S. John Launer was an American television

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 and film actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. Launer was born in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Career

Launer appeared in 89 films and television programs between 1943 and 1977 and most of his films list him as uncredited. His first acting role was in the television series Meet Corliss Archer

Meet Corliss Archer (TV series)

Meet Corliss Archer is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from April to December 1955. The series stars Ann Baker in the title role...

 (1954) and his career ended with the film Billionaire Boys Club

Billionaire Boys Club

The Billionaire Boys Club was an investment-and-social club organized by Joseph Gamsky, also known as "Joe Hunt", in southern California in 1983...

 (1987).

Launer's film credits include The Werewolf (1956), I Was a Teenage Werewolf

I Was a Teenage Werewolf

I Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. It was co-written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen, and was one of the most successful films released by American International Pictures...

 (1957), Jailhouse Rock (1957), The Crowded Sky (1960), Marnie

Marnie

Marnie is a 1961 English novel written by Winston Graham, about a young woman who makes a living by embezzling from her employers, moving on, and changing her identity. She is finally caught in the act by one of her employers, a young widower named Mark Rutland, who blackmails her into marriage...

 (1964), and Pendulum

Pendulum

A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position...

 (1969).

His television credits include Father Knows Best

Father Knows Best

Father Knows Best is an American radio and television comedy series which portrayed a middle class family life in the Midwest. It was created by writer Ed James in the 1940s.-Radio:...

 (1956), The Ford Television Theatre (1956–57), The George Sanders Mystery Theater

The George Sanders Mystery Theater

The George Sanders Mystery Theater is the title of a 30 minute American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC in 1957 and hosted by character actor George Sanders....

 (1957), State Trooper (1958), Dr. Kildare

Dr. Kildare

Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...

 (1963), The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...

 (1959–63), Harry O (1973–74).

External links

But perhaps S. John Launer's most famous television role was his frequent service as a criminal court judge on Perry Mason. He was a no nonsense judge who would often put the District Attorney, Hamilton Berger, in his place when Berger would object to Perry's line of questioning. Launer's Judge would say, "I disagree Mr. Berger. I want to hear what the witness has to say."