<Archive Obituary> David Janssen (February 13th 1980)
Bill Schenley
Photos:
http://www.nndb.com/people/344/000044212/janssen-sized.jpg
http://www.dr-richard-kimble.com/images/F1TITLE_small.jpg
FROM: The Associated Press (February 13th 1980) ~
By Yardena Arar, Press Writer
Actor David Janssen, who led detectives on a tense chase for
years as the falsely accused murderer in television's "The
Fugitive," died of a heart attack Wednesday at age 48.
Janssen suffered the attack at his Malibu home, said actor
Stuart Whitman, a longtime friend who happened to be driving
by about 4:30 a.m. on his way to his ranch in Santa Barbara.
Whitman stopped when he saw an ambulance and a fire truck
outside the Janssen home. He went inside and saw paramedics
summoned by Janssen's wife trying to revive the actor.
"They had taken him out of bed and they were working on him,
and working on him," Whitman said. "It must have been half
an hour altogether. One of them then said, 'I think I've got
a heartbeat,' and they took him to the hosgital."
Janssen was pronounced dead at Santa Monica Hospital.
The death came as a shock to friends and colleagues.
Janssen's agent and manager of 21 years, Abner Greshler,
said Janssen had "no history whatsoever" of heart problems
and that his doctor "is in just as much of a state of shock
as we are."
Producer Jean Moore Edwards said Janssen had started work on
a television film, "Father Damian," about a leper priest in
Hawaii, only two days earlier.
"He had put in a full and productive day and was in high
spirits when he left the set yesterday," she said in a
statement.
Janssen was born David Meyer on March 27, 1931, in Naponee,
Neb. His parents divorced when he was young and his mother
brought him to Hollywood, where he made his film debut at
age 9 in "Swamp Fire," portraying the brother of Johnny
Weissmuller.
Janssen, who took his stage name from his stepfather,
appeared in numerous movies as a young man before making his
dent in television playing the title role in the detective
series "Richard Diamond" from 1957 to 1960.
But it was "The Fugitive" that made him a bona fide star.
From 1963 to 1967 he played the role of Richard Kimball, who
was accused of killing his wife but who eluded authorities
week after week as he sought the shadowy one-armed man who
had really committed the murder.
"The Fugitive," loosely based on the famed Sam Sheppard
murder case in Ohio, earned Janssen three Emmy nominations.
The last show of the series, in which the true murderer
finally came to light, won the highest-ever A.C. Nielsen
rating for an episode of a continuing series with 72 percent
of the audience.
Before his TV career skyrocketed, Janssen had been under
contract to 20th Century Fox and later Universal, where --
after spending two years in the Army in Korea -- he made
what one of his own publicity releases described as "32
forgetable films."
Things picked up after "Richard Diamond" and "The Fugitive."
He went on to star in such theatrical films as John Wayne's
"The Green Berets," "The Shoes of the Fisherman," "Marooned"
and "Two Minute Warning."
He also returned to the small screen in two more series:
"O'Hara, United States Treasury," and "Harry O."
Recently he had starred in the television mini-series, "The
Word," and he had just completed filming of "Oh, Inchon"
with Sir Laurence Olivier as Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Janssen
played a reporter, as he did in "The Green Berets" and in
"City of Fear," a television film tentatively scheduled for
airing in April.
Janssen is survived by his wife, Dani. An earlier marriage
to Ellie Graham ended in divorce after 10 years.
---
Photos: http://www.tvder60er.de/bilder/diamond.jpg
http://images.art.com/images/-/David-Janssen--C10051957.jpeg
http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/images/lowrez/diamonddj213.jpg
http://services.windowsmedia.com/vidpic/pic200/drV000/V024/V002420IV17.jpg
Janssen in art:
http://www.davidjanssen.net/images/chronology/chap0.jpg
The One Armed Man:
http://www.dr-richard-kimble.com/images/F1Showdown.jpg
Chuck Kopsho
Cheers,
Chuck Kopsho
Oceanside, California