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John Kerr
John Kerr
	Kerr in 1957
Born	John Grinham Kerr; November 15, 1931; New York City, U.S.
Died	February 2, 2013 (aged 81); Pasadena, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Harvard University; UCLA Law School
Occupation(s)	Actor (1940-1987), attorney (1969-2000)
Years active	1940–2000
Spouses	Priscilla Smith (m. 1952; div. 1972); Barbara Chu (m. 1979);
Children	3
Parent(s)	Geoffrey Kerr ; June Walker
Relatives	Frederick Kerr (grandfather)
Awards	Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play; 1954 Tea and Sympathy Theatre World Award; 1953 Bernardine Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor; 1956 Tea and Sympathy
Website	www.fitweb.or.jp/~johnkerr/play.html

John Grinham Kerr (November 15, 1931 – February 2, 2013) was an American actor and attorney.

He began his professional career on Broadway, earning critical acclaim for his performances in Mary Coyle Chase's Bernardine and Robert Anderson's Tea and Sympathy, then made a transition into a screen career.

He reprised his role in the film version of Tea and Sympathy, which won him the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and portrayed Lieutenant Joseph Cable in the Rodgers and Hammerstein movie musical South Pacific. He appeared in a number of television series, including a starring role on Peyton Place.

In the 1970s he largely moved from acting to become a lawyer, making a few small cameos in Canadian-produced films like Plague and The Amateur. He operated a legal practice in Beverly Hills until 2000, when he retired from the profession.

Early life

Kerr was born November 15, 1931, in New York City to British-born Geoffrey Kerr and American-born June Walker. Both were stage and film actors,^[1] and his grandfather was Frederick Kerr, a British trans-Atlantic character actor ^[2] in the period 1880–1930; Kerr developed an early interest in following in their footsteps.

He grew up in the New York City area, and went to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire;^[2] after graduating from Harvard University,^[3] he worked at the nearby Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in summer stock.^[4] For some time, he pursued graduate studies in the Russian (now Harriman) Institute of Columbia University.^{[citation needed]}

Acting career

Stage

He made his Broadway debut in 1953 in Mary Coyle Chase's Bernardine, a high-school comedy for which he won a Theatre World Award.^[5] In 1953–1954, he received critical acclaim as a troubled prep school student in Robert Anderson's play Tea and Sympathy. In 1954, he won a Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Award, and Donaldson Award for his performance,^[5] and he later starred in the film version in 1956.^[6] He starred in stagings of All Summer Long and The Infernal Machine, and both starred and directed a staging of Bus Stop at the Fred Miller Theatre in Milwaukee.^{[citation needed]}

Throughout the 1960s, he was affiliated with a number of non-profit theatre companies in Southern California, including the La Jolla Playhouse, the UCLA Theatre Group. For a time he was an artist-in-residence at Stanford University. He was the producer of a 1964 summer season of the American National Theater and Academy, held at Beverly Hills High School.

Film and television

He made The Cobweb for MGM, which liked his work so much it co-starred him with Leslie Caron in Gaby (1956), the third remake of Waterloo Bridge, which, in its original pre-Code 1931 version, featured John's grandfather, actor Frederick Kerr.^[7]

Kerr starred with Deborah Kerr (no relation) in Tea and Sympathy in 1956, reprising his role from the stage version.^[6]

In a widely publicized decision in 1956, Kerr declined to play the role of Charles Lindbergh in The Spirit of St. Louis because he did not respect Lindbergh's early alleged support of the Nazi regime in Germany before America's entry into World War II. "I don't admire the ideals of the hero," Mr. Kerr told The New York Post. The part instead went to Jimmy Stewart, a veteran of World War II, who was over 20 years older than Kerr and nearly twice the age of Lindbergh when he made his historic 1927 flight.^[1]

Kerr had a major role in the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (1958), playing Lt. Joe Cable, the newly arrived marine about to be sent on a dangerous spy mission. In The Crowded Sky (1960), Kerr played a pilot who helps the Captain (Dana Andrews) steer a crippled airliner back to earth. Another film appearance was in Roger Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum (1961). In 1963, Kerr had a continuing role on Arrest and Trial, playing Assistant District Attorney Barry Pine.

