JOHN SAXON

26 Jul

(5 August 1936 - 25 July 2020)

The American actor John Saxon, who has died aged 83 from pneumonia, had a busy film and TV career for over 60 years. Born Carmina Orrico to Italian-American parents, he studied acting with the Method teachings of Stella Adler. Discovered by a model agent