John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a
Canadian-American
Canadian Americans () are Citizenship of the United States, American citizens or in some uses residents whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadians, Canadian, or citizens of either country who hold dual citizenship. Today, many Canadian American ...
actor and
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
. Born in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia and raised in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, he came to prominence with film audiences for his supporting roles in several high-profile
Western films
The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the Frontier Thesis, new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier b ...
, including ''
My Darling Clementine
''My Darling Clementine'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp during the period leading up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature (as Doc Holli ...
'' (1946), ''
Red River'' (1948), ''
Vengeance Valley
''Vengeance Valley'' is a 1951 American Technicolor Western film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Burt Lancaster, with a supporting cast featuring Robert Walker, Joanne Dru, Sally Forrest, John Ireland and Ray Collins. It is based o ...
'' (1951), and ''
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957). He was nominated for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for his role as Jack Burden in ''
All the King's Men
''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U. ...
'' (1949), making him the first British Columbia-born actor to receive an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
nomination.
Ireland's other film roles include ''
A Walk in the Sun'' (1945), ''
Joan Of Arc
Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...
'' (1948), ''
Spartacus
Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Historical accounts o ...
'' (1960), ''
55 Days at Peking
''55 Days at Peking'' is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Beijing (then still Peking, in English) during the Boxer Uprising, which took place in China in the summer of 1 ...
'' (1963), ''
The Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1964), ''
The Adventurers'' (1970), and ''
Farewell, My Lovely
''Farewell, My Lovely'' is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio. ...
'' (1975). He also appeared in many television series, notably ''
The Cheaters'' (1960–62). In the late 1960s and 1970s, he worked in Italian cinema, including the
Spaghetti Westerns ''
Run, Man, Run'' (1968), the
giallo
In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...
''
One on Top of the Other'' (1969), and the controversial war drama
''Salon Kitty'' (1976).
In 1960, Ireland was presented with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
for his contribution to the television industry.
Early life
Ireland was born in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
on January 30, 1914. He lived in New York City from a very early age. Ireland's formal education ended at the 7th grade, and he worked to help his family make ends meet.
He never knew his natural father; his mother, a Scottish piano teacher Gracie Ferguson, remarried to Michael Noone, an Irish vaudevillian, and had three other children, a daughter Kathryn, a son named Thomas (the future actor-comedian
Tommy Noonan), and another son, Michael. Their last name was Noone; Ireland never knew for sure where his last name came from.
He was a swimmer, once competing with
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...
. He performed underwater stunts at a carnival and worked as a
barker. One of his jobs was in a water carnival where he wrestled a dead octopus.
Career
Theatre
One day he was passing the Davenport Free Theater in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. He entered, thinking it offered a free show and instead received free training. He slept in a dressing room and was paid a dollar a day to work backstage while rehearsing lines.
In 1941 he made his Broadway debut in a production of ''
Macbeth
''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'' with Maurice Evans and Judith Anderson. Other Broadway plays followed.
["John Ireland, 78, Longtime Actor With Role in 'All the King's Men'"]
Bruce Lambert, ''THE NEW YORK TIMES'', March 22, 1992
20th Century Fox
Ireland signed with
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
and made his screen-debut as Private Windy, the thoughtful letter-writing GI, in the 1945 war film ''
A Walk in the Sun'', directed by
Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was an American film director. Milestone directed '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1 ...
.
This was followed by ''
Wake Up and Dream'' (1946); ''
Behind Green Lights
''Behind Green Lights'' is a 1946 American crime film directed by Otto Brower and starring Carole Landis, William Gargan and Mary Anderson (actress, born 1918), Mary Anderson.Tsika p.113 It was produced and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox. ...
'' (1946) with
Carole Landis
Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...
