| John Forsythe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Basic informations | |
|
Birth Name |
John Lincoln Freund |
|
Portrayal |
Blake Carrington (1981-1991) |
| Familial informations | |
|
Spouses |
Parker McCormick (divorced) |
|
Children |
Dall, Page and Brooke |
| Trivia | |
|
1 |
The edlest son of Sam & Blanche Freund |
|
2 |
Graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, Brooklyn, New York, 1934. |
|
3 |
Educated at The University of North Carolina and the New York Actor's Studio. |
|
4 |
He had quadruple bypass surgery in 1979. |
John Forsythe was born in Penn Grove, New Jersey on January 29th, 1918. Forsythe attend the University of North Carolina. After graduating he moved to New York city for his true passion, acting.
Trained at the University of North Carolina and New York's Actors Studio, John Forsythe made his first professional stage appearance with a children's theatre troupe in 1939. Drawing upon his experience as a college baseball player, Forsythe spent a year or so as sportscaster for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The son of a Wall Street businessman, Forsythe chose to pursue acting over the objections of his father. He did some work in radio soaps and on Brodway before signing a movie contract with Warner Brothers.
His early career was interrupted by World War II. During the war, Forsythe made his Broadway bow in 1942, he entered the Army Air Corps appearing in the Air Corps Show "Winged Victory". That same year, he was brought to Hollywood by Warner Bros, where he was immediately cast in the wartime dramas "Destination Tokyo" (1943), his first significant film role, and "Action in the North Atlantic" (1943).
After military service, Forsythe began working in television, the medium that would occupy most of his career. In the late 40s, he appeared in many of the New York-based live TV series such as "Studio One", "Lights Out", "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" and "Climax". Returning to the stage, he replaced Henry Fonda in the road company of Mister Roberts, then in 1953 starred as Captain Fisby in John Patrick's "Teahouse of the August Moon" and "All my Sons".
Alfred Hitchcock, who cast Forsythe in the 1955 black comedy, "The Trouble with Harry" and in several episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", reportedly advised the handsome leading man that he was best suited to television work. This was good advice (even if Hitchcock himself would later cast him in "Topaz", his 1969 political thriller feature).
It was not until 1957 when John Forsythe took the title role in the hit television series, "Bachelor Father" which made him a star. The series ran for six years (1957-1962). Though he'd occasionally find time for film appearances ("In Cold Blood", "And Justice for All", "Scrooged"), Forsythe spent the most of the second half of his career on television. He starred in three additional comedy series, "The John Forsythe Show" (1965), "To Rome With Love" (1969-1971) and "The Powers That Be" (1992); hosted the syndicated documentary weekly "The World of Survival" (1971-1977); and "appeared" as the unseen, uncredited Charlie on "Charlie's Angels" (1976-1981). Forsythe got a phone call from his buddy, Aaron Spelling (1976) asking him to record the voice of a detective name Charles Townsend, for the new Spelling-Goldberg TV movie, "Charlie's Angels". Forsythe continued with doing the voice over for Charlie until the series ended in 1981.
His most celebrated assignment of the 1980's was as millionaire oil magnate Blake Carrington on the prime-time serial "Dynasty" (1981-1989). Though Carrington was not always the pleasantest of men, Forsythe himself was regarded as one of Hollywood's few genuine "nice guys." A dedicated worker who respected his craft, he nonetheless refused to take himself too seriously, issuing such self-deprecating statements as "Being a 64-year-old sex symbol is a hell of a weight to carry."
ABC's answer to hit CBS show "Dallas", "Dynasty" featured Forsythe in the role of Blake Carrington, head of a wealthy Denver family. As Blake Carrington, the steely patriarch of the wealthy, tempestuous Carrington clan of Denver, Colorado, he became a TV matinee idol. His Blake Carrington became a significant icon of the Reagan era; in the words of the "Entertainment Celebrity Register", he was "capitalism's most attractive symbol." In 1985, Forsythe even became the spokesperson for a men's cologne line called "Carrington". When asked about the possible new episodes of Dynasty, he said Dynasty ended and should be left alone because the risk of destroying something that was once beautiful is to high.
John Forsythe won two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor in a Dramatic Television Series for his work in "Dynasty". Since the series ended in 1989 he has recreated his role as Blake Carrington in "The Reunion" (1991). Mr. Forsythe was actively interested in ecology, and has been a spokesperson and sponsor of the World Wildlife Fund. He also supported the American Cancer Society and the United Nations Association.
John rarely appeared in public. He had few special movie and TV roles and gave his voice in the movie adaptations of "Charlie's Angels" (2000 and 2003). John Forsythe has enjoyed spending time with his extensive art and antiques collection, and with his six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
On July 25, 2002, John married a Beverly Hills businesswoman named Nicole Carter (62). They had a very private ceremony in Solvang, California, and have made their home at his beautiful ranch north of L.A.
On May 2, 2006, Forsythe appeared alongside his "Dynasty" co-stars Linda Evans, Joan Collins, Pamela Sue Martin, Al Corley, Gordon Thomson and Catherine Oxenberg in "Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar". The one-hour reunion special aired on CBS.
John Forsythe was married three times. First, very briefly to Parker McCormick (1938-1940), second to Julie Warren (1943-1994, died in 1994), then to Nicole Carter in 2002. He has two daughters, Page and Brooke (with Julie); as well as a son named Dall (with Parker).
He died on April 1, 2010 in Santa Ynez.