Summary
Jan Merlin (born Jan Wasylewski, April 3, 1925 – September 20, 2019)[1] was an American character actor, television writer, and author.
Jan Merlin | |
|---|---|
 Merlin in 2013 | |
| Born | Jan Wasylewski April 3, 1925 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 20, 2019 (aged 94) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1946–1992 |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia Ann Datz (married 1951–1986, her death); Barbara Doyle (married 1988–2019, his death) |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Golden Halo Award, 2009 (from Southern California Motion Picture Council) |
Early years edit
Born Jan Wasylewski and reared in New York City, Merlin was of Polish ancestry. He attended the Grace Church School for Boys before dropping out to join the Navy.[2] He later graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.[3]
During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Navy and became a torpedoman.[2]
Career edit
After Merlin's discharge, he worked in summer stock beginning in 1946, and then enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater, making his Broadway debut in 1949 in Mister Roberts starring Henry Fonda.[4]
His professional acting career, which spanned more than five decades, included performances in stage plays on and off Broadway, radio dramas, live and filmed episodes of television series, and more than 30 feature motion pictures. His most recent performances were in live radio dramas broadcast in June 2010. In his film and television work, Merlin was frequently cast as the heavy, and consequently his character very often died onscreen. An early role for him was in the 1956 western playing Billy a small town boy getting mixed up with a gunfighter that dropped in the town in A Day of Fury. In 1960, Merlin played Travers in Hell Bent for Leather, and his other film credits include roles in Guns of Diablo (1965), The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), Take the Money and Run (1969), The Twilight People (1972), I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973), The Slams (1973), The Hindenburg (1975) and Time Trackers (1989).
Merlin had co-starring roles in two television series: from 1950 to 1953 as Cadet Roger Manning in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet,[5]: 1091-1092 and in 1959 as Lieutenant Colin Kirby in the ABC western series The Rough Riders.[5]: 912 In 1958, he played Kenneth on the NBC drama Kitty Foyle.[5]
In 1960, he was cast as Mick Norton in the episode "Hostage Island" of the ABC adventure series The Islanders, set in the South Pacific.
Also in 1960 he again died on the screen in S3E10 of Gene Berry's TV Western series Bat Masterson, playing a wild gun slinging cowboy, the troubled son of a deceased war hero whose mother left him when he was a child, in the episode "Last Stop To Austin".
He also appeared as Hendry Grant in the 1961 episode "First Blood" of the NBC western series The Tall Man. He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason: in 1958, as Tony Davis in "The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde", and in 1961 as Ralph Quentin in "The Case of the Jealous Journalist." Merlin appeared in a 1954 episode of Dragnet "The Big Rod", cast as Gregory Moore, a felony hit and run suspect. Merlin played a villain in three episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: "No Way Out", "The X Factor" and "Death From The Past". In 1957, he appeared in Season 1 Episode 21 of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre opposite Ernest Borgnine, also a former US Navy man. In 1962, he was cast as Bill Enders in the episode "The Ride" of the NBC western series Bonanza. In 1962 he was cast as bad guy Clint in the western series Laramie episode "The Stolen Tribute" . He would go on to play a bad guy twice more on the show once as Karl Swenson son in the episode "Trial By Fire" and again In 1963 he played Joel Greevy in "The Fugitives". In 1966, he co-starred in the Combat! Season 4 episode "One at a Time" as a German sniper, Sgt. Erich and again in 1966 in the season 5 episode "Headcount" as Lt. Geiben.
Merlin received a Daytime Emmy Award in 1975 for Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Drama Series as part of the NBC Daytime soap opera Another World.[citation needed] He was nominated again in 1976. His first novel was published in 1982. He currently has a number of novels in print, including Gunbearer, Part I, Gunbearer, Part II, Ainoko, Gypsies Don't Lie, Crackpots, and Shooting Montezuma. He has also self-published several works of fiction and non-fiction with co-author William Russo, including The Paid Companion of J. Wilkes Booth, Troubles in a Golden Eye, MGM Makes Boys' Town, Hanging with Billy Budd, and Frankie Thomas: the Eternal Cadet.
He also appeared in Little House on the Prairie as Olga Nordstrom's Father, Jon Nordstrom. Season 1 episode 8 1974.
Personal life and death edit
Merlin married his first wife Patricia Datz in 1951.[2] They had a son, Peter William Merlin (born 1964). Patricia died in 1986. Two years after his wife's death, Merlin married his second wife Barbara Doyle, and remained married until his death on September 20, 2019. He was 94.[6][7]
Filmography edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Them! | Radio Man on the SS Viking | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Six Bridges to Cross | Andy Norris | |
| 1955 | Big House, U.S.A. | Tommy, Accomplice on Fishing Boat | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Illegal | Andy Garth | |
| 1955 | Running Wild | Scotty Cluett | |
| 1956 | A Day of Fury | Billy Brand | |
| 1956 | Screaming Eagles | Lt. Pauling | |
| 1956 | A Strange Adventure | Al Kutner | |
| 1956 | The Peacemaker | Viggo Tomlin | |
| 1957 | Woman and the Hunter | Robert Gifford | |
| 1958 | Cole Younger, Gunfighter | Frank Wittrock | |
| 1960 | Hell Bent for Leather | Travers | |
| 1963 | The List of Adrian Messenger/ | The Whistling Man / The Clergyman / The Workman / The Shepherd | Uncredited |
| 1963 | Gunfight at Comanche Creek | Nielsen | |
| 1964 | The Virginian | Sam Lake | |
| 1964 | Gunsmoke | Ed Sykes | |
| 1965 | Guns of Diablo | Rance Macklin | |
| 1966 | The Oscar | Actor Frankie Pulls Knife on | Uncredited |
| 1967 | The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | Willie Marks | |
| 1969 | Strategy of Terror | Jon | |
| 1969 | Take the Money and Run | Al – Bank Robber | |
| 1972 | The Twilight People | Steinman | |
| 1973 | The Slams | Saddler | |
| 1973 | I Escaped from Devil's Island | Rosenquist | |
| 1974 | Little House on the Prairie | Jon Nordstrom | |
| 1975 | The Hindenburg | Speck | |
| 1988 | Permanent Record | Minister | |
| 1989 | Nowhere to Run | Mr. Groker | |
| 1989 | Time Trackers | Max Barker | |
| 1989 | Silk 2 | Hancock Gish | |
| 1990 | False Identity | Potter – Pete |
References edit
- ^ Magers, Donna. "Jan Merlin". www.westernclippings.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Co-Star Role in 'Rough Riders' Series Caps Long Career for Actor Jan Merlin". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Hawaii, Honolulu. June 13, 1959. p. 59. Retrieved January 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "TV Star to Appear at Little League Opening". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. May 14, 1961. p. 18. Retrieved January 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jan Merlin". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ a b c Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 568. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- ^ "Jan Merlin, Actor and Emmy-Winning Writer, Dies at 94". The Hollywood Reporter. September 23, 2019.
- ^ "Jan Merlin Obituary - Burbank, California | Legacy.com". Legacy.com. September 21, 2019.
External links edit
- Jan Merlin at IMDb
- Brief biography of Jan Merlin
- Autobiographical account by Jan Merlin