; and ''
It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog'' (1946), again with Landis. He played
Billy Clanton
William Harrison Clanton (1862 – October 26, 1881) was an outlaw Cowboy in Cochise County, Arizona Territory. He, along with his father Newman Clanton and brother Ike Clanton, worked a ranch near the boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territo ...
in
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
's ''
My Darling Clementine
''My Darling Clementine'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp during the period leading up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature (as Doc Holli ...
'' (1946).
Freelance actor and ''Red River''
Ireland had his first lead role in ''
Railroaded!
''Railroaded!'' is a 1947 American crime film noir directed by Anthony Mann starring John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, Hugh Beaumont and Jane Randolph.
It was loosely based on the real-life case of Majczek and Marcinkiewicz, the same case that insp ...
'' (1947), directed by
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor. He came to prominence as a skilled director of ''Film noirs, film noir'' and Western film, Westerns, and for his Epic film ...
for
Eagle-Lion
Eagle-Lion Films was the name of two distinct, though related, companies. In 1944, UK film magnate J. Arthur Rank created an American distribution company with the name to handle his British films. The following year, under a reciprocal distrib ...
. He went back to support parts for ''
The Gangster'' (1947) for
the King Brothers and ''
I Love Trouble'' (1948) for Columbia.
Ireland played the lead in ''
Open Secret
An open secret is information that was originally intended to be confidential but has at some point been disclosed and is known to many people. Open secrets are ''secrets'' in the sense that they are excluded from formal or official discourse, b ...
'' (1948) for
Eagle-Lion
Eagle-Lion Films was the name of two distinct, though related, companies. In 1944, UK film magnate J. Arthur Rank created an American distribution company with the name to handle his British films. The following year, under a reciprocal distrib ...
, then had a support role in
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor. He came to prominence as a skilled director of ''Film noirs, film noir'' and Western film, Westerns, and for his Epic film ...
's classic noir, ''
Raw Deal'' (1948).
Ireland had a vital support part in
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...
' 1948 film ''
Red River'' as the gunslinger Cherry Valance. However, Ireland's part was reduced when Hawks became annoyed with the actor. Ireland was an army captain in the
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...
spectacular, ''
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...
'' (1948).
''All the King's Men''
In April 1948 Ireland signed a contract with Columbia Pictures at $500 a week going up to $1500 a week. Ireland was nominated for an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
as
Best Supporting Actor for his powerful performance as Jack Burden, the hard-boiled newspaper reporter who evolves from devotee to cynical denouncer of
demagogue
A demagogue (; ; ), or rabble-rouser, is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, especially through oratory that whips up the passions of crowds, Appeal to emotion, appealing to emo ...
Willie Stark (
Broderick Crawford
William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Willie Stark in the film ''All the King's Men'' (1949), which earned him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Of ...
) in ''
All the King's Men
''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U. ...
'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Academy Award nomination.
Ireland was featured as
Bob Ford in the low budget ''
I Shot Jesse James'' (1949) the first movie directed by
Sam Fuller
Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and actor. He was known for directing low-budget genre movies with controversial themes, often made outside t ...
. He was a villain in the Western ''
Roughshod'' (1949) and a love rival for
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress and socialite. Her career spanned six decades, from the 1920s to the early 1970s. She was a prominent leading actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood ...
in ''
Anna Lucasta'' (1949).
In December 1949 Columbia suspended him after walking out after filming one scene on ''One Way Out'' (released as ''
Convicted
In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...
''). He sued the studio.
Lippert Pictures
Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert.
History
Robert L. Lippert (1909–1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frust ...
gave him the lead in ''
The Return of Jesse James'' (1950) and he appeared opposite his then-wife
Joanne Dru
Joanne Dru (born Joan Letitia LaCock;Known as Joan Lacock in th1930 United States census/ref> January 31, 1922 – September 10, 1996) was an American film and television actress, known for such films as '' Red River'', '' She Wore a Yellow Ribb ...
in support parts in ''
Vengeance Valley
''Vengeance Valley'' is a 1951 American Technicolor Western film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Burt Lancaster, with a supporting cast featuring Robert Walker, Joanne Dru, Sally Forrest, John Ireland and Ray Collins. It is based o ...
