John Archer

John Archer, born Ralph Bowman on May 8, 1915, in Osceola, Nebraska, was an American actor whose career spanned stage, radio, film, and television across several decades. He died on December 3, 1999, in Redmond, Washington, from lung cancer at the age of 84. The son of Eunice Melba (née Crawford) and Joseph Emmett Bowman, he relocated to California at age five, where he attended Hollywood High School and later the University of Southern California, studying cinematography with the intention of working behind the camera.

When opportunities in cinematography proved scarce, Bowman turned to performing, first establishing himself in radio as both an announcer and actor. Among his radio work was a starring role as Lamont Cranston in The Shadow, a part he held for one year beginning in 1944, in a role that Orson Welles had originally made famous. His stage training came through work at the Ben Bard Playhouse. He also entered a radio contest sponsored by Jesse L. Lasky on the program Gateway to Hollywood, winning the top prize — an RKO contract — under the stage name John Archer, the name he would use professionally for the remainder of his career.

Archer appeared on Broadway between 1944 and 1950 in a range of productions. His Broadway credits include the 1944 farce The Odds on Mrs. Oakley, followed by One-Man Show and A Place of Our Own, both in 1945. That same year he appeared in the musical The Day Before Spring, which ran into 1946. Later Broadway work included This Time Tomorrow in 1947, the comedy Strange Bedfellows in 1948, and Captain Brassbound's Conversion, which ran from 1950 into 1951.

Archer had made his film debut in 1938, initially working at Universal and Republic under his birth name. His film appearances include Hello, Frisco, Hello; Guadalcanal Diary; White Heat; Destination Moon; Rock Around the Clock; She Devil; Ten Thousand Bedrooms; Decision at Sundown; Blue Hawaii; and How to Frame a Figg.

His television work was extensive, encompassing guest appearances on dozens of series including The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Maverick, Wagon Train, Perry Mason, Sea Hunt, 77 Sunset Strip, Mannix, McHale's Navy, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, among many others. He made five guest appearances on Perry Mason, playing different characters across episodes from 1957 through 1965, and seven guest appearances on Lassie. On Maverick, he appeared in the series' only two-part episode, titled "The Devil's Necklace."

In his personal life, Archer was married twice. His first marriage, to actress Marjorie Lord, lasted from 1941 to 1955, and together they had two children, including daughter Anne Archer, who also became an actress. Archer subsequently married Ann Leddy in 1956, with whom he had two additional children and remained married until his death. He was also a grandfather of Tommy Davis, son of Anne Archer.