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John Saxon

John Saxon is a true seasoned veteran of both film and television. Saxon has appeared in nearly one hundred feature films and made literally hundreds of television appearances. He brings his true wealth of acting experience and expertise to the character of Professor Darabont, the charming but vicious mobster.

Saxon's film roles have included The Appaloosa opposite Marlon Brando, Enter The Dragon with Bruce Lee, and John Huston's The Unforgiven. In recent years he has had roles in the popular teen thrillers, Nightmare on Elm Street 1, 3 & 7 and Beverly Hills Cop 3 with Eddie Murphy. His has had over 250 television appearances, including starring in the 1980s hit Falcon Crest and multiple appearances on Melrose Place and Murder She Wrote.

Saxon became interested in acting as a teenager and enrolled in a Manhattan drama school while still attending high school in Brooklyn. After seeing a photo from a summer modeling job, an agent recommended he come to Los Angeles. Three weeks after his arrival in L.A., Saxon was given a contract with Universal Studios. He was 17 years old. He quickly became the movie-magazine teenage heartthrob, co-starring with Esther Williams in The Unguarded Moment and a series of young leading-man roles including The Reluctant Debutante with Rex Harrison and Sandra Dee.

In the 1960s, Saxon concentrated on character parts that led to scores of television guest roles. After a new contract with Universal in 1965, he began to appear in many of the earliest feature-length films made expressly for television, such as Doomsday Flight, Winchester 73, The Bold Ones and Raid on Entebbe.

Saxon's 45-year career has led him to many diverse and challenging roles. He has acted in television roles ranging from The Elizabeth Taylor Story to Gene Roddenberry's Planet Earth. His multitude of film work has included War Hunt and The Electric Horseman, both with Robert Redford, Wrong is Right with Sean Connery, and Joe Kid with Clint Eastwood.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2002.

John Saxon Facts

Birth NameCarmen Orrico
OccupationActor
BirthdayAugust 5, 1935 (88)
SignLeo
BirthplaceBrooklyn, New York, USA
Height5' 10" (1m78)  How tall is John Saxon compared to you?

Selected Filmography

Mission: Impossible
Beverly Hills Cop III
RiffTrax: Prisoners of the Lost Universe
Pitcher & the Pinup
The Silence of the Lambs
1984
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Enter the Dragon
The Killers Within
Prisoners Of The Lost Universe
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