Born John Joseph Patrick Ryan on the 30th of December 1920 in New York City New
York. Certainly best known for his role of Steve McGarret on the longest running
American television police drama, Hawaii Five-O. In his later years Jack accepted the
life of a recluse and shied away form the attention of the media, preferring the
company of his adoring wife in their home on Honolulu. Consequently little is know
about Jack's early years, save that his father, William Lawerence Ryan was an
executive of a steam ship company and that Jack enjoyed art.
What information does exist, starts when Jack began to appear in the public
records of his high school, John Adams High School in Queens, New York. John Ryan was
a smart, artistic and athletic young man involved in many school activities. He was
even the Chairman of his senior prom committee.
After High school John attended New York University on a football scholarship,
with the intent of becoming an art instructor. While attending NYU his activities
only
increased. John was by no means lazy or presumably, even bored. In addition to playing
Football, he also threw the javelin, ran track and was an expert fencer with both
saber and foil. He won the Chancellor Chase Scholarship. His brother Bill and he
even
owned and operated their own art school on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village
called 'Village Academy of Arts.' If all that wasn't enough, before he graduated with
his B.S. in Fine Arts, with honors, and before his twentieth birthday, he had two of
his watercolors purchased for permanent collection by the New York Metropolitan
Museum of Art!
After College John attended the Trumball Naval Academy in New London Connecticut,
graduating as an Ensign with a third mates license. He then began an off and on life
as a sailor in the Merchant Marines. During a stint in Persia as a steel worker for
the US Engineering Department he was asked to return to Washington and illustrate
manuals
for the maritime service. He returned to the service of the Merchant Marines and
spent the rest of the war years illustrating both manuals and posters for documentary
films. He was asked to perform in one of the films and caught the acting bug. By the time
he left the service at the end of the war he had been featured in 51 films and was
hooked on acting.
Upon leaving the service of the Merchant Marines after the war, John took the
name of Jack Lord and enrolled in classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the
Actors Studio in New York. In order to fund his new scholastic direction he took a job
selling
Cadillac’s. Jack quickly tired of the low pay and was becoming desperate to start his
career as an actor. Upon the advice of his new wife, he quit his day job and launched
into acting full time. He got his first work in the Broadway production of
'Traveling lady' and later 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.'
Jack's career was in full swing and in 1949 he landed his first film, 'Project
X', although not about monkies trained to fly airplanes, it did feature Jack in a
role as an atomic scientist who joins the communist party. His big break came in 1955
when he co-starred opposite Cary Grant in 'The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell.' In
1962 he played james Bond's CIA counterpart, Felix Leiter in 'Dr.No.' He was all
set to
reprise his role in 1964 for 'Goldfinger,' but his popularity had risen so much that
producer Albert Broccoli feared his performance would overshadow 007's and he was not
asked back.
From 1962-63 Jack starred in the ABC series 'Stoney Burke' a drama about modern
day rodeos. In it he displayed another talent from his youth. Jack was an expert
horseman, having learned to ride on his mothers fruit farm in the Hudson River valley
at an early age.
In 1966 he was a front runner for the role of Kirk in the original running of
'Star Trek.' Eventually he was rejected in favor of William Shatner by Gene
Roddenberry and Desilu studios, mostly over Jack's insistence on co-producing the
series and demands for a percentage in ownership of the property. Ironically, but
certainly nothing more than loony coincidence, while attending NYU he was the business
manager for the university publication 'Trek' from 1939-40.
In 1968 Jack landed the role of Steve McGarret that made him a household name.
His special team of police investigators that only answered to the governor of Hawaii
lasted until 1980. Jack fell in love with
Hawaii and remained on the islands until his death on the 21st of January 1998 of
congestive heart failure.
Jack was married twice. His first marriage to Ann Wilard was short and only lasted
from 1942 till 1947. The union resulted in a son who was killed at thirteen
by a car accident, Jack saw the boy only once, when he was an infant.
Jack's second marriage, to Marie lasted from 1954 till his death. They met under
strange but romantic circumstances. Jack, on leave from the Merchant Marines,
strolled a path in Woodstock NY. When he reached the end, a small enchanting cottage
stood in a sunlit clearing. He was entranced and determined to buy the house. He
spent the rest of his leave tracking down the owner, Marie de Narde, a fashion
designer from NY who had built the house as her own getaway. When contacted by phone,
she wasn't interested in selling or meeting a strange sailor. Jack was persistent, to
a degree that would probably be considered stalking in this day and age. After making
more than twenty phone calls she realized he wasn't going to quit and agreed to meet
him only hours before he was to return from leave. Marie was entranced by the appeal
of such a large and rugged man with such passionate interest in the arts. "I remember
thinking -
Who's this big, tough looking guy who talks about art?" When Jack left the Merchant
Marine after WWII they were married and Jack got his house.
They remained together in Jack's seclusion on the islands of Hawaii. Despite
avoiding the press and his legions of fans Jack maintained a love of acting and the
roles he portrayed. In a statement after his death his beloved Marie said, "Jack
loved acting, and he loved these islands, through all his years he was blessed with
kindness, affection and support of many fans and friends. He always appreciated that
and never forgot it."
