John Vernon
Encyclopedia
John Keith Vernon was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada.
, Saskatchewan
, and was baptised at the Sacred Heart Catholic parish in the nearby town of Arat. He was one of two sons of Adolf Agopsowicz, a grocer, and his wife Eleonore Krückel (also spelled as Eleanor Kriekle or Kriekel). Both parents' families immigrated to the Edenwold district in the late 19th century from the Austria
n crownland and duchy of Bukovina
. He was of Armenian, German, and Polish descent.
Vernon was educated at the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
in London
before becoming a live stage actor on the early CBC
. In 1974, he completed a season at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, playing Malvolio.
's film version of George Orwell
's 1984
starring Edmond O'Brien
. He returned to Canada afterwards and gained film experience appearing on the TV series Tugboat Annie
and The Last of the Mohicans
. Vernon typically played a stern, authoritarian kind of character. He made his Broadway debut in 1964 as DeSoto opposite Christopher Plummer
and David Carradine
in The Royal Hunt of the Sun
. During the Golden Age of CBC Drama in the 1960s he co-starred in Edna O'Brien
's A Cheap Bunch of Nice Flowers opposite Colleen Dewhurst
, and opposite William Hutt
and Rita Gam
in Uncle Vanya
. These prestige productions led to his starring in the CBC series Wojeck
in the late 1960s, playing a crime-fighting medical examiner (the series has been acknowledged as the inspiration for the later American series Quincy M.E., later starring in as a gangster in the episode Requiem For The Living). He left the series in order to further his acting career in the United States. In 1967, he appeared opposite Lee Marvin
in Point Blank.
In 1969
, he played Cuban revolutionary Rico Parra in Alfred Hitchcock
's Cold War
era spy movie Topaz
. After appearing in a string of television episodes and films, he became well known internationally for playing the by-the-book mayor of San Francisco perpetually frustrated by Clint Eastwood
in the first Dirty Harry
movie (a role he later parodied in the premiere episode of Sledge Hammer!
). He also played the sympathetic Fletcher in Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales
in 1976
and the banker with crime syndicate connections, Boyle, opposite Walter Matthau
in 1973
's Charley Varrick
.
's enduring cult classic
, Animal House
(a role that he would reprise in the short-lived television sequel Delta House). Children will remember Vernon as the equally evil Mr. Prindle in the Disney
film Herbie Goes Bananas
and Sherman Krader in Ernest Goes to Camp
.
Many of his later roles were also as villains, such as the warden's role in the women's prison picture Chained Heat
. He played "Ted Jarrett" in The A-Team
episode "Labor Pains" (1983). Vernon would make light of his villain image in the 1988 Blaxploitation
spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
commenting that while he would seem to be "above playing an exploitation villain", many others (including Angie Dickinson
, Jamie Lee Curtis
, and Shelley Winters
) have appeared in similar roles. In 1986, he played the Principal in the Disney Sunday Movie Fuzz Bucket
. Vernon took on a minor role in 1988 in Killer Klowns from Outer Space
as well. Vernon was one of the leads for the short-lived 1990s series Acapulco H.E.A.T.
and on animated series such as The Marvel Super Heroes show in the 1960s, where he played Iron Man
, the Sub-Mariner, and Major Glenn Talbot of The Incredible Hulk, to Batman: The Animated Series
, where he played Rupert Thorne
, and as General Thunderbolt Ross in UPN
's The Incredible Hulk, Wildfire where he played a horse, as well as Doctor Strange
in an episode of the Fox Network's Spider-Man
animated series in the 1990s. His final work was providing the voice of Dean Toadblatt in the TV series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and the voice of Judge Tohrin in Delgo
.
, Nan Vernon
, and son Chris Vernon.
, California
.
He was cremated after a private funeral service.
Early life
Vernon was born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz in ZehnerZehner, Saskatchewan
Zehner is a hamlet in Saskatchewan.-References:...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, and was baptised at the Sacred Heart Catholic parish in the nearby town of Arat. He was one of two sons of Adolf Agopsowicz, a grocer, and his wife Eleonore Krückel (also spelled as Eleanor Kriekle or Kriekel). Both parents' families immigrated to the Edenwold district in the late 19th century from the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n crownland and duchy of Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
. He was of Armenian, German, and Polish descent.
