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John P. Ryan
Actor

John P. Ryan

30 Jul 1936Born
20 Mar 2007Died
70Age at death
69Credits

Biography

Character actor John P. Ryan was born on July 30, 1936 in New York City. The son of Irish immigrant parents, Ryan graduated from Rice High School and studied English at the City College of New York, where he first developed an interest in acting. He served six years in the US Army and worked as a welfare investigator prior to pursuing an acting career.

Read the full biography

John made his film debut in the 1967 comedy "The Tiger Makes Out." He appeared in five pictures for Jack Nicholson; he's especially memorable as male nurse Spicer in "Five Easy Pieces." Manic, pale-eyed and craggy-faced, with an often intense and explosive screen presence, Ryan was frequently cast as nasty villains, hard-boiled police officers, and strict military men. John gave a strong and touching performance in a rare change-of-pace sympathetic role as Frank Davis, the bitter and regretful father of a murderous monster mutant baby in Larry Cohen's excellent "It's Alive." He also portrayed Davis in the okay sequel "It Lives Again." Other notable movie parts include the fanatical Colonel Hardcore in "Shamus," shrewd mob capo Patsy O'Neill in the witty "Cops and Robbers," evil scientist Schneider in "Futureworld," the dogged Lt. Parmental in "Breathless," vicious Irish mobster Joe Flynn in "The Cotten Club;" at his ferocious best as sadistic prison Warden Ranken in the powerful "Runaway Train," hateful fascist lunatic Glastenbury in the exciting "Avenging Force," ruthless drug kingpin Nathan White in the cruddy "Death Wish IV: The Crackdown," ramrod high school principal Mr. O'Rourke in the amusing "Three O'Clock High," and lethal robot history teacher Mr. Hardin in "Class of 1999." Among the TV shows Ryan did guest spots on are "M.A.S.H.," "The Rockford Files," "Hawaii Five-O," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," "Starsky & Hutch," "Kojak," "Hart to Hart," "The F.B.I.," and "Miami Vice." John had a recurring role on the TV series "Archer." In addition to his film and TV credits, Ryan also appeared in over 90 stage plays. Following his final film appearance in "Bound," John spent his later years giving acting lessons and was an advocate of spiritual healing. John P. Ryan died from a stroke at age 70 on March 20, 2007 in Los Angeles, California; he's survived by two daughters.

Known for

Filmography

  1. 2007The Pixar StoryFilm: Dr. Schneider (archive footage)
  2. 1996BoundFilm: Mickey Malnato
  3. 1994Bad BloodFilm: John Blackstone
  4. 1994The PatriotsFilm: Arthur
  5. 1993Batman: Mask of the PhantasmFilm: Buzz Bronski (voice)
  6. 1993The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.Series: Sheriff Bob Cavendish (1 episode)
  7. 1993Young Goodman BrownFilm: The Devil
  8. 1992HoffaFilm: Red Bennett
  9. 1992White SandsFilm: Arms Dealer (Uncredited)
  10. 1992Star TimeFilm: Sam Bones
  11. 1991Blood RiverFilm: Henry Logan
  12. 1990EternityFilm: Thomas Vandervere / Prosecutor
  13. 1990Delta Force 2: The Colombian ConnectionFilm: Gen. Taylor
  14. 1990Class of 1999Film: Mr. Hardin
  15. 1989Best of the BestFilm: Jennings
  16. 1988ParamedicsFilm: Captain Prescott
  17. 1987City of ShadowsFilm: Sergeant Fireman
  18. 1987Rent-a-CopFilm: Wieser
  19. 1987Fatal BeautyFilm: Lt. Kellerman
  20. 1987Three O'Clock HighFilm: Mr. O'Rourke
  21. 1987Death Wish 4: The CrackdownFilm: Nathan White
  22. 1987Faerie Tale Theatre: Rip Van WinkleFilm: Hendrick Hudson / Narrator (voice)
  23. 1986Houston: The Legend of TexasFilm: David Burnett
  24. 1986Avenging ForceFilm: Prof. Elliott Glastenbury
  25. 1985Runaway TrainFilm: Ranken
  26. 1985Hollywood BeatSeries (1 episode)
  27. 1984The Cotton ClubFilm: Joe Flynn
  28. 1984Miami ViceSeries: Jake Manning (1 episode)
  29. 1983The Right StuffFilm: Head of Program
  30. 1983Shooting StarsFilm: McGee
  31. 1983BreathlessFilm: Lt. Parmental
  32. 1982Matt HoustonSeries (1 episode)
  33. 1982Faerie Tale TheatreSeries: Hendrick Hudson / Narrator (voice) (1 episode)
  34. 1982The Escape ArtistFilm: Vernon
  35. 1982Cagney & LaceySeries: Philip Corrigan (1 episode)
  36. 1982American PlayhouseSeries: Peter Doyle (1 episode)
  37. 1981Simon & SimonSeries (1 episode)
  38. 1981The Postman Always Rings TwiceFilm: Kennedy
  39. 1980The Last Flight of Noah's ArkFilm: Coslough
  40. 1979ParisSeries (1 episode)
  41. 1979Hart to HartSeries (1 episode)
  42. 1979Buck Rogers in the 25th CenturySeries: Kurt Belzack (1 episode)
  43. 1978KazSeries (1 episode)
  44. 1978It Lives AgainFilm: Frank Davis
  45. 1977Kill Me If You CanFilm: Johnson
  46. 1977A Killing AffairFilm: Flagler
  47. 1976FutureworldFilm: Dr. Mort Schneider
  48. 1976The Missouri BreaksFilm: Si
  49. 1975Death ScreamFilm: Detective Dave Lambert
  50. 1975Matt HelmSeries: Carl Ainsley (1 episode)
  51. 1975Starsky & HutchSeries (2 episodes)
  52. 1975ArcherSeries: Lieutenant Barney Brighton (6 episodes)
  53. 1975Target RiskFilm: Ralph Sloan
  54. 1974Police WomanSeries (1 episode)
  55. 1974The Rockford FilesSeries: Dearborn (1 episode)
  56. 1974It's AliveFilm: Frank Davis
  57. 1973KojakSeries: Peter Ibbotson (1 episode)
  58. 1973Cops and RobbersFilm: Patsy O'Neill
  59. 1973DillingerFilm: Charles Mackley
  60. 1973ShamusFilm: Col. Craig C. Hardcore
  61. 1972The King of Marvin GardensFilm: Surtees
  62. 1972M*A*S*HSeries: Major Van Zandt (1 episode)
  63. 1972The Legend of Nigger CharleyFilm: Houston
  64. 1971Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to MeFilm: Oeuf
  65. 1970Five Easy PiecesFilm: Spicer
  66. 1969Hawaii Five-OSeries: Guido Marioni (1 episode)
  67. 1968A Lovely Way to DieFilm: Harry Samson (uncredited)
  68. 1968A Hatful of RainFilm: Chuck
  69. 1965The F.B.I.Series: Ernie Flood, William Quine (1 episode)

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.