John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name, Jack Lord, was an American television, film and Broadway actor, director and producer. He starred as Steve McGarrett in the CBS television program Hawaii Five-O, which ran from 1968 to 1980. New York.
As a child, Lord developed equestrian skills on his mother's fruit farm in the Hudson River Valley. He started spending summers at sea, and from the decks of cargo ships painted and sketched the landscapes he encountered—Africa, the Mediterranean and China. He was educated at St. Benedict Joseph Labre School, then located at Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut, graduating as an Ensign with a Third Mate’s License. He attended New York University (NYU) on a football scholarship While making maritime training films, Lord took to the idea of acting.
Career
Lord received theatrical training from Sanford Meisner He worked as a car salesman
His Broadway debut was as Slim Murphy in Horton Foote's The Traveling Lady with Kim Stanley in 1954. The show ran for 30 performances, but Lord won the Theatre World Award for his performance. Lord was then cast as Brick as a replacement for Ben Gazzara in the 1955–1956 production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Lord's first commercial movie was the propaganda film Project X. He rose to associate producer on Cry Murder. In 1957, Lord starred in Williamsburg: the Story of a Patriot, which has run daily at Colonial Williamsburg since then. In 1958, Lord co-starred in God's Little Acre, the film adaptation of Erskine Caldwell's 1933 novel.
Lord was the first actor to play the character Felix Leiter in the James Bond film series, introduced in 1962 in Dr. No. Lord demanded co-star billing, a bigger role, and more money to continue in the part. This led to Guy Hamilton casting Cec Linder; thereafter, until David Hedison returned to the role in Licence to Kill, Leiter was played by a different actor in each film.
In 1962, Lord starred as series namesake Stoney Burke, a rodeo cowboy from Mission Ridge, South Dakota. The basis for the series was real-life champion rodeo rider Casey Tibbs. The series featured Warren Oates and Bruce Dern in recurring supporting roles. Lord credited Gary Cooper as his on-screen role model He did appear in the Season One episode "The Jake Lingle Killing." Among numerous guest roles on TV, he appeared on the first episode of Have Gun, Will Travel and co-starred in The Name of the Game Is Kill! in 1968.
According to William Shatner, in 1966, Gene Roddenberry offered Lord the role of Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek to replace Jeffrey Hunter. Lord asked for 50 percent ownership of the show, so Roddenberry offered the role to Shatner.
Hawaii Five-O
thumb|Lord in a 1977 publicity photo for [[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]
Lord starred in Hawaii Five-O for its 12 seasons (1968 to 1980) as Detective Steve McGarrett, appointed by the governor to head the (fictional) State Police criminal investigation department in Honolulu, Hawaii. The opening sequence includes a shot of Lord standing on a penthouse balcony of the Ilikai hotel. Chin Ho Kelly, the name of the police detective played by Kam Fong, was a tip-of-the-hat to Ilikai developer Chinn Ho. Lord's catchphrase “Book 'em, Danno!" and was known for battles with network executives.
The seventh season premiere of the rebooted Hawaii Five-0 featured an appearance that featured the old and new versions of Steve McGarrett, made possible through CGI. To execute this concept, permission was first secured from Lord's estate, managed by a bank that required a script review. With the estate's approval, work began. Counter Punch Studios created a CG version of Jack Lord's face, working with Picture Shop visual effects to add realistic skin textures based on images from Lord's final season in the original series.
Cinematographers sometimes refer to a 50mm lens ("5-0") as a "Jack Lord" in reference to the name of the show that made him famous.
Artist
During his years at NYU, Lord and his brother Bill opened the Village Academy of Arts.
Personal life
In 1942, Lord married his first wife, Ann Willard. They divorced in 1947.
Lord met his second wife while house hunting in upstate New York. On January 17, 1949, Lord married fashion designer Marie de Narde (1905–2005), a job she gave up to devote her time to him and his career.
Death
After Hawaii Five-O ended its run in 1980, Lord kept a low profile and was rarely seen in public. His final TV appearance was that same year in a failed pilot for a new CBS series called M Station: Hawaii which he also directed (it had been filmed in early 1979, immediately before shooting the final season of Hawaii Five-O). Lord suffered from Alzheimer's disease for at least seven years before his death, although some accounts suggest he may have had Alzheimer's as early as the final season of Hawaii Five-O. He died of congestive heart failure at his home in Honolulu, on January 21, 1998, at the age of 77. He predeceased his Five-O co-star Richard Denning by nine months. Lord's $40 million estate went to Hawaiian charities upon his wife's death in 2005.
