John Russell

Acting

John Russell

Born 1921-01-03 · Los Angeles, California, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. John Lawrence Russell was an American actor, and World War II veteran, most noted for playing Marshal Dan Troop in the successful ABC western television series Lawman from 1958 to 1962, and his lead role as international adventurer Tim Kelly in the syndicated TV series Soldiers of Fortune from 1955 to 1957. Russell signed a contract with 20th Century Fox in 1945 and made his first film appearance as a guard in A Royal Scandal. He played several supporting parts while at Fox, acting the role of a junior law partner in the Clifton Webb comedy Sitting Pretty, as well as a navy pilot in Slattery's Hurricane. Later, however, he signed with Republic Pictures where he was cast in a starring role. In 1955, Russell landed the lead role in a television drama series called Soldiers of Fortune. In 1958, Russell was cast in his best-known role: the stolid, taciturn Marshal Dan Troop, the lead character in Lawman, an ABC/Warners hit western series that ran for four years. Co-starring alongside Peter Brown, who played Deputy Johnny McKay, and Peggie Castle as Birdcage Saloon owner Lily Merrill, Russell portrayed a US frontier peace officer mentoring his younger compatriot. At the same time that Lawman premiered, Russell played an outlaw, along with Edd Byrnes and Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., in the 1958 season premiere episode of Sugarfoot, another ABC/WB hit western, with Will Hutchins in the title role. Russell also appeared in other motion pictures for Warner Bros., notably as a Sioux chieftain in Yellowstone Kelly, as well as a rich corrupt cattle-rancher, Nathan Burdette, in the highly successful Howard Hawks western Rio Bravo, starring John Wayne. Throughout the remainder of his movie career, he played secondary roles in more than 20 films, including several A.C. Lyles westerns and three films directed by his friend Clint Eastwood, most notably as Marshal Stockburn, the chief villain in Eastwood's 1985 film, Pale Rider. Russell also appeared in the second season of the Filmation children's science-fiction series Jason of Star Command. He played Commander Stone, a blue-skinned alien from Alpha Centauri. He replaced James Doohan, who had played the commander in the previous season, but left to start working on Star Trek: The Motion Picture Description above from the Wikipedia article John Russell (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​

Acting credits

Pale Rider poster
7.2

A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.

Pale Rider

1985

The Outlaw Josey Wales poster
7.5

After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected.

The Outlaw Josey Wales

1976

Rio Bravo poster
7.8

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

Rio Bravo

1959

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington poster
7.8

After the death of a United States Senator, the idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. The naive and earnest new senator soon finds himself battling political corruption.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939

Honkytonk Man poster
6.3

During the Great Depression, a young boy leaves his family's Oklahoma farm to travel with his country musician uncle who is trying out for the Grand Ole Opry.

Honkytonk Man

1982

Yellow Sky poster
7.0

In 1867, a gang robs a bank and flees into the desert. Out of water, the outlaws encounter a ghost town called Yellow Sky and its only residents, a hostile young woman and her grandfather.

Yellow Sky

1948

The Last Command poster
6.7

During the Texas War of Independence of 1836 American frontiersman and pioneer Jim Bowie pleads for caution with the rebellious Texicans. They don't heed his advice since he's a Mexican citizen, married to the daughter of the Mexican vice-governor of the province and a friend to General Santa Anna since the days they had fought together for Mexico's independence. After serving as president for 22 years, Santa Anna has become too powerful and arrogant. He rules Mexico with an iron fist and he would not allow Texas to self-govern. Bowie sides with the Texans in their bid for independence and urges a cautious strategy, given Santa Anna's power and cunning. Despite the disagreement between the Texicans and Bowie regarding the right strategy they ask Bowie to lead them in a last-ditch stand, at Alamo, against General Santa Anna's numerically superior forces.

The Last Command

1955

Forever Amber poster
6.0

Amber St Clair, orphaned during the English Civil War and raised by a family of farmers, aspires to be a lady of high society; when a group of cavaliers ride into town, she sneaks away with them to London to achieve her dreams.

