John Dierkes
Acting
Born 1905-02-10
Died 1975-01-08
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
61 credits
Read biography
Dierkes was born on February 10, 1905 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Brown University and subsequently went to work as an economist for the United States Department of State. In 1941 he joined the Red Cross and served in the Britain duringWorld War II. There he met director John Huston who recommended that he try Hollywood after the war. Instead, Dierkes went to work for the U.S. Treasury Department which coincidentally sent him to Hollywood to function as technical advisor for the film To the Ends of the Earth (1948). Because of his appearance and very tall frame (6 feet, 6 inches), Dierkes enjoyed a long career as a character actor, often portraying villains or soldiers. In the 1953 film Shane, Dierkes portrays villain Morgan Ryker, who is the last man shot by the title character, Shane, in the final bar room shootout. One of his more memorable scenes is in the 1960 film, The Alamo. Dierkes portrays a Tennessean named Jocko, who is torn between leaving before the attack to care for his blind wife, or staying to support the Texans' cause. Understanding that if Jocko stays to fight she will likely be widowed, Jocko's wife coaxes him to stay and defend the fort, despite her disability. Dierkes died in 1975 of emphesyma and was survived by his wife Cynthia, two sons, and two daughters.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 61
Acting
54 credits
The Rifleman
Rawhide
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Gunsmoke
Tales of Wells Fargo
Lux Video Theatre
Touch of Evil
The Aquanauts
The Alamo
The Omega Man
Shane
The Comancheros
One-Eyed Jacks
The Thing from Another World
Friendly Persuasion
Macbeth
The Raven
Johnny Cool
Jubal
The Buccaneer
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
The Haunted Palace
The Naked Jungle
The Hanging Tree
The Left Handed Gun
The Premature Burial
The Fastest Gun Alive
The Guns of Fort Petticoat
Valerie
Les Miserables
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
The Raid
The Red Badge of Courage
Silver City
Not as a Stranger
The Vanquished
Rage
The Slowest Gun in the West
The Moonlighter
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Convicts 4
Daughter of Dr. Jekyll
The Buckskin Lady
Hell's Outpost
Creepy Classics
The Desperado
Down Liberty Road
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
The Oregon Trail
Duel at Apache Wells
The Vanishing American
Three Husbands
Blood Arrow
Betrayed Women
Other credits
6 credits
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