Richard Jaeckel

Biography for Richard Jaeckel

Stocky tough-guy character actor Richard Jaeckel remains one of Hollywood's most prolific supporting stars. Born in Long Island, New York, on October 10, 1926, Jaeckel's family moved to Los Angeles when he was still in his teens. After graduation from Hollywood High School, Jaeckel was discovered by a casting director while working as a mailboy for 20th Century-Fox. Although he had some reluctance to act, Jaeckel accepted a key part in the war epic Guadalcanal Diary (1943) and remained in films for over 50 years, graduating from playing baby-faced teenagers (like Dick Clark, Jaeckel never seemed to age) to gunfighters and hired killers with ease. From 1944-48 he served in the US Navy, and after his discharge he co-starred in Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) with John Wayne. Jaeckel's other notable roles in films include one of a trio of GIs accused of raping a German girl in Town Without Pity (1961)--a standout performance--and The Dirty Dozen (1967) as tough MP Sgt. Clyde Bowren, who goes along on the mission to keep an eye on the prisoners he's trained, a role he reprised in a made-for-TV sequel in 1985. Jaeckel also received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his funny but tragic performance in Sometimes a Great Notion (1971). Although he appeared in over 70 films, he was very active in television series such as "Frontier Circus" (1961), "Banyon" (1972), "Firehouse" (1974), "Salvage 1" (1979), "At Ease" (1983), "Spenser: For Hire" (1985) and "Supercarrier" (1988). From 1991-94 he played Lt. Ben Edwards on the hit series "Baywatch" (1989). He passed away after a three-year battle with melanoma cancer on June 14, 1997, at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. Jaeckel was 70 years old.

Born in 1926 and died in 1997, the face of Richard Jaeckel is better known to moviegoers and televorals that we could see so well in the cinema in the 12 bastards, Pat Garett and Billy Le Kid, La Beetle in Mexico City or Starman, like on television in episodes of burned heads or funny ladies ...

Richard Jaeckel is an American actor born October 10, 1926 in Long Beach, California. He began his acting career in the 1940s and continued to work until his death in 1997. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the largest of combatants in 1975.

Jaeckel has played in many movies and television series during his career. He was particularly active in the 1950s and 1960s, where he played in films such as the night warriors, the train whistled three times, and the old madman and the spy. He also played in popular television series such as Remington Steele surveys and the fugitive.

Jaeckel was a versatile actor, capable of playing roles in different gender films. He was often considered an actor of support, but he also had the opportunity to play main roles in some of his films and television series. He was known for his presence on the screen and his ability to embody complex and emotionally rich characters.

Jaeckel died in 1997 at the age of 71. His acting career lasted over fifty years and he left a lasting imprint on the world of cinema and television.

Photos

Filmography

Trivia

• Although battling cancer, director Joe Dante had originally hoped that Jaeckel would be able to return to work and provide the voice of Link Static for his upcoming project Small Soldiers (1998). This film reunited Jaeckel's fellow cast members from The Dirty Dozen (1967). Jaeckel died from his cancer before shooting began.
• Was forced to file bankruptcy in late 1995 due to a $1.7 million debt and eventually he lost his home in Brentwood, California. He later moved into the Motion Picture and Television Retirement Center in Woodland Hills, a home for old actors were he stayed for the next three years until his death in June of 1997.
• According to Robert Osborne in "Academy Awards 1972 Oscar Annual," Jaeckel got the role in "Sometimes a Great Notion" (1971) when Paul Newman ran into him at Malibu Beach. Jaeckel was relaxing and swimming with his family and friends, and as Newman watched him playing with his own children, he thought that Jaeckel would be just right to play his brother in the film. Newman subsequently stood up for casting Jaeckel at later conferences with studio management, and he got the part, and an Oscar nomination.
• Jaeckel had the distinction of being cast as an 'irregular' supporting player in films along side the likes of Paul Newman, Burt Lancaster and Glenn Ford.

Quotes

"I know people are pulling for me to beat this thing, but let them have a glass at the bar for me and let it go at that." - Richard Jaeckel in his own words on being diagonsed with melanoma cancer.

"I've put fifty years in movies and my wife and I have traveled all over the world. I've been very lucky."

Family

• Spouse : Antoinette Marches (? - ?) 2 sons
• His son, Barry, is a former touring PGA golfer.
• His wife, Antoinette, was diagnosed with a severe mental illness shortly before his death.

Author of the card

• Creation date: 01/07/2003 by abdest