During the 1960s, Kerr guest starred on several TV series, including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Rawhide, Gunsmoke and Adam-12. He had a regular role on the TV series Peyton Place, playing District Attorney John Fowler during the 1965–1966 season. Also in 1964-1965, he appeared as guest star on several episodes of Twelve O'Clock High.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1970s, Kerr had a recurring role as prosecutor Gerald O'Brien on The Streets of San Francisco^[4] and he made guest appearances in several other TV programs including The Mod Squad, Columbo, McMillan and Wife, Barnaby Jones and The Feather and Father Gang.^[8]

Legal career

Kerr took an interest in film directing, and worked as an apprentice with Leo Penn, who was then directing episodes of the television series Run for Your Life — but Kerr was quickly disenchanted by the mundane aspects of the work, and applied to and was accepted at UCLA Law School.^[4] He received his J.D. degree from that law school, and passed the California bar in 1970. He later pursued a full-time career as a lawyer,^[4] but still accepted occasional small roles in a variety of television productions over the years. He retired from legal practice in 2000.^[9]

Personal life

Kerr married Priscilla Smith in 1952; the couple divorced in 1972. He married Barbara Chu in 1979.^[3] He had two daughters and a son with Smith as well as a stepson and stepdaughter from his marriage to Chu.^[1]

Kerr died of heart failure on February 2, 2013, at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California.^[10] He was cremated and his ashes given to his widow.^[11]

Stage credits

Run	Title	Role	Director	Theatre	Notes
08/5/40 - 08/10/40	Tomorrow and Tomorrow	Ruth's Son	Arthur Walton	The Cape Playhouse
07/19/49 - 07/24/49	O Mistress Mine	Michael Brown	Arthur Walton	The Cape Playhouse
10/16/52 - 02/28/53	Bernardine	Arthur Beaumont	Guthrie McClintic	Playhouse Theatre	Theatre World Award
09/30/53 - 06/18/55	Tea and Sympathy	Tom Robinson Lee	Elia Kazan	Ethel Barrymore Theatre Longacre Theatre 48th Street Theatre	Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play New York Drama Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Play Donaldson Award for Best Supporting Actor of the Season
09/23/54 - 11/13/54	All Summer Long	Don	Alan Schneider	Coronet Theatre Booth Theatre
02/03/58 - 03/09/58	The Infernal Machine	Oedipus	Herbert Berghof	Phoenix Theatre
11/25/58 - 12/27/58	Cue for Passion	Tony Burgess	Elmer Rice	Henry Miller's Theatre
04/06/59 - 04/19/59	The Hasty Heart	Lachie		Fred Miller Theatre
07/23/59 - 07/27/59	The Glass Menagerie	Tom Wingfield		Lobero Theatre
12/03/60 - 12/28/60	Bus Stop	Bo Decker	Himself	Fred Miller Theatre	Also director

