John Beck (actor)

John Beck (born January 28, 1943^[1]) is an American retired actor, known best for his role as Mark Graison in the television series Dallas during the mid-1980s.^[2]

John Beck
Born	(1943-01-28) January 28, 1943 (age 82)[1] Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[2]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1965–2009

Early life

Beck was born in Chicago, Illinois but he grew up in Evanston and Joliet on his father's ranch, with the goal of becoming a veterinarian. His goals changed at the age of sixteen after performing in a play in high school to overcome shyness.^[3] Three years later, Beck relocated to California and had jobs in television commercials.^[4] In 1963–1964, Beck attended Joliet Junior College but quit to begin acting in plays in other cities.^[5]

Career

Beck's television debut was as a Sergeant in the 1965 episode "Russian Roulette" of the television series I Dream of Jeannie.^[3] His first regular role was for the television western series Nichols (1971-1972) alongside James Garner, playing the roles of Orv/Ketcham.^[4]

One of Beck's earliest movie roles was as Skinny in Cyborg 2087 (1966).^[6] Beck played Erno who commands a revolt against a totalitarian government in Woody Allen's science fiction comedy Sleeper (1973). That same year, he appeared as John W. Poe in the Sam Peckinpah western Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. In 1975, he appeared opposite James Caan as Moonpie in the science-fiction film Rollerball. The following year he played Shoulders in the disaster movie spoof The Big Bus (1976). He had a leading role in The Other Side of Midnight (1977), which the critics condemned, but the movie was a financial success.^[4] Other movie credits include Audrey Rose (1977), Deadly Illusion (1987), In the Cold of the Night (1990), A Climate for Killing (1991), Last Time Out (1994), Black Day Blue Night (1995), Dark Planet (1997), A Place to Grow (1998), Chain of Command (2000), Crash Point Zero (2001), Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision (2003), and Crash Landing (2005).

Beck also had guest roles for television series and movies, one of the most popular being his 67-episode stint as Mark Graison on Dallas.^[4] Guest appearances include those for Baywatch, Bonanza, Death Valley Days, Diagnosis: Murder, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Magnum, P.I., Mannix, Matlock, Mission: Impossible, The Mod Squad, Murder, She Wrote, Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Touched by an Angel, The Twilight Zone (1989), and Walker, Texas Ranger, among others.

Recurring soap opera roles include Dorian Blake in Peyton Place: The Next Generation, Sam Curtis in Flamingo Road, David Raymond in Santa Barbara, and Bruce in Passions.^[4]

As a voice actor, Beck played the role of the Punisher, Frank Castle in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.^[7]

Personal life

On April 23, 1971, in Los Angeles, Beck married Valerie Shellibeer (also known by her stage name, Tina Carter). The couple had a son and three daughters.^[4]

Filmography

A partial filmography follows.

