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Jan Merlin

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Jan Merlin
Merlin in 2013
Born
Jan Wasylewski

(1925-04-03)April 3, 1925
New York City, U.S.
DiedSeptember 20, 2019(2019-09-20) (aged 94)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, author, screenwriter
Years active1946–1992
Spouse(s)Patricia Ann Datz (married 1951–1986, her death); Barbara Doyle (married 1988–2019, his death)
Children1
AwardsGolden Halo Award, 2009 (from Southern California Motion Picture Council)

Jan Merlin (born Jan Wasylewski, April 3, 1925 – September 20, 2019)[1] was an American character actor, television writer, and author.

Early years

Born Jan Wasylewski and reared in New York City, Merlin was of Polish ancestry. He attended the Grace Church School for Boys before dropping out to join the Navy.[2] He later graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.[3]

During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Navy and became a torpedoman.[2]

Career

After Merlin's discharge, he worked in summer stock beginning in 1946, and then enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater, making his Broadway debut in 1949 in Mister Roberts starring Henry Fonda.[4]

His professional acting career, which spanned more than five decades, included performances in stage plays on and off Broadway, radio dramas, live and filmed episodes of television series, and more than 30 feature motion pictures. His most recent performances were in live radio dramas broadcast in June 2010. In his film and television work, Merlin was frequently cast as the heavy, and consequently his character very often died onscreen. An early role for him was in the 1956 western playing Billy a small town boy getting mixed up with a gunfighter that dropped in the town in A Day of Fury. In 1960, Merlin played Travers in Hell Bent for Leather, and his other film credits include roles in Guns of Diablo (1965), The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), Take the Money and Run (1969), The Twilight People (1972), I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973), The Slams (1973), The Hindenburg (1975) and Time Trackers (1989).

Merlin had co-starring roles in two television series: from 1950 to 1953 as Cadet Roger Manning in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet,[5]: 1091-1092  and in 1959 as Lieutenant Colin Kirby in the ABC western series The Rough Riders.[5]: 912  In 1958, he played Kenneth on the NBC drama Kitty Foyle.[5]

In 1960, he was cast as Mick Norton in the episode "Hostage Island" of the ABC adventure series The Islanders, set in the South Pacific.

Also in 1960 he again died on the screen in S3E10 of Gene Berry's TV Western series Bat Masterson, playing a wild gun slinging cowboy, the troubled son of a deceased war hero whose mother left him when he was a child, in the episode "Last Stop To Austin".

He also appeared as Hendry Grant in the 1961 episode "First Blood" of the NBC western series The Tall Man. He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason: in 1958, as Tony Davis in "The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde", and in 1961 as Ralph Quentin in "The Case of the Jealous Journalist." Merlin appeared in a 1954 episode of Dragnet "The Big Rod", cast as Gregory Moore, a felony hit and run suspect. Merlin played a villain in three episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: "No Way Out", "The X Factor" and "Death From The Past". In 1957, he appeared in Season 1 Episode 21 of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre opposite Ernest Borgnine, also a former US Navy man. In 1962, he was cast as Bill Enders in the episode "The Ride" of the NBC western series Bonanza. In 1962 he was cast as bad guy Clint in the western series Laramie episode "The Stolen Tribute" . He would go on to play a bad guy twice more on the show once as Karl Swenson son in the episode "Trial By Fire" and again In 1963 he played Joel Greevy in "The Fugitives". In 1966, he co-starred in the Combat! Season 4 episode "One at a Time" as a German sniper, Sgt. Erich and again in 1966 in the season 5 episode "Headcount" as Lt. Geiben.

Merlin received a Daytime Emmy Award in 1975 for Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Drama Series as part of the NBC Daytime soap opera Another World.[citation needed] He was nominated again in 1976. His first novel was published in 1982. He currently has a number of novels in print, including Gunbearer, Part I, Gunbearer, Part II, Ainoko, Gypsies Don't Lie, Crackpots, and Shooting Montezuma. He has also self-published several works of fiction and non-fiction with co-author William Russo, including The Paid Companion of J. Wilkes Booth, Troubles in a Golden Eye, MGM Makes Boys' Town, Hanging with Billy Budd, and Frankie Thomas: the Eternal Cadet.

He also appeared in Little House on the Prairie as Olga Nordstrom's Father, Jon Nordstrom. Season 1 episode 8 1974.

Personal life & death

Merlin married his first wife Patricia Datz in 1951.[2] They had a son, Peter William Merlin (born 1964). Patricia died in 1986. Two years after his wife's death, Merlin married his second wife Barbara Doyle, and remained married until his death on September 20, 2019. He was 94.[6][7]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1954 Them! Radio Man on the SS Viking Uncredited
1955 Six Bridges to Cross Andy Norris
1955 Big House, U.S.A. Tommy, Accomplice on Fishing Boat Uncredited
1955 Illegal Andy Garth
1955 Running Wild Scotty Cluett
1956 A Day of Fury Billy Brand
1956 Screaming Eagles Lt. Pauling
1956 A Strange Adventure Al Kutner
1956 The Peacemaker Viggo Tomlin
1957 Woman and the Hunter Robert Gifford
1958 Cole Younger, Gunfighter Frank Wittrock
1960 Hell Bent for Leather Travers
1963 The List of Adrian Messenger/ The Whistling Man / The Clergyman / The Workman / The Shepherd Uncredited
1963 Gunfight at Comanche Creek Nielsen
1964 The Virginian Sam Lake
1964 Gunsmoke Ed Sykes
1965 Guns of Diablo Rance Macklin
1966 The Oscar Actor Frankie Pulls Knife on Uncredited
1967 The St. Valentine's Day Massacre Willie Marks
1969 Strategy of Terror Jon
1969 Take the Money and Run Al - Bank Robber
1972 The Twilight People Steinman
1973 The Slams Saddler
1973 I Escaped from Devil's Island Rosenquist
1974 Little House on the Prairie Jon Nordstrom
1975 The Hindenburg Speck
1988 Permanent Record Minister
1989 Nowhere to Run Mr. Groker
1989 Time Trackers Max Barker
1989 Silk 2 Hancock Gish
1990 False Identity Potter - Pete

References

  1. ^ Magers, Donna. "Jan Merlin". www.westernclippings.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Co-Star Role in 'Rough Riders' Series Caps Long Career for Actor Jan Merlin". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Hawaii, Honolulu. June 13, 1959. p. 59. Retrieved January 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "TV Star to Appear at Little League Opening". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. May 14, 1961. p. 18. Retrieved January 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Jan Merlin". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 568. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  6. ^ "Jan Merlin, Actor and Emmy-Winning Writer, Dies at 94". The Hollywood Reporter. September 23, 2019.
  7. ^ "Jan Merlin Obituary - Burbank, California | Legacy.com". Legacy.com. September 21, 2019.
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