David Janssen

Lore & Background

David Janssen was born on March 27, 1931, in Naponee, Nebraska, as David Harold Meyer. His father was Harold Edward Meyer, a banker, and his mother, Berniece Graf, was formerly Miss Nebraska and a Ziegfeld girl. Following his parents' divorce in 1935, his mother moved with David to Los Angeles and married Eugene Janssen in 1940. David identified with his Jewish stepfather and adopted his surname after entering show business as a child. He attended Fairfax High School, where he excelled on the basketball court, setting a school scoring record that lasted over 20 years. His first film part was at age thirteen, and by age twenty-five, he had appeared in twenty films and served two years as an enlisted man in the United States Army. During his Army days, Janssen became a friend of fellow enlistees Martin Milner and Clint Eastwood while posted at Fort Ord, California.

Janssen starred in four television series of his own: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957–1960); The Fugitive (1963–1967); O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971–1972); and Harry O (1974–1976). At the time of its airing in August 1967, the final episode of The Fugitive held the record for the greatest number of American homes to watch a series finale – 72 percent. In 1996 TV Guide ranked The Fugitive number 36 on its 50 Greatest Shows of All Time list. His films include To Hell and Back, the biography of Audie Murphy; Hell to Eternity; John Wayne's Vietnam war film The Green Berets; Marooned opposite Gregory Peck; and The Shoes of the Fisherman. He also played pilot Harry Walker in the 1973 action movie Birds of Prey, and starred in the 1967 film Warning Shot, shot during a break between the third and fourth seasons of The Fugitive.

Janssen played an alcoholic in the 1977 TV movie A Sensitive, Passionate Man, co-starring Angie Dickinson, and played an engineer who devises an unbeatable system for blackjack in the 1978 made-for-TV movie Nowhere to Run. His husky voice was used as narrator for the TV mini-series Centennial (1978–79); he also appeared in the final episode. In 1979 he starred in the made-for-TV mini series S.O.S. Titanic as John Jacob Astor. Though his scenes were cut from the final release, he appeared as a journalist in the film Inchon. At the time of his death, Janssen had just begun filming a television movie playing Father Damien; the part was eventually reassigned to actor Ken Howard.

Reader's Guide

David Janssen's legacy rests primarily on his iconic portrayal of Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, a series that captivated American audiences and whose finale in August 1967 set a record for the highest percentage of American homes watching a series finale—72 percent. The series itself was later ranked number 36 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Shows of All Time list in 1996, and Janssen was ranked number 36 on the magazine's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list that same year. His career included title roles in three other television series—Richard Diamond, Private Detective; O'Hara, U.S. Treasury; and Harry O—demonstrating his sustained appeal as a leading man in the medium. Beyond television, Janssen appeared in a range of films, from war biopics like To Hell and Back to space dramas like Marooned, and his distinctive husky voice lent itself to narration work, most notably for the mini-series Centennial. His death at age 48 from a sudden heart attack, while filming a television movie about Father Damien, cut short a career that had already left a significant mark on American television history. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame commemorates his contribution to the television industry.

Did You Know?

• David Janssen was born David Harold Meyer and adopted his stepfather's surname after entering show business.
• He set a school scoring record in basketball at Fairfax High School that lasted over 20 years.
• The final episode of The Fugitive in August 1967 was watched by 72 percent of American homes, a record at the time.
• Janssen was a chain smoker who smoked up to four packs of cigarettes a day and died of a sudden heart attack at age 48.