Forever Amber

1947

Yellowstone Kelly poster
6.2

A fur-trapper named Kelly, who once saved the life of a Sioux chief, is allowed to set his traps in Sioux territory during the late 1870s. Reluctantly he takes on a tenderfoot assistant named Anse and together they give shelter to a runaway Arapaho woman. Tensions develop when Anse falls in love with this woman and when the Sioux chief arrives with his warriors to re-claim her.

Yellowstone Kelly

1959

The Sun Shines Bright poster
6.6

With the election approaching, a judge in a Southern town at the turn of the 20th century is involved variously in revealing the real identity of a young woman, reliving his Civil War memories, and preventing the lynching of an African youth.

The Sun Shines Bright

1953

Blood Legacy poster
3.5

In order to qualify to inherit the family fortune, the four heirs must spend the night in the family estate. However, during the night someone starts killing them off.

Blood Legacy

1971

The Dark Corner poster
6.6

Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.

The Dark Corner

1946

Cannon for Cordoba poster
5.6

In 1912, during the Mexican Revolution, the border between Texas and Mexico is on flames due to savage raids by Mexican bandits who call themselves freedom fighters, so the US government entrusts to General Pershing the capture of General Héctor Córdoba, the most notorious among them.

Cannon for Cordoba

1970

Man in the Saddle poster
6.6

A small rancher is being harassed by his mighty and powerful neighbor. When the neighbor even hires gunmen to intimidate him he has to defend himself and his property by means of violence.

Man in the Saddle

1951

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion poster
NR

Some of TV and film's popular western actors reunite in this tribute special hosted by Glenn Ford.

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion

1979

Fort Utah poster
4.3

An ex-gunfighter goes up against a man who is trying to stir up trouble with the Indians to enrich himself.

Fort Utah

1967

Somewhere in the Night poster
6.7

George Taylor returns from WWII with amnesia. Back home in Los Angeles, while trying to track down his old identity, he stumbles onto a three year old murder case and a hunt for a missing $2 million.

Somewhere in the Night

1946

Fort Massacre poster
6.2

New Mexico Territory, August 1879. The few surviving members of a cavalry column, which has been relentlessly decimated by the Apaches, attempt to reach Fort Crain. On their way through a hostile land, the obsessive and ruthless Sergeant Vinson takes to the limit the battered will of the troopers under his command.

Fort Massacre

1958

A Royal Scandal poster
6.9

Catherine the Great falls in love with an army officer who is plotting against her.

A Royal Scandal

1945

Frenchie poster
6.0

Frenchie Fontaine sells her successful business in New Orleans to come West. Her reason? Find the men who killed her father, Frank Dawson. But she only knows one of the two who did and she's determined to find out the other.

Frenchie

1950

If He Hollers, Let Him Go! poster
5.6

James Lake (Raymond St. Jacques) is an escaped black convict imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit. Leslie Whitlock (Kevin McCarthy) offers James money to kill his wife, Ellen (Dana Wynter). He declines and tries to look up his old flame Lily (Barbara McNair), but discovers his own brother is now married to the sultry nightclub singer. James returns to Leslie, and the trio travel towards a mountain retreat. James and Ellen escape and try to find the murderer who had framed James years before.

If He Hollers, Let Him Go!

1968

Hostile Guns poster
5.6

US Marshal Gid McCool leads a wagon train of convicted felons to Huntsville prison. The only female among the crooks is the dancehall girl Laura Mannon, McCool's former flame. When McCool cannot be swayed from completing his lawful duty, Laura tries to endear herself to shotgun rider Mike Reno in hopes he will set her free.

Hostile Guns

1967

Fair Wind to Java poster
5.6

The Dutch East Indies, at the end of the nineteenth century. An adventurous captain of an American merchant vessel is looking for a sunken Dutch vessel containing 10,000 precious diamonds. Unfortunately, he's not the only one and then there's also that volcano on the nearby island of Krakatau, waiting to explode in its historical, disastrous eruption...

Fair Wind to Java

1953

A Bell for Adano poster
6.0

Major Joppolo and his men are assigned to restore order to the war-torn Italian town of Adano. He has to manage getting supplies into town without interfering with troop movements, all the while dealing with colorful citizens of the town. One of his quests is to replace the bell which orders the town's life.

A Bell for Adano

1945

Behind the camera