John Archer (actor)

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John Archer
Born	May 8, 1915(1915-05-08) Osceola, Nebraska
Died	December 3, 1999 (aged 84) Redmond, Washington
Occupation	Film, television, stage actor

John Archer (May 8, 1915 - December 3, 1999) was an American movie and television actor. Born Ralph Bowman in Osceola, Nebraska, Archer moved to California at the age of five. He attended Hollywood High School and the University of Southern California, where he studied cinematography with an eye on a job behind the camera.

When finding work in the field proved difficult, he drifted into acting, working as a radio announcer (widely known for the tagline, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"), appearing on Broadway in The Day Before Spring, and in film in a number of movie serials for Universal and Republic under his birth name. In a radio contest sponsored by Jesse L. Lasky, he won the top prize, an RKO contract in the name of "John Archer." His screen credits include Hello, Frisco, Hello, Guadalcanal Diary, White Heat, Destination Moon, Rock Around the Clock, Ten Thousand Bedrooms, and Blue Hawaii. In 1971, he was featured in Universal's movie How to Frame a Figg staring Don Knotts.

Archer appeared in dozens of television series, including Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Millionaire, The Loretta Young Show, Private Secretary, The Bob Cummings Show, Zane Grey Theater, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Sea Hunt, Maverick, The Twilight Zone, Surfside 6, 77 Sunset Strip, Wagon Train, Hawaiian Eye, McHale's Navy, Perry Mason, Bonanza, Mannix, and The Name of the Game.

Archer was married twice. His marriage to first wife, actress Marjorie Lord, lasted from 1941 - 1955; they had two children, including daughter Anne. He had two children with second wife Ann Leddy, as well, to whom he was married from 1956 until his death from lung cancer in Redmond, Washington.