Western, Suspense, and Detective (1940s and 1950s)
John Dehner was an atypical actor, working as an animator, WWII army publicist, disc jockey, and pianist before hitting the stage and the airwaves. He was born in Staton Island to an artist father and grew up in Europe. After returning to the US, he tried his hand at acting and worked like a horse, playing in up to seven movies a year.
Many bit parts later, John found himself a character actor on radio westerns. In addition to playing the bad guy on Gunsmoke and Paladin on Have Gun, Will Travel, John appeared in some of the greatest radio shows of yesteryear. He played in Escape, Let George Do It, NBC University Theater, Phillip Marlowe, Rogers of the Gazette, Suspense and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, just to name a few. And in all those years and all those parts, John Dehner used to say, with a laugh, that as an actor he never kissed or won a girl.
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