'' (1951)
During
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
in the early 50s, he successfully sued two television producers for
breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...
and
slander
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making wikt:asserti ...
, claiming that they reneged on roles promised to him due to his perceived political undesirability, including the lead in a TV series ''The Adventures of Ellery McQueen''. He received an undisclosed but "substantial" cash settlement.
[
Ireland had the leads in some low-budget films: '' The Basketball Fix'' (1951); '' The Scarf'' (1951); '' Little Big Horn'' (1951); '' The Bushwackers'' (1952); and '' Hannah Lee'' (1953) with his wife. He co-directed the latter. That film resulted in a lawsuit against the producers.
He went to England to make '']The Good Die Young
''The Good Die Young'' is a 1954 British crime film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Joan Collins, Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart and John Ireland. It was made by Remus Films from a screenplay by ...
'' (1954) and supported his wife in ''Southwest Passage
''Southwest Passage'' is a 1954 American Pathécolor Western (genre), Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Joanne Dru, Rod Cameron (actor), Rod Cameron and John Ireland (actor), John Ireland, who are determined to make a unique tr ...
'' (1954) and Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...
in ''Queen Bee
A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are develope ...
'' (1955).
He had the lead in the British thriller '' The Glass Cage'' (1955) and the war film '' Hell's Horizon'' (1955). He made another for Corman, this time only as an actor – ''Gunslinger
Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...
'' (1956).
In July 1955 he signed a contract with Revue to act and direct films for television.
In January 1956 he signed to play the lead in the TV series ''Port of Call''.
Ireland landed a supporting role as Johnny Ringo
John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882) was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County War in Texas during which h ...
in '' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), and played a mobster in MGM's '' Party Girl'' (1958). He had the lead in '' No Place to Land'' (1958), and '' Stormy Crossing'' (1958).
In 1959, Ireland appeared as Chris Slade, with Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne. as Ansel Torgin, in the episode "The Fight Back" of the NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
Western series, ''Riverboat
A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury ...
''. In the storyline, Tom Fowler (Tom Laughlin
Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. (August 10, 1931 – December 12, 2013) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist.
Laughlin was best known for co-producing and starring in the four '' Billy Jack'' films, ...
), the boss of the corrupt river town of Hampton near Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...
, blocks farmers from shipping their crops to market. In a dispute over a wedding held on the ''Enterprise'', a lynch-mob led by Fowler comes after series lead-character Grey Holden (Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin (born William Lyle Richardson; May 7, 1922 – February 25, 2006) was an American actor.
McGavin began his career working as a set painter for Columbia Pictures. In 1954, he originated roles in Broadway productions of '' My Three ...
). Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne. also was cast in this episode.
Director
John Ireland turned director with the Western '' Hannah Lee'', co-directing with Lee Garmes while also appearing in it. He then co-directed (with Edward Sampson) '' The Fast and the Furious'' (1954), an early production from Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...
. Starring Ireland, the film's title would later be licensed for the 2001 film of the same name but with a completely unrelated story and characters.
1960s
In 1959, John made a guest appearance on Judy Garland's album ''The Letter'' for Capitol Records.
Ireland had a key role as the gladiator
A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...
Crixus
Crixus (died 72 BC) was a Gallic gladiator and military leader in the Third Servile War between the Roman Republic and rebel slaves. Born in Gaul, he was enslaved by the Romans under unknown circumstances and trained as a gladiator in Capua. His ...
in the Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
1960 spectacle ''Spartacus
Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Historical accounts o ...
'', co-starring with Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...
. That year he starred as Winch in the Western series ''Rawhide
Rawhide may refer to:
*Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned
* Whip made from rawhide
Entertainment
* ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe
* ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...
