David Janssen

According to actress Debbie Reynolds in her 2013 memoir, "Unsinkable", David Janssen believed he was the illegitimate son of Clark Gable.

Linda Evans on David Janssen: I never met anyone who didn't adore David. To this day I still miss that guy; he was one of a kind. (from Evans' 2011 memoir "Recipes for Life").

Angie Dickinson on David Janssen: He was a great gentleman, a great date, and a great love. [Vanity Fair, December 31, 2007].

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, only about a block away from the Chinese Theater. When it was placed there, it was in front of David's favorite ice cream shops as a child. The star dedication was on his mother's birthday in 1989.

His last role was in the film Inchon (1981). Even though he died before the movie was completed, his part was not deleted (this was a widespread rumor).

Pallbearers at his funeral on February 17, 1980 included Rod Stewart, Gregory Peck, Gene Kelly, Richard Harris, Milton Berle, Linda Evans's husband Stan Herman, and Suzanne Pleshette's husband Tom Gallagher.

Advised Farrah Fawcett to turn down Charlie's Angels (1976).

Deborah Raffin on David Janssen: I was frightened by his rough, tough image. He's totally different, sensitive, considerate, a true gentleman. (The Indianapolis Star, July 26, 1975, p. 14).

Linda Evans, his costar in Harry O: Guardian at the Gates (1974), and Jean Seberg, his costar in Macho Callahan (1970), both have said that David Janssen was their moms' favorite actor.

He had another hit series with the cult favorite Harry O (1973).

Treasury (1971).

Janssen continued appearing in lead roles in nearly 20 made-for-TV-movies during the 1970s as well as other TV projects.

He was against the Vietnam War, although his involvement in The Green Berets (1968) caused many to think he supported US involvement in the conflict.

His biggest success came from his lead in the series The Fugitive (1963), playing the haunted, hunted Dr. Richard Kimble, on the run for a murder he didn't commit. After the series ended, Janssen launched himself into a grueling schedule by appearing in lead and supporting roles in movies, but he had better luck with made-for-TV-movie roles and a short-lived series, O'Hara, U. S.

Contributed a turkey pot pie recipe to Diana Millay's cookbook "I'd Rather Eat Than Act." Diana Millay was his co-star in Target: The Corruptors!: The Middle Man (1962).

He resumed his movie career in 1961, a year after the series ended.

Had an intense affair with Suzanne Pleshette in the mid-1960s while having marital problems with his first wife Ellie. By the time David was divorced in 1970, Suzanne had gotten married to another man.

Close friend of Jerry Orbach, whom he met doing a stage play in Dayton, Ohio, during the summer of 1959. Janssen had the lead in Mister Roberts and Orbach appeared as the character Mannion.

Janssen had better luck at Universal, where he signed on in the early 1950s and became a supporting player in 32 films before appearing on TV as the star of Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957).

Twisted his right knee in 1948 while pole vaulting for reporters from the Hollywood Citizen News.

His film debut was a bit part in It's a Pleasure (1945), and at the age of 18 signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox. However, the studio dropped him after allegedly becoming disenchanted with his odd hairline and big prominent ears.

Younger half-brothers: Larry and Lee Meyer (twins born in 1942).

David Janssen was born David Harold Meyer in 1931 in Naponee, Nebraska, to Berniece Mae (Graf) and Harold Edward Meyer, a banker. He was of German, and some Swiss-German and Scottish-Irish, descent. David took the surname of his stepfather, Eugene Janssen. The Janssen family settled in Hollywood when he was a teenager and he attended Fairfax High School, where he developed an interest in acting.