Other credits

Dream Girl (1947, summer repertory)
Joan of Lorraine (1946, summer repertory)
September Tide (1949, summer repertory)
Billy Budd (1951, Brattle Theatre)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1951, Brattle Theatre)
Twelfth Night (1951, Brattle Theatre)
A Sleep of Prisoners (1952, Brattle Theatre)
Ring Round the Moon (1954, Hyde Park Theatre)
The Rainmaker (1960, Wharf Theater)
Five Finger Exercise (1961, La Jolla Playhouse)
Sound Of Murder (1961, La Jolla Playhouse) - as director
Love and Like (1962, UCLA Theatre Group)
Antigone (1962, UCLA Theatre Group)
Hamlet (1963, Stanford University)
Liliom (1964, University of Oregon)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1964) - as producer
Androcles and the Lion (1964, American National Theater and Academy) - as producer
Oedipus Rex (1964, American National Theater and Academy) - as producer
J.B. (1964, American National Theater and Academy) - as producer
Waiting for Godot (1964, American National Theater and Academy) - as producer
Spoon River Anthology (1964, American National Theater and Academy) - as producer
Desire Under the Elms (1964, American National Theater and Academy) - as producer
The Tenth Man (1967, New York City Center)
Mister Roberts (1965, Melodyland Theatre and Circle Star Theater)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1955	The Cobweb	Steven W. Holte	Vincente Minnelli
1956	Gaby	Gregory Y. Wendell	Curtis Bernhardt
1956	Tea and Sympathy	Tom Robinson Lee	Vincente Minnelli	Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Male
1957	The Vintage	Ernesto Barandero	Jeffrey Hayden
1958	South Pacific	Lt. Joseph Cable	Joshua Logan	singing voice by Bill Lee
1960	The Crowded Sky	Mike Rule	Joseph Pevney
1960	Girl of the Night	Larry Taylor	Joseph Cates
1961	The Pit and the Pendulum	Francis Barnard	Roger Corman
	King of Kings	Man at Sermon on the Mount	Nicholas Ray	cameo
	Seven Women from Hell	Lt. Bill Jackson	Robert D. Webb
1972	Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues	Stockbroker	Paul Williams	uncredited
1973	Class of '44	Ford Hotel Bartender	Paul Bogart	uncredited
1974	Only God Knows	Health Inspector	Peter Pearson
1979	Plague	Willis, Security Guard	Ed Hunt
1981	The Amateur	CIA Agent Emil	Charles Jarrott
1987	Australian Dream	Frank the Swaggie	Jackie McKimmie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953	Lux Video Theatre	Tony	episode: "The White Gown"
	You Are There	Jesse James	episode: "The Capture of Jesse James"
	Horace Mann's Miracle	Young Pizzi
	Danger		episode: "Operation Nightmare"
1953–54	Suspense	Derek Howard	2 episodes
1953–57	The Big Story	Howie Madden	2 episodes
1953–57	Studio One		2 episodes
1954	Justice		episode: "The Scandal That Rocked the Town"
1955	Repertory Theatre	George Avery	episode: "The Bold and the Brave"
	The Elgin Hour	Pvt. Foster	episode: "Combat Medics"
	The Alcoa Hour	Jamie Hallock	episode: "Undertow"
1955–57	Climax!	Various	3 episodes
1956	The Corn Is Green	Morgan Evans
1956–62	The United States Steel Hour		3 episodes
1957	Fireside Theatre	Tom Parr	episode: "Killer's Pride"
1957–58	Playhouse 90	David McAdam / Capt. Neil Dameron	2 episodes
1958	Alcoa Theatre	Flight Lt. Upton	episode: "Strange Occurrence at Rokesay"
1958	General Electric Theater	Freddie	episode: "A Question of Romance"
1959	Berkeley Square	Peter Standish
1959	Riverboat	Jefferson Carruthers	episode: "The Barrier"
1960	The Magical World of Disney	Martin Didler	episode: "Elfego Baca: Friendly Enemies at Law"
1960	Rawhide	Bert Eaton	episode: "Incident of the Last Chance"
1961	Checkmate	Wilt Kamens	episode: "The Crimson Pool"
1962	Gunsmoke	Lute Willis	episode: "Half Straight"
	Bus Stop	Jim Carmody	episode: "Verdict of 12"
	The Lloyd Bridges Show	David	episode: "The Miracle of Mesa Verde"
