basketball player who believes that gamblers have ruined his success on the court. His mother appeared with him on the series, which focuses on the cases of attorneys with the Legal Aid Society of New York. He made The Cobweb for MGM, who liked his work so much they co-starred him with Leslie Caron in Gaby (1956), the third remake of Waterloo Bridge, which, in its original pre-Code 1931 version, featured John's grandfather, actor Frederick Kerr. Kerr starred with Deborah Kerr (no relation) in Tea and Sympathy in 1956. In a widely publicized decision in 1956, Kerr declined to play the role of Charles Lindbergh in The Spirit of St. Louis because he did not respect Lindbergh's early support of the Nazi regime in Germany prior to America's entry into World War II. "I don't admire the ideals of the hero", Mr. Kerr told The New York Post. The part went to James Stewart. Kerr had a major role in the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (1958), playing Lt. Joe Cable, the newly arrived marine about to be sent on a dangerous spy mission. In The Crowded Sky (1960), Kerr played a pilot who helps the Captain (Dana Andrews) steer a crippled airliner back to earth. Another film appearance was in Roger Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum (1961). In 1963, Kerr had a continuing role on Arrest and Trial, playing Assistant DA Barry Pine. During the 1960s, Kerr guest starred on several TV series including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Rawhide, Gunsmoke and Adam-12. He had a regular role on the ABC-TV primetime TV series, Peyton Place, playing District Attorney John Fowler during the 1965-66 season. Also in 1964-65 he appeared as guest star on several episodes of Twelve O'Clock High. In the 1970s, Kerr had a recurring role as prosecutor Gerald O'Brien on The Streets of San Francisco and he made guest appearances in several other TV programs including The Mod Squad, Columbo, McMillan and Wife, Barnaby Jones and The Feather and Father Gang. Kerr's last acting appearance was a minor role in The Park Is Mine (1986), a made-for-TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones.

Movies24

  • Movie7.1

    King of Kings

    1961 · 245 votes

  • Movie6.8

    The Pit and the Pendulum

    1961 · 397 votes

  • Movie6.1

    South Pacific

    1958 · 121 votes

  • Movie6.5

    The Quatermass Xperiment

    1955 · 237 votes

  • Movie7.1

    The Silent Partner

    1978 · 173 votes

  • Movie5.7

    The Cobweb

    1955 · 36 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Tea and Sympathy

    1956 · 61 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Class of '44

    1973 · 6 votes

  • Movie5.4

    The Amateur

    1981 · 19 votes

  • Movie5.9

    The Crowded Sky

    1960 · 15 votes

  • Movie4.3

    Bay Coven

    1987 · 21 votes

  • Movie5.3
  • Movie5.9

    Yuma

    1971 · 20 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Only God Knows

    1974 · 3 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Girl of the Night

    1960 · 4 votes

  • Movie7.3

    The Longest Night

    1972 · 6 votes

  • Movie7.3

    Gaby

    1956 · 3 votes

  • Movie7.1

    Search and Destroy

    1979 · 7 votes

  • Movie8.0
  • Movie
  • Movie
  • Movie6.0

    The Vintage

    1957 · 4 votes

  • Movie6.1

    Plague

    1979 · 13 votes

  • Movie

Series24

  • TV8.1

    Columbo

    1971 · 857 votes

  • TV7.1

    Adam-12

    1968 · 48 votes

  • TV7.9
  • TV7.0

    The Name of the Game

    1968 · 13 votes

  • TV6.3

    The Defenders

    1961 · 11 votes

  • TV6.5

    The Virginian

    1962 · 35 votes

  • TV7.1

    Run for Your Life

    1965 · 7 votes

  • TV5.4

    Studio One

    1948 · 13 votes

  • TV5.6

    The F.B.I.

    1965 · 25 votes

  • TV3.8

    Climax!

    1954 · 12 votes

  • TV7.2

    Rawhide

    1959 · 49 votes

  • TV6.7

    Gunsmoke

    1955 · 119 votes

  • TV6.6
  • TV7.1
  • TV6.9

    The Rookies

    1972 · 22 votes

  • TV7.0

    Alias Smith and Jones

    1971 · 33 votes

  • TV5.1

    Suspense

    1949 · 12 votes

  • TV7.0

    Police Story

    1973 · 20 votes

  • TV6.9

    The Ray Bradbury Theater

    1985 · 37 votes

  • TV6.8

    The High Chaparral

    1967 · 26 votes

  • TV7.9
  • TV8.3

    Arrest and Trial

    1963 · 4 votes

  • TV6.1

    The Mod Squad

    1968 · 27 votes

  • TV6.3