Memorial
A bronze bust of Lord by Hawaii sculptor Lynn Weiler Liverton was unveiled in a ceremony at the Kahala Mall outside Macy's on June 19, 2004. The Lords lived in a condominium in the Kahala area, and they were known to frequent the neighborhood mall. The nonprofit Jack Lord Memorial Fund, which raised the money for the memorial, was co-chaired by British Hawaii Five-O fan Esperanza Isaac and Lord's co-star Doug Mossman.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1949
|The Red Menace aka Project X
| John Bates
|
|-
| 1950
| Cry Murder
| Tommy Warren
| Associate producer
|-
| 1950
| The Tattooed Stranger
| Det. Deke Del Vecchio
| Uncredited
|-
| 1955
| The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
| Lt. Cmdr. Zachary "Zack" Lansdowne
|
|-
| 1956
| The Vagabond King
| Ferrebouc
|
|-
| 1957
| Tip on a Dead Jockey
| Jimmy Heldon
|
|-
| 1957
| Williamsburg: the Story of a Patriot
| John Fry
|
|-
| 1958
| The True Story of Lynn Stuart
| Willie Down
|
|-
| 1958
| God's Little Acre
| Buck Walden
|
|-
| 1958
| Man of the West
| Coaley Tobin
|
|-
| 1959
| The Hangman
| Johnny Bishop
|
|-
| 1960
| Walk Like a Dragon
| Lincoln "Linc" Bartlett
|
|-
| 1962
| Dr. No
| Felix Leiter
|
|-
| 1967
| The Ride to Hangman's Tree
| Guy Russell
|
|-
| 1968
|The Name of the Game Is Kill!
| Symcha Lipa
|
|-
| 1968
| The Counterfeit Killer
| Don Owens
|
|-
| 1996
| Jerry Maguire
| Det. Capt. Steve McGarrett
| Uncredited<br />Archive footage
|-
| 2000
| Screwed
| Det. Capt. Steve McGarrett
| Uncredited<br />Archive footage
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Episode title/Notes
|-
| 1954
| Man Against Crime
|
| "The Chinese Dolls"
|-
| 1954
| Suspense
|
| "String"
|-
| 1955
| Danger
|
| "Season for Murder"
|-
| 1955
| Armstrong Circle Theatre
|
| "Buckskin"
|-
| 1955
| Appointment with Adventure
| Bill
| "Five in Judgment
|-
| 1955
| The Elgin Hour
| Lieutenant Davis
| "Combat Medics"
|-
| 1956
| The Philco Television Playhouse
|
| "This Land Is Mine"
|-
| 1956
| Omnibus
|
| "One Nation"
|-
| 1956
| Westinghouse Studio One
| Paul Chester
| "An Incident of Love"
|-
| 1956
| Westinghouse Studio One
| Matt
| "A Day Before Battle"
|-
| 1957
| Conflict
|
| "Pattern for Violence"
|-
| 1957
| Climax!