Film

• Cyborg 2087 (1966) as Skinny^[4][6]
• A Good Time with a Bad Girl (1967) as Cowboy (uncredited)^[4]
• Three in the Attic (1968) as Jake^[4]
• Lawman (1971) as Jason Bronson^[4]
• Mrs. Pollifax-Spy (1971) as Lulash^[4]
• Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) as Poe^[4]
• Paperback Hero (1973) as Pov^[4]
• Sleeper (1973) as Erno Windt^[2]
• Only God Knows (1974) as Reverend Philip Norman^[4]
• Nightmare Honeymoon (1974) as Lee^[4]
• Rollerball (1975) as Moonpie^[4]
• The Big Bus (1976) as Shoulders^[2]
• Sky Riders (1976) as Ben^[4]
• Audrey Rose (1977) as Bill Templeton^[4]
• The Other Side of Midnight (1977) as Larry Douglas^[4]
• Deadly Illusion (1987) as Alex Burton^[4]
• In the Cold of the Night (1990) as Rudy^[4]
• A Climate for Killing (1991) as Kyle Shipp^[4]
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) as Waiter (uncredited)^[4]
• Last Time Out (1994) as Joe Dolan^[4]
• Black Day Blue Night (1995) as Chief Morris Reed^[4]
• Dark Planet (1997) as General^[4]
• A Place to Grow (1998) as Paul Shuler^[4]
• Chain of Command (2000) as General Peterson^[4]
• The Alternate (2000) as President Fallbrook^[4]
• Militia (2000) as Dep. Dir. Anderson^[4]
• Crash Point Zero (2001) as Dr. Maurice Hunter^[4]
• Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision (2003) as O'Rourke^[4]
• Crash Landing (2005) as General McClaren^[4]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1965	I Dream of Jeannie[3]	Sergeant	"Russian Roulette'
1966	Days of Our Lives[8]	Sam Wilson
1969	Bonanza[9]	Walt Nagel	"The Medal"
1969	Death Valley Days[10]	Sandy Peters	"Solomon's Glory"
1969	Mannix[11]	Jerry Boyes	"Color Her Missing"
1969	The Mod Squad[11]: 333	Bill	"A Seat by the Window"
1969	The Silent Gun[4]	Billy Reed	TV Movie
1970	Bonanza[9]: 160	Luke Baldwin	"What Are Pardners For?"
1970	Gunsmoke	Albert Vail	"Kiowa"
1970	Lancer[4]	Chad Buford	"Chad"
1970	Lancer[4]	Chad Lancer	"Dream of Falcons"
1971	Gunsmoke	Moody Fowler	"The Tycoon"
1971	Lock, Stock and Barrel[4]	Micah Brucker	TV Movie
1971	Mission: Impossible[12]	John Hecker	"The Missile"
1971-1972	Nichols[4]	Orv Ketcham	23 episodes
1974	Hawaii Five-O[11]: 213	Walter Stark	"Nightmare in Blue"
1974	Nourish the Beast[13]	Bruno	TV Movie
1974	The Law[4]	Gene Carey	TV Movie
1974	Sidekicks[4]	Luke	TV Movie
1975	Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan[4]	Rev. George Greg	TV Movie
1975	Gunsmoke	Mitch Hansen	"The Busters"
1976	The Call of the Wild[4]	John Thornton	TV Movie
1978	Greatest Heroes of the Bible[14]	Samson	"Samson and Delilah"
1978	The Time Machine[4]	Neil Perry	TV Movie
1978	Wheels[4]	Peter Flodenhale	TV Mini Series (episode 1)
1979	The Buffalo Soldiers[15]	Col. Frank "Buckshot" O'Connor	TV Movie
1979	Time Express[16]	Roy Culper	"Rodeo/Cop"
1980-1982	Flamingo Road[4]	Sam Curtis	38 episodes
1980	The Great American Traffic Jam (aka Gridlock)[4]	Buzz Gregory	TV Movie
1981	Tales of the Unexpected[17]	Jack	"A Glowing Future"
1983-1986	Dallas[2]	Mark Graison	67 Episodes
1985	Murder, She Wrote[18]	Web McCord	"Sudden Death"
1985	Peyton Place: The Next Generation[4]	Dorian Blake	TV Movie
1986	Crazy Dan[19]	"Crazy" Dan Gatlin	TV Movie
1986	Matlock	Brad Bingham	The Seduction
1987	Magnum, P.I.[20]	Edward T. Durant	"Limbo"
1988	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake[4]	Doug Vickers	TV Movie
1989	Fire and Rain[4]	Captain Edward Conners	TV Movie
1989	The Twilight Zone[21]	Maj. Alex McAndrews	"The Wall"
1991	Murder, She Wrote[18]: 249	Ben Olston	"Thursday's Child"
1991-1992	Santa Barbara[4]	David Raymond	114 Episodes
1993	Diagnosis: Murder[22]	Detective Eugene Vickers	"Vanishing Act" (2 episodes)
1993	Trade Winds[4]	Robert Philips	TV Mini Series (episodes 1–3)
1994	Baywatch[23]	Buzz Buchannon	"Coronado del Soul" (2 episodes)
1994	Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders[4]	Detective Les Zoeller	TV Movie
1994	Matlock[24]	Paul Cox	"The Idol"
1994	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine[25]	Raymond Boone	"Tribunal"
1995	Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart[4]	Captain Jeremy Daniels	TV Movie
1995	Spider-Man: The Animated Series[7]	Punisher / Frank Castle (voice)	"Neogenic Nightmare" (2 episodes)
1995	Suspect Device[4]	CIA Director	TV Movie
1995	Touched by an Angel[26]	Captain Meyers	"Trust"
1996	Time Well Spent[27]	Cal Clevenger	TV Movie
1996	Walker, Texas Ranger[28]	Sergeant Lou Ross	"The Brotherhood"
1997	Spider-Man: The Animated Series[7]	Punisher / Frank Castle (voice)	"Partners in Danger Chapter 8: The Return of the Green Goblin"
1997	Steel Chariots[4]	Dale Tucker	TV Movie
1997	Walker, Texas Ranger	Max Elson	"Rainbow's End"
2000	Walker, Texas Ranger	Jake Foley	"Showdown at Casa Diablo: Part 1"
2001-2003	Passions[4]	Bruce	22 episodes
2002	Project Viper[4]	Simpkins	TV Movie