	The Defenders	Jonathan Winthrop	episode: "The Apostle"
1963	The Virginian	Oliver Smith	episode: "The Judgement"
1963	Wagon Train	Jim Whitlow	episode: "The Jim Whitlow Story"
1963–64	Arrest and Trial	Barry Pine	recurring role
1964–65	Twelve O'Clock High	Maj. Herrick / Lt. Ray Thacker	2 episodes
1965	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Glendon Baker	episode: "An Unlocked Window"
1965	The Long, Hot Summer	Duane Galloway	episode: "The Homecoming"
1965–66	Peyton Place	John Fowler	main cast
1966	Run for Your Life	Alex Ryder	episode: "The Day Time Stopped"
1967	Flipper	Keller	2 episodes
1967	The High Chaparral	Creed Hallock	episode: "Sudden Country"
1967–70	The F.B.I.	Gary Morgan / William Converse / Doug Parker / Clayton McGregor	7 episodes
1969	Adam-12	Father Joe	episode: "Log 93: Once a Junkie"
1969–70	The Name of the Game	Father Billy Keaton / Stuart Clark	2 episodes
1970	The Bold Ones: The Lawyers	Dr. Philip Blackburn	episode: "The Verdict"
1971	The Young Lawyers	Andrew Rogers	episode: "False Witness"
	Yuma	Capt. White
	Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law	Clay Arnold	episode: "Men Who Care: Part 2"
	Columbo	Col. Roger Dutton	episode: "Dead Weight"
1972	The Longest Night	Agent Jones
1972	The Rookies	Price	episode: "Time Is the Fire"
1972–73	The Mod Squad	Dr. Freilich / Dr. Eggers	2 episodes
1973	Incident on a Dark Street	Gallagher
	Alias Smith and Jones	George Sterling	episode: "Only Three to a Bed"
	Search	Senator Gordon	episode: "The Mattson Papers"
1973–76	Police Story	Various	5 episodes
1973–77	The Streets of San Francisco	Gerald O'Brien	recurring role
1974	Barnaby Jones	Dr. Lincoln	episode: "Programmed for Killing"
1975	The Invisible Man	Kirk	episode: "Eyes Only"
1975	Medical Story	Dr. Barrett	episode: "A Life in the Balance"
1976	The Blue Knight		episode: "Throwaway"
1977	McMillan & Wife	Richard Valentine	episode: "Affair of the Heart"
	The Feather and Father Gang	Martin Stoddard	episode: "The Mayan Connection"
	Washington: Behind Closed Doors	Ashton	miniseries, 1 episode
1982	Seeing Things		episode: "In the Eyes of the Law"
1983	Sons and Daughters	Police Officer	episode #1.278
1985	The Park Is Mine	Reporter
1989	The Magistrate	Miller	miniseries, 2 episodes

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Vitello, Paul (February 8, 2013). "John Kerr, Star of 'Tea and Sympathy,' Dies at 81". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Vallance, Tom (February 13, 2013). "John Kerr: Actor best known as the sensitive college boy seduced in 'Tea and Sympathy'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-06-13.
^ ^a ^b "John Kerr, star of ‘Tea and Sympathy,’ ‘South Pacific,’ dies at 81" Variety, February 6, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Weaver, Tom. "The "Pitfalls of Working with Price". The Astounding B .Monster. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
^ ^a ^b "John Kerr Broadway" Playbill, retrieved August 27, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Tea and Sympathy" Turner Classic Movies, retrieved August 27, 2017.
^ Pryor, Thomas (29 June 1955). "JOHN KERR TO DO 2D METRO MOVIE: Actor Set in 'Gaby,' Musical Based on R. E. Sherwood's Play, 'Waterloo Bridge'". The New York Times. p. 24.
^ "Feather and Father Gang". Stefanie Powers Official Website. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
^ John Kerr Chronology Fitweb Archived 2013-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Obituaries: John Kerr, Garrett Lewis". Los Angeles Times. February 8, 2013. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
^ Wilson, Scott (17 August 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3d ed.). McFarland. p. 403. ISBN 978-1476625997.