Filmography
- Screwed (2000) (uncredited) (archive footage) .... Det. Steve McGarrett
- M Station: Hawaii (1980) (TV) .... Admiral Henderson
- Name of the Game Is Kill, The (1968) .... Symcha Lipa
- "Hawaii Five-O" (1968) TV Series .... Det. Steve McGarrett
- Counterfeit Killer, The (1968) (TV) .... Don Owens
- Hawaii Five-O: Cocoon (1968) (TV) .... Steve McGarrett
- Ride to Hangman's Tree (1967) .... Guy Russell
- Doomsday Flight, The (1966) (TV) .... Special Agent Frank Thompson
- Dr. No (1962) .... Felix Leiter
- "Stoney Burke" (1962) TV Series .... Stoney Burke
- Walk Like a Dragon (1960) .... Linc Bartlett
- Hangman, The (1959) .... Johnny Bishop
- Man of the West (1958) .... Coaley
- God's Little Acre (1958) .... Buck Walden
- True Story of Lynn Stuart, The (1958) .... Willie Down
- Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957) .... Jimmy Heldon
- Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot (1956) .... John Fry
- Vagabond King, The (1956) .... Ferrebone
- Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, The (1955) .... Commander Zach Lansdowne
- Cry Murder (1950) .... Tommy Warren
- Tattooed Stranger, The (1950) (uncredited) .... Detective Deke Del Vecchio
- Project X (1949) .... John Bates
TV Guest Appearances
- "Man from U.N.C.L.E., The" (1964) playing "Philos Mandor"
in episode: "Master's Touch Affair, The" (episode # 4.6) 10/16/1967
- "Ironside" (1967) playing "John Trask" in episode: "Dead Man's Tale" (episode #
1.3) 9/28/1967
- "Fugitive, The" (1963) playing "Alan Bartlett" in episode: "Goodbye My
Love" (episode # 4.22) 2/28/1967
- "Invaders, The" (1967) playing "George Vikor" in episode: "Vikor" (episode # 1.5)
2/14/1967
- "Virginian, The" (1962) in episode: "High Stakes" (episode # 5.10) 11/16/1966
- "F.B.I., The" (1965) in episode: "Collision Course" (episode # 2.8) 11/13/1966
- "Twelve O'Clock High" (1964) playing "Col Yates" in episode: "Face of a Shadow"
(episode # 3.3) 9/23/1966
- "Laredo" (1965) in episode: "Above the Law" (episode # 1.17) 1/13/1966
- "Twelve O'Clock High" (1964) playing "Lt. Col. Preston Gallagher" in episode: "Big
Brother" (episode # 2.5) 10/11/1965
- "Combat!" (1962) playing "Barney McClosky" in episode: "Linesman, The" (episode #
4.4) 10/5/1965
- "Loner, The" (1965) in episode: "Vespers, The" (episode # 1.2) 9/25/1965
- "Wagon Train" (1957) in episode: "Echo Pass Story, The" (episode # 8.14) 1/3/1965
- "Dr. Kildare" (1961) playing "Dr Frank Michaels" in episode: "Willing Suspension of
Disbelief, A" (episode # 3.15) 1/9/1964
- "Checkmate" (1960) playing "Ernie Chapin" in episode: "Star System" (episode # 2.14)
1/10/1962
- "Rawhide" (1959) playing "Paul Evans" in episode: "Incident of his Brother's
Keeper" (episode # 3.21) 3/31/1961
- "Stagecoach West" (1960) in episode: "Butcher, The" (episode # 1.25) 3/28/1961
- "Stagecoach West" (1960) in episode: "House of Violence" (episode # 1.24) 3/21/1961
- "Naked City" (1958) in episode: "Human Trap, The" (episode # 2.8) 11/30/1960
- "Bonanza" (1959) in episode: "Outcast, The" (episode # 1.16) 1/2/1960
- "Alcoa Presents" (1959) playing "Dan Gardner" in episode: "Father Image" (episode #
2.13) 12/15/1959
- "Untouchables, The" (1959) playing "Bill Hagen" in episode: "Jake
Lingle Killing, The" (episode # 1.3) 10/29/1959
- "Rawhide" (1959) in episode: "Incident of the Calico Gun" (episode # 1.15) 9/24/1959
- "Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Myles Brandell/Nate Brandell" in episode: "Doc's Reward"
(episode # 3.14) 12/14/1957
- "Have Gun Will Travel" (1957) playing "Dave" in episode: "Three Bells to Perdido"
(episode # 1.1) 9/14/1957
- "Studio One" (1948) playing "Matt" in episode: "Day Before Battle, A" (episode #
8.48) 9/3/1956
- "Studio One" (1948) playing "Paul Chester" in episode: "Incident of Love, An"
(episode # 8.44) 7/23/1956
- "Philco Television Playhouse, The" (1948) in episode: "This Land Is Mine" (episode #
8.10) 1/15/1956
- "Suspense" (1949) in episode: "String" (episode # 6.38) 6/22/1954
My thanbks to the following sources:
www.imdb.com
www.jacklord.net
www.mjq.net/fiveo/advertiser.htm