John Derek was the son of writer/director Lawson Harris and bit-actress Dolores Johnson. Signed by David O. Selznick in 1943, Derek made his film debut as an extra in Since You Went Away, playing a soldier--which indeed he was at the time. His first starring role was as a death-row juvenile delinquent in Columbia's Knock on Any Door (1949), in which he was given more screen time than nominal star Humphrey Bogart. Most of Derek's subsequent Columbia assignments were in workaday "B" costume pictures and westerns; he enjoyed his best role in years, that of John Wilkes Booth, in 20th Century-Fox's Prince of Players (1954). By 1961, Derek's film career was seriously flagging, obliging him to sign on as one of the stars of the 26-week TV series Frontier Circus. Unhappy with his progress (or lack of it) as an actor, Derek turned director for the 1966 wartime flick Once Before I Die. Derek has used many of his directorial efforts as showcases for his various "protege" wives: Ursula Andress, Linda Evans, and Bo Derek. When not playing "Svengali" (an appellation he fully accepted with high good humor, as did his lovely "Trilbys"), John Derek kept busy as a director and cinematographer on such quasi-erotic films as Bolero (1984) and Ghosts Can't Do It (1990). Derek had suffered from heart trouble for many years; on May 20, 1998, the 71-year-old director was found unconscious in his Santa Ynez Valley home. Despite doctor's efforts, the damage to his heart muscle proved too great and on May 22, he passed away.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ghosts Can't Do It
Cinematographer, Director, Editor, Screenwriter |
1990 | |||
|
Bolero
Cinematographer, Director, Editor, Producer, Screenwriter |
1984 | |||
|
Fantasies
Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter |
1981 | |||
|
Tarzan, the Ape Man
Cinematographer, Director |
1981 | |||
|
A Boy ... A Girl
Cinematographer, Director, Lyricist, Screenwriter |
1969 | |||
|
Confessions of Tom Harris
Cinematographer, Director |
1969 | |||
|
The Children
Cinematographer, Director |
1969 | |||
|
Once Before I Die
Actor, Director, Producer |
1965 | |||
|
Pirate of the Half Moon
Actor |
1965 | |||
|
Nightmare in the Sun
Actor, Producer |
1964 | |||
|
Exodus
Actor |
1960 | |||
|
High Hell
Actor |
1958 | |||
|
I Battellieri del Volga
Actor |
1958 | |||
|
Fury at Showdown
Actor |
1957 | |||
|
La Belle Et Le Corsaire
Actor |
1957 | |||
|
Omar Khayyam
Actor |
1957 | |||
|
The Flesh Is Weak
Actor |
1957 | |||
|
Massacre at Sand Creek
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
The Leather Saint
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
The Ten Commandments
Actor |
1956 | |||
|
An Annapolis Story
Actor |
1955 | |||
|
Prince of Players
Actor |
1955 | |||
|
Run for Cover
Actor |
1955 | |||
| 1954 | ||||
|
The Outcast
Actor |
1954 | |||
|
Ambush at Tomahawk Gap
Actor |
1953 | |||
|
Mission Over Korea
Actor |
1953 | |||
|
Prince of Pirates
Actor |
1953 | |||
|
Sea of Lost Ships
Actor |
1953 | |||
|
The Last Posse
Actor |
1953 | |||
|
Scandal Sheet
Actor |
1952 | |||
|
Thunderbirds
Actor |
1952 | |||
|
Mask of the Avenger
Actor |
1951 | |||
|
Saturday's Hero
Actor |
1951 | |||
|
The Family Secret
Actor |
1951 | |||
| 1950 | ||||
|
All the King's Men
Actor |
1949 | |||
|
Knock on Any Door
Actor |
1949 | |||
|
A Double Life
Actor |
1947 | |||
|
I'll Be Seeing You
Actor |
1944 | |||
|
Since You Went Away
Actor |
1944 | |||
|
The Nest
Actor |
1943 |




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