| Charlie Mullaney
| "Mr. Runyon of Broadway"
|-
| 1957
| Have Gun – Will Travel
| Dave Enderby
| "Three Bells to Perdido"
|-
| 1957
| Gunsmoke
| Myles Brandell<br />Nate Brandell
| "Doc's Reward"
|-
| 1957
| Playhouse 90
| Jim Kester
| "Lone Woman"
|-
| 1958
| Playhouse 90
| Homer Aswell
| "Reunion"
|-
| 1958
| U.S. Marshal
| Matt Bonner
| "Sentenced to Death"
|-
| 1958
| The Millionaire
| Lee Randolph
| "The Lee Randolph Story"
|-
| 1959
| Rawhide
| Blake
| "Incident of the Calico Gun"
|-
| 1959
| The Loretta Young Show
| Joe
| "Marriage Crisis"
|-
| 1959
| The Untouchables
| Bill Hagen
| "The Jake Lingle Killing"
|-
| 1959
| The Lineup
| Army Armitage
| "The Strange Return of Army Armitage"
|-
| 1959
| Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond
| Dan Gardner
| "Father Image"
|-
| 1960
| Bonanza
| Clay Renton
| "The Outcast"
|-
| 1960
| Naked City
| Cary Glennon
| "The Human Trap"
|-
| 1961
| Route 66
| Gabe Johnson
| "Play It Glissando"
|-
| 1961
| The Americans
| Charlie Goodwin
| "Half Moon Road"
|-
| 1961
| Outlaws
| Jim Houston
| "The Bell"
|-
| 1961
| Stagecoach West
| Russ Doty
| "House of Violence"
|-
| 1961
| Stagecoach West
| Johnny Kane
| "The Butcher"
|-
| 1961
| Rawhide
| Paul Evans
| S3:E21, "Incident of His Brother's Keeper"
|-
| 1961
| Cain's Hundred
| Wilt Farrell
| "Dead Load"
|-
| 1962
| Checkmate
| Ernie Chapin
| "The Star System"
|-
| 1962
| Here's Hollywood
| Himself
| May 18, 1962
|-
| 1962–1963
| Stoney Burke
| Stoney Burke
| 32 episodes
|-
| 1964
| Dr. Kildare
| Dr. Frank Michaels
| "A Willing Suspension of Disbelief"
|-
| 1964
| The Greatest Show on Earth
| Wally Walker
| "Man in a Hole"
|-
| 1964
| The Reporter
| Nick Castle
| "How Much for a Prince?"
|-
| 1965
| Wagon Train
| Lee Barton
| "The Echo Pass Story"
|-
| 1965
| Kraft Suspense Theatre
| Paul Campbell
| "The Long Ravine"
|-
| 1965
| The Loner
| Reverend Mr. Booker
| "The Vespers"
|-
| 1965
| Combat!
| Barney McKlosky
| "The Linesman"
|-
| 1965
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
| Abe Perez
| "The Crime"
|-
| 1965
| Twelve O'Clock High
| Lt. Col. Preston Gallagher
| "Big Brother"
|-
| 1966
| Laredo
| Jab Harlan
| "Above the Law"
|-
| 1966
| Twelve O'Clock High
| Col. Yates
| "Face of a Shadow"
|-
| 1966
| The F.B.I.
| Frank Andreas Shroeder
| "Collison Course"
|-
| 1966
| The Virginian
| Roy Dallman
| "High Stakes"
|-
| 1966
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
| Don Owens
| "The Faceless Man"
|-
| 1966
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
| Harry Marcus
| "Storm Crossing"
|-
| 1966
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
| Himself
|
|-
| 1966
| The Doomsday Flight
| Special Agent Frank Thompson
| Television film
|-
| 1967
| The Invaders
| George Vikor
| "Vikor"
|-
| 1967
| The Fugitive
| Alan Bartlett
| "Goodbye My Love"
|-
| 1967
| Ironside
| John Trask
| "Dead Man's Tale"
|-
| 1967
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
| Pharos Mandor
| "The Master's Touch"
|-
| 1968
| The High Chaparral
| Dan Brookes
| "The Kinsman"
|-
| 1968–1980
| Hawaii Five-O
| Det. Capt. Steve McGarrett
| 281 episodes
|-
| 1969
| The Mike Douglas Show
| Himself
|
|-
| 1969
| The Ed Sullivan Show
| Himself
| Audience bow
|-
| 1978
| 30th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
| Himself
|
|-
| 1979
| Good Morning America
| Himself
|
|-
| 1980
| The Whales That Wouldn't Die
| Narrator
|
|-
| 1980
| M Station: Hawaii
| Admiral Henderson
| Television film<br />Director<br />Executive producer<br />Final on-screen role (final film role)
|-
| 1999
| The James Bond Story
| Felix Leiter
| Archive footage
|-
| 2007
| La tele de tu vida
| Det. Capt. Steve McGarrett
| Archive footage
|-
| 2016
| Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series)
| Steve McGarrett
| Season 7 - Episode 01 "Makaukau 'oe e Pa'ani?" / "Ready to Play?",<br /> CG effects,<br />Body double Ken Matepi, <br />Voiced by Cam Clarke
|}
References
External links
- Jack Lord at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection
- Jack Lord early in career; NYP Library
- Jack Lord Website—A comprehensive Website on Jack Lord