Jack Lord

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Jack Lord
Lord as Felix Leiter in Dr. No
Birth name	John Joseph Patrick Ryan
Born	December 30, 1920 New York, New York, USA
Died	January 21, 1998
Height	6'2" (1.88m)
Notable roles	Steve McGarrett in Hawaii Five-O Felix Leiter in Dr. No

John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name Jack Lord, was an American television, film, and Broadway actor. He was best known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the American television program Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980. Lord also appeared in several classic feature films, among them Man of the West (1958) starring Gary Cooper.

Early in his career, he met his wife, Marie, who gave up her own career to support him.

Jack Lord was the first actor to play the character of Felix Leiter in the James Bond film series, introduced in the first Bond film, Dr. No. However, the film producers did not ask Lord to reprise the role in later films, since they felt that having the same actor playing Leiter would upstage the dominance of Sean Connery as the leading man.

Lord's several Broadway credits include a performance in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Lord gained additional publicity for his paintings, one of which was formerly housed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Jack Lord died of congestive heart failure at his home on 21 January 1998 in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the age of 77.

The producers of the 2000 Norm MacDonald comedy Screwed paid homage to Lord by making Danny DeVito's character Grover the zealous president of the "Jack Lord Fan Club". The film's focus on this topic included scenes from Hawaii Five-O being watched (and spoken word for word) by Grover.

[edit] Mini Biography

Jack Lord was the son of William Lawrence Ryan, steamship company executive. He learned his equestrian skills at his mother's fruit farm in the Hudson River Valley.

At age 15 he started spending summers at sea in the Merchant Marine, and from the deck of ships, painted and sketched the landscapes he encountered; Africa, Mediterranean, China. Education: New York school system, Trumbull Naval Academy, in New London, CT., graduating an Ensign with a Third Mates License.

On a football scholarship, New York University securing a degree in Fine Arts. Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, and the Actor's Studio. During World War II he served in the Merchant Navy. While making maritime training films during the Korean War he took to the idea of acting.

Jack Lord in a scene from Hawaii Five-O.

This is when he decided to attend the Neighborhood Playhouse, working as a Cadillac salesman in New York to fund his studies. Later, at the Actor's Studio, he studied with Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, and Marilyn Monroe.

His first work on Broadway was in, "Traveling Lady", "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"; followed by his first in Hollywood, "Court Martial of Billy Mitchell" with Gary Cooper.

Lord was also known for being a very cultured man who loved reading poetry out loud on the set of his TV show and as being somewhat reclusive at his Honolulu home. He met his son from his first marriage, who was killed in an accident when he was thirteen, only once as a baby.

[edit] Trivia

Traci Lords derived her stage name from the last name of her favorite actor.
Jack Lord was considered for the role of Captain Kirk on Star Trek; the role ultimately went to William Shatner. Because Lord wanted to co-produce and have a percentage in ownership of the series, he was ultimately rejected by both Gene Roddenberry and Desilu Studios.
Jack Lord also appears in the lead role of John Frye in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's movie Story of a Patriot
Game show host Richard Dawson made fun of Jack Lord on the first episode of Family Feud when it debuted in 1976. His first line was "I haven't been this excited since I got the oil drilling rights to Jack Lord's hair!"
Originally, he wanted to be billed "Jack Ryan," but another actor had already registered that name with Actor's Equity. He wanted a short name that would fit on a movie marquee, so he became "Jack Lord" instead.
Dubbed "the Lord" (behind his back) by the cast and crew of Hawaii Five-O because of his imperious manner.