John Dall

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John Dall
File:John Dall.jpg
1948
Born John Dall Thompson
(1920-05-26)May 26, 1920[Note 1]
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death heart attack
Occupation Actor
Years active 1941-1965

John Dall (May 26, 1920 – January 15, 1971)[Note 1] was an American actor.

Primarily a stage actor, he is best remembered today for two film roles: the cool-minded intellectual killer in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948), and the trigger-happy lead in the 1950 noir Gun Crazy. He also had a substantial role in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960).

He first came to fame as the young prodigy who comes alive under the tutelage of Bette Davis in The Corn Is Green, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Warner Bros signed him to a contract to make the film but they let him go in 1946.[6]

Personal life

File:John Dall's Social Security application.jpg
Dall's Social Security application (1937)

John Dall Thompson (he used his middle name for his acting career)[1] was born in New York City on 26 May 1920,[3] the younger son of Charles Jenner Thompson (1873-1929)[7][8] and his wife Henry (née Worthington).[2] (Sources which cite Dall's birth name as John Jenner Thompson and his birth year as 1918[9][10] appear to be in error.[Note 1]) His father was a civil engineer. His elder brother, Worthington Thompson, was later a decorated lieutenant in the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team.[11][12]

In the 1920s the Thompsons moved to Panama, where Charles worked on construction of the airport there.[9] He committed suicide in 1929,[13] and his widow returned to New York City with John the following year.[3][Note 2]

John attended Horace Mann School and briefly enrolled at Columbia University where he intended to follow in his father's footsteps by studying engineering. Deciding that acting was his true vocation, he left Columbia and studied at the Theodora Irvine School of Theater and the Pasadena Playhouse.[9][1]

Film historians William J. Mann and Karen Burroughs Hannsberry note that Dall was gay but claimed in media interviews[14] to have had a brief marriage in the early 1940s.[15][9] No marriage certificate has come to light, and his death certificate records him as "never married." According to music journalist Phil Milstein, at the time of his death Dall had lapsed into alcoholism and was living with his partner, actor Clement Brace (died 1996).[16][17]

Death

File:John Dall - Death Certificate (1971).jpg
Death certificate of John Dall.

Dall sustained a serious fall while visiting London in October 1970, and died of a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills, California on January 15, 1971, aged 50.[1] His body was donated to medical science.[2][Note 3]

Filmography

Television appearances (selected)

Year TV show Episode Role
1962 Perry Mason The Case of the Lonely Eloper Julian Kirk
1962 Perry Mason The Case of the Weary Watchdog Edward Franklin
1963 Perry Mason The Case of the Reluctant Model Colin Durant
1965 Perry Mason The Case of the Laughing Lady Roan Daniel

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1953 Theatre Guild on the Air Quiet Wedding[18]

Discography

Year Album Credits Label Notes
1949 This Is My Beloved Narrator Atlantic Records Walter Benton's poems set to music by Vernon Duke[19][20]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 While some sources cite Dall's year of birth as 1918, the date of 1920 is supported by the majority of sources, including published obituaries,[1][2] ship manifests,[3] and social security/death records.[4] The John D. Thompson recorded in New York City's birth indexes as having been born in Manhattan on 26 May 1920[5] is likely to be Dall. Dall's name does not appear alongside his parents and elder brother in the United States Census conducted in January 1920, casting further doubt on a 1918 birthdate.
  2. ↑ Dall later claimed in media interviews to have acted on stage in Panama as a teenager with his parents in the audience,[14] but sources indicate he had returned to the USA at the age of 10.
  3. ↑ Online sources attributing Dall's death to a "punctured lung" may be a garbled reference to his accident in London.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (registration required)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (registration required)
  6. ↑ PARAMOUNT BUYS HARVESTING STORY: Studio Will Produce Houston Branch's 'The Big Haircut' -- Lead to Alan Ladd, Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y], May 11, 1946, p. 34.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (registration required)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. open access publication - free to read
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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