Vernon was educated at the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
before becoming a live stage actor on the early CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. In 1974, he completed a season at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, playing Malvolio.
Early roles
He made his screen debut in 1956 as the voice of Big Brother in Michael AndersonMichael Anderson (director)
Michael Joseph Anderson, Sr. is an English film director, best known for directing The Dam Busters , Around the World in 80 Days and Logan's Run .-Early life:...
's film version of George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's 1984
1984 (1956 film)
1984 is a 1956 film based on the novel of the same name by George Orwell. This is the first cinema rendition of the story, directed by Michael Anderson, and starring Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasence, Jan Sterling, and Michael Redgrave...
starring Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A. and his Oscar winning role in The Barefoot Contessa...
. He returned to Canada afterwards and gained film experience appearing on the TV series Tugboat Annie
Tugboat Annie
For the 1957 syndicated television series, see The Adventures of Tugboat Annie.Tugboat Annie is a 1933 movie starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery as a comically quarrelsome middle-aged couple who operate a tugboat...
and The Last of the Mohicans
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans is a 1957 Western television series made for syndication by ITC Entertainment and Normandie Productions. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes...
. Vernon typically played a stern, authoritarian kind of character. He made his Broadway debut in 1964 as DeSoto opposite Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
and David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
in The Royal Hunt of the Sun
The Royal Hunt of the Sun
The Royal Hunt of the Sun is a 1964 play by Peter Shaffer that portrays the destruction of the Inca empire by conquistador Francisco Pizarro.-Premiere:...
. During the Golden Age of CBC Drama in the 1960s he co-starred in Edna O'Brien
Edna O'Brien
Edna O'Brien is an Irish novelist and short story writer whose works often revolve around the inner feelings of women, and their problems in relating to men and to society as a whole.-Life and career:...
's A Cheap Bunch of Nice Flowers opposite Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...
, and opposite William Hutt
William Hutt (actor)
William Ian DeWitt Hutt, was a Canadian actor of stage, television and film. Hutt's distinguished career spanned more than fifty years and won him many accolades and awards...
and Rita Gam
Rita Gam
Rita Gam is an American film and television actress and documentary film maker. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.-Career:...
in Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
. These prestige productions led to his starring in the CBC series Wojeck
Wojeck
Wojeck is a Canadian dramatic television series, which aired on the CBC from 1966 to 1968. It was the first successful drama series on English Canadian television....
in the late 1960s, playing a crime-fighting medical examiner (the series has been acknowledged as the inspiration for the later American series Quincy M.E., later starring in as a gangster in the episode Requiem For The Living). He left the series in order to further his acting career in the United States. In 1967, he appeared opposite Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
in Point Blank.
In 1969
1969 in film
The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
, he played Cuban revolutionary Rico Parra in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era spy movie Topaz
Topaz (1969 film)
Topaz is a 1969 suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a Cold War and spy story, adapted from the book of the same name by Leon Uris and closely based on the 1962 Sapphire Affair involving French SDECE spy Philippe Thyraud de Vosjoli who "ha[d] played a considerable part in helping...
. After appearing in a string of television episodes and films, he became well known internationally for playing the by-the-book mayor of San Francisco perpetually frustrated by Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
in the first Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
movie (a role he later parodied in the premiere episode of Sledge Hammer!
Sledge Hammer!
Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character,...
). He also played the sympathetic Fletcher in Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western film set during and after the end of the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood , with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldine Keams.The film was adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman...
in 1976
1976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
and the banker with crime syndicate connections, Boyle, opposite Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
in 1973
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
's Charley Varrick
Charley Varrick
Charley Varrick is a 1973 crime film directed by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker and John Vernon. The film was based on the novel The Looters by John H. Reese.-Plot:...
.
Being typecast as a villain
Vernon is probably best remembered for his role as the deadly serious Dean Vernon Wormer of mythical Faber College in 19781978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
's enduring cult classic
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
, Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film was a direct spin-off of National Lampoon magazine...
