John Kerr

Born: 1931-11-15

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.


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The Pit and the Pendulum

as Francis Barnard
Released: 1961-08-12

In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances...

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The Silent Partner

as Detective #3
Released: 1978-09-07

Toronto, Canada. A few days before Christmas, Miles Cullen, a bored teller working at a bank...

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South Pacific

as Lt. Joseph Cable, USMC
Released: 1958-03-18

Can a girl from Little Rock find happiness with a mature French planter she got to know one...

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The Quatermass Xperiment

as Photo Lab Technician (uncredited)
Released: 1955-08-26

The first manned spacecraft, fired from an English launchpad, is first lost from radar, then...

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Tea and Sympathy

as Tom Robinson Lee
Released: 1956-09-27

At a high school reunion, a young man recalls his boarding school days, when the only person who...

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The Cobweb

as Steven W. Holte
Released: 1955-06-07

Patients and staff at a posh psychiatric clinic clash over who chooses the clinic’s new drapes -...

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The Vintage

as Ernesto Barandero
Released: 1957-05-08

A young Italian fugitive and his older protective brother hide among the grape pickers at a...

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Class of '44

as Hotel Bartender
Released: 1973-04-10

During the last years of World War II, Hermie, Oscy, and Benjie are coming of age. They went...

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Class of '44

as Ford Hotel Bartender (uncredited)
Released: 1973-04-10

During the last years of World War II, Hermie, Oscy, and Benjie are coming of age. They went...

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Incident on a Dark Street

as Gallagher - Trenier's Lawyer
Released: 1973-01-13

A small-time hood is murdered just as he is about to blow the whistle on an organized crime ring.

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The Crowded Sky

as Mike Rule
Released: 1960-09-02

When Navy pilot Dale Heath takes off, he doesn't expect his navigational equipment to fail and...

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Yuma

as Capt. White
Released: 1971-03-02

A down-and-dirty town is forced to shape up when a new marshal (Clint Walker) comes to town....

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Gaby

as Gregory Y. Wendell
Released: 1956-05-09

A ballerina resorts to prostitution when her fiance is reported killed in World War II.

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Search and Destroy

as MacPherson
Released: 1979-07-05

The hunter becomes the prey as a Vietnam veteran (Perry King) tries to ferret out the real...

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The Longest Night

as Agent Jones
Released: 1972-09-12

The daughter of a wealthy family is kidnapped and imprisoned underground in a custom-built,...

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Girl of the Night

as Larry Taylor
Released: 1960-11-11

Bobbie is a sensitive, lonely call girl who is manipulated and ultimately used by her madam.

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Anthony Perkins: A Life in the Shadows

as Self
Released: 1999-01-11

The life of legendary actor Anthony Perkins is recounted by friends and family, colleagues and...

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Columbo

as Roger Dutton
First aired: 1971-09-15

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently...

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Adam-12

as Father Joe
First aired: 1968-09-21

Adam-12 is a television police drama that followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police...

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The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

as Glendon Baker
First aired: 1962-09-20

A continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of...

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The Name of the Game

as Father Billy Keaton
First aired: 1968-09-20

The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and...

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The Name of the Game

as Stuart Clark
First aired: 1968-09-20

The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and...

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The Philco Television Playhouse

as George Avery
First aired: 1948-10-03

The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC...

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The High Chaparral

as Creed Hallock
First aired: 1967-09-10

The High Chaparral is an American Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and...

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The F.B.I.

as SAC Gary Morgan
First aired: 1965-09-19

The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was...

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The F.B.I.

as Chicago Special Agent
First aired: 1965-09-19

The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was...

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The F.B.I.

as SAC William Converse
First aired: 1965-09-19

The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was...

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The F.B.I.

as S.A.C. Douglas Parker
First aired: 1965-09-19

The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was...

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The F.B.I.

as Clayton McGregor
First aired: 1965-09-19

The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was...

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Run for Your Life

as Alex Ryder
First aired: 1965-09-13

Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only...

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Alias Smith and Jones

as uncredited
First aired: 1971-01-05

Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to...

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The Ray Bradbury Theater

as Don
First aired: 1985-05-21

A Canadian-produced fantastic anthology series scripted by famed science-fiction author Ray...

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The Streets of San Francisco

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-09-23

Two police officers, the older Lt. Stone and the young upstart Inspector Keller, investigate...

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Arrest and Trial

as Assistant Deputy District Attorney Barry Pine
First aired: 1963-09-15

Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964...

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The Mod Squad

as uncredited
First aired: 1968-09-24

The Mod Squad was the enormously successful groundbreaking "hippie" undercover cop show that ran...

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The United States Steel Hour

as uncredited
First aired: 1953-10-27

The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television...

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Lux Video Theatre

as Tony
First aired: 1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...

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The New Avengers

as uncredited
First aired: 1976-10-22

The New Avengers is a British secret agent fantasy adventure television series broadcast during...

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The Virginian

as Oliver Smith
First aired: 1962-09-19

The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth,...

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Climax!

as Matt Sloane
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Climax!

as Danny Barron/Steve Barron
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Climax!

as Poggi
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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The Rookies

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-09-11

The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows...

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Studio One

as uncredited
First aired: 1948-11-07

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...

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Studio One

as The Boy
First aired: 1948-11-07

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...

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The Defenders

as Jonathan Winthrop
First aired: 1961-09-16

The Defenders is an American courtroom drama series . It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed...

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Hallmark Hall of Fame

as uncredited
First aired: 1951-12-24

Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...

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Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Peter Standish
First aired: 1951-12-24

Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...

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Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color

as Martin Didler
First aired: 1954-10-27

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different...

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Rawhide

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

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Riverboat

as Jefferson Carruthers
First aired: 1959-09-13

Riverboat is a 44-episode western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds...

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Search

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-09-13

Search is an American science fiction series that aired on Wednesday nights on NBC at 10 pm ET,...

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Gunsmoke

as Lute
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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Bus Stop

as uncredited
First aired: 1961-10-01

Bus Stop is a 26-episode American drama which aired on ABC from October 1, 1961, until March 25,...

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Suspense

as Derek Howard
First aired: 1949-01-06

Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to...

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Suspense

as uncredited
First aired: 1949-01-06

Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to...

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Police Story

as uncredited
First aired: 1973-03-20

Police Story is an anthology television crime drama. The show was the brainchild of author and...

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General Electric Theater

as Freddie
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

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Toma

as uncredited
First aired: 1973-03-21

Toma is an American crime drama series that ran on ABC in 1973 and 1974.

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