'' episode "Incident of the Garden of Eden" and made '' Faces in the Dark'' (1960) in England. He also appeared in the Thriller TV series (1960) episode "Papa Benjamin."
From 1960 to 1962, he starred in the British television series '' The Cheaters'', playing John Hunter, a claims investigator for an insurance company who tracked down cases of fraud. He supported Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
in ''Wild in the Country
''Wild in the Country'' is a 1961 American musical-drama film directed by Philip Dunne and starring Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, Rafer Johnson and John Ireland. Based on the 1958 novel ''The Lost Country'' by J ...
'' (1961) and had the lead in the British '' Return of a Stranger'' (1961).
In 1962, he portrayed the character Frank Trask in the episode "Incident of the Portrait" on ''Rawhide
Rawhide may refer to:
*Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned
* Whip made from rawhide
Entertainment
* ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe
* ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...
''. Rawhide, S7, EP28 Air date: May 7, 1965, THE SPANISH CAMP" A group of men led by Dr. John Merritt (John Ireland) searching for old Spanish treasure stubbornly refuses to let the cattle drive come through the area of their diggings, even though the herd desperately needs the water in the area.
He had a supporting part in ''55 Days at Peking
''55 Days at Peking'' is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Beijing (then still Peking, in English) during the Boxer Uprising, which took place in China in the summer of 1 ...
'' (1963) with Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
and was Ballomar in '' The Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1964), both films shot in Spain by producer Samuel Bronston
Samuel Bronston (; 7 August 1908 – 12 January 1994) was a Bessarabian-born American film producer and media executive. His films have earned a total of seven Academy Award nominations.
Born in Bessarabia, Russian Empire (present day Moldova), ...
.
By the mid-1960s, he was seen as the star of B-movies
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...
, such as ''I Saw What You Did
''I Saw What You Did'' is a 1965 American horror thriller film released by Universal Pictures and starring Joan Crawford and John Ireland. The plot follows two teenage girls who find themselves in serious danger after making a prank phone cal ...
'' with Crawford. In 1965, he played the role of Jed Colby, a trail scout, in the final season of ''Rawhide
Rawhide may refer to:
*Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned
* Whip made from rawhide
Entertainment
* ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe
* ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...
''. In 1966 he starred in the episode "Stage Stop" (S12E10) as abusive husband and stage coach robbery collaborator "Jeb Coombs" on ''Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
''.
In 1967, he appeared as Marshal Will Rimbau on ''Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'' with Michael Landon
Michael Landon Sr. (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in ''Bonanza'' (1959–1973), Charles Ingalls in ''Little House on th ...
in the episode "Judgment at Red Creek". A few years later, he again appeared with Landon on two episodes of ''Little House on the Prairie
The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...
'' as a drunk who saves Carrie Ingalls, who had fallen down an abandoned mine shaft in the season 3 episode "Little Girl Lost" and the season 5 episode "The Winoka Warriors".
He had some leads in the A. C. Lyles Western '' Fort Utah'' (1967), then traveled to Europe to appear in '' Hate for Hate'' (1967), and '' Pistol for a Hundred Coffins'' (1967) and supported in ''Villa Rides
''Villa Rides'' is a 1968 American Technicolor Western war film in Panavision directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Yul Brynner as Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa and Robert Mitchum as an American adventurer and pilot of fortune. The scre ...
'' (1968), '' Trusting Is Good... Shooting Is Better'' (1969), '' One on Top of the Other'' (1969), and '' Carnal Circuit'' (1969).
1970s
In 1970, Ireland appeared as Kinroy in the TV Western ''The Men From Shiloh'' (rebranded name for '' The Virginian'') in the episode titled "Jenny". Ireland was seen in productions like '' The House of Seven Corpses'' (1974), ''Salon Kitty
Salon Kitty was a high-class Berlin brothel used by the Nazi intelligence service, the ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD), for espionage purposes during .