(a role that he would reprise in the short-lived television sequel Delta House). Children will remember Vernon as the equally evil Mr. Prindle in the Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
film Herbie Goes Bananas
Herbie Goes Bananas
Herbie Goes Bananas is the fourth of a series of films made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie – the white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own. The film stars former Mel Brooks collaborators Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman....
and Sherman Krader in Ernest Goes to Camp
Ernest Goes to Camp
Ernest Goes to Camp is a 1987 Touchstone Pictures comedy film directed by John R. Cherry III and starring Jim Varney. It is the second film to feature the character of Ernest P...
.
Many of his later roles were also as villains, such as the warden's role in the women's prison picture Chained Heat
Chained Heat
Chained Heat is a 1983 exploitation film in the women-in-prison genre. It was co-written and directed by Paul Nicholas for Jensen Farley Pictures.-Plot:...
. He played "Ted Jarrett" in The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
episode "Labor Pains" (1983). Vernon would make light of his villain image in the 1988 Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is a 1988 blaxploitation parody film written by, directed by and starring Keenen Ivory Wayans. Featured in the film are several black actors who were part of the blaxploitation phenomenon; including Jim Brown, Bernie Casey, Antonio Fargas and Isaac Hayes...
commenting that while he would seem to be "above playing an exploitation villain", many others (including Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
, Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
, and Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
) have appeared in similar roles. In 1986, he played the Principal in the Disney Sunday Movie Fuzz Bucket
Fuzz Bucket
Fuzz Bucket is a 1986 television film written and directed by Mick Garris starring Chris Hebert as a young Michael Gerber and Phil Fondacaro as his invisible friend, Fuzzbucket...
. Vernon took on a minor role in 1988 in Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Killer Klowns From Outer Space is a 1988 American comedy horror movie, made by The Chiodo Brothers and starring Grant Cramer. It is the only Chiodo Brothers' directed and written film – they have worked in many other projects in other roles, such as producing and visual effects...
as well. Vernon was one of the leads for the short-lived 1990s series Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Acapulco H.E.A.T.
Acapulco H.E.A.T. is a 1993 syndicated television series that followed the Hemisphere Emergency Action Team [H.E.A.T.], a group of top-secret agents based in Acapulco, Mexico and recruited by C-5, a secret government coalition, to fight terrorism and international crime...
Voice work
Known for his distinctively deep and commanding voice, he also did extensive voice work with the animated film Heavy MetalHeavy Metal (film)
Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian fantasy-animated film directed by Gerald Potterton and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine....
and on animated series such as The Marvel Super Heroes show in the 1960s, where he played Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, the Sub-Mariner, and Major Glenn Talbot of The Incredible Hulk, to Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
, where he played Rupert Thorne
Rupert Thorne
Rupert Thorne is a fictional character, a crime boss and enemy of Batman in the DC Comics universe. Created by Steve Englehart and Walter Simonson, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #469.-Fictional character biography:...
, and as General Thunderbolt Ross in UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
's The Incredible Hulk, Wildfire where he played a horse, as well as Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
in an episode of the Fox Network's Spider-Man
Spider-Man (1994 TV series)
Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated series starring the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. The show ran on Fox Kids from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998. The producer/story editor was John Semper, Jr. and production company was Marvel Films...
animated series in the 1990s. His final work was providing the voice of Dean Toadblatt in the TV series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and the voice of Judge Tohrin in Delgo
Delgo (film)
Delgo is a 2008 computer-animated fantasy film. The film was produced by Fathom Studios, a division of Macquarium Intelligent Communications, which began development of the project in 1999....
.
Personal life
With his wife, Nancy West, John Vernon was the father of actress Kate VernonKate Vernon
Kate Vernon is a Canadian-born film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS soap opera Falcon Crest from , the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink , Mary-John Lovejoy in The Lost Colony Feature of Lovejoy and...
, Nan Vernon
Nan Vernon
Nan Vernon is a Canadian singer and actress". She is notable for providing the end credit music of both of Rob Zombie's Halloween films and for being part of the "singer-songwriter trend" of women nurturing folk music's rebirth.-Early career:The Eurythmic's Dave Stewart discovered Vernon...
, and son Chris Vernon.
Death
Vernon died of complications following heart surgery on February 1, 2005, in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
He was cremated after a private funeral service.