Created in the early 1930s by Katharina "Kitty" Schmidt, the salon was taken over by Nazi secre ...
'' (1976) and '' Satan's Cheerleaders'' (1977). He did, however, also appear in big-budget fare such as '' The Adventurers'' (1970), also as a police lieutenant in the Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...
private-eye story ''Farewell, My Lovely
''Farewell, My Lovely'' is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio. ...
'' (1975).
Later career
He starred in '' Thunder Run'' (1986), an American action-thriller film
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...
directed by Gary Hudson and co-starring Forrest Tucker
Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films. Tucker worked in vaudeville as a straight man at the age of fifteen. While he was on a trip ...
.
In 1987, he put an ad in the newspapers stating "I'm an actor... let me act." It led to a role as Jonathan Aaron Cartwright, the younger brother of Ben Cartwright, in the television movie '' Bonanza: The Next Generation''.
He was seen in the '' War of the Worlds'' episode "Eye for an Eye" in 1988.
Ireland regularly returned to the stage throughout his career.
Personal life
Occasionally Ireland's name was mentioned in tabloids of the times, in connection with much younger starlets, including Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...
, Barbara Payton, and Sue Lyon
Suellyn Lyon (July 10, 1946 – December 26, 2019) was an American actress who is most famous today for playing the title role in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel ''Lolita'', for which she was awarded a G ...
. He attracted controversy by dating 16-year-old actress Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is a retired American actress. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcome ...
when he was 45. Ireland also had an affair with co-star Joan Crawford while on the set of ''Queen Bee
A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are develope ...
'' (1955). A decade later, Ireland and Crawford co-starred again in William Castle's movie ''I Saw What You Did
''I Saw What You Did'' is a 1965 American horror thriller film released by Universal Pictures and starring Joan Crawford and John Ireland. The plot follows two teenage girls who find themselves in serious danger after making a prank phone cal ...
''.
He was married three times. His first wife, from 1940 to 1949, was Elaine Sheldon, with whom he had two sons, John and Peter.
From 1949 to 1957, he was married to actress Joanne Dru
Joanne Dru (born Joan Letitia LaCock;Known as Joan Lacock in th1930 United States census/ref> January 31, 1922 – September 10, 1996) was an American film and television actress, known for such films as '' Red River'', '' She Wore a Yellow Ribb ...
(whose younger brother, entertainer Peter Marshall, was originally best known for his comedy act with Ireland's half-brother Tommy Noonan). In July 1956, Dru was admitted to hospital with a black eye which she said was accidental but which was commonly believed to have been caused by Ireland. Ireland later was admitted to hospital for taking an overdose of barbiturates.
When the couple divorced in 1957 they had over $50,000 in debts.
From 1962 until his death, Ireland was married to Daphne Myrick Cameron, with whom he had a daughter named Daphne and a son named Cameron. He has four grandchildren: Pete, Melissa, Jack and Helios.[
In his later years, he owned the restaurant Ireland's in Santa Barbara, California. An accomplished chef, he regularly worked in the kitchen and concocted Ireland Stew, combining whatever ingredients were available on a given night. He was also a regular at the restaurant's bar, greeting patrons and buying drinks for friends.
The restaurant failed. In May 1977, Ireland declared bankruptcy.
On March 21, 1992, Ireland died in Santa Barbara, California of ]leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
at the age of 78.[ He is buried at the Santa Barbara Cemetery.
For his contribution to the television industry, he was commemorated with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1610 Vine Street.]
Filmography
Television Roles
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, John
1914 births
1992 deaths
Film directors from Vancouver
Male actors from Vancouver
Canadian male film actors
Canadian male television actors
Canadian male voice actors
Canadian male stage actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American male stage actors
Male Western (genre) film actors
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Deaths from leukemia in California
Male Spaghetti Western actors
20th-century American male actors
20th-century Canadian male actors
Burials at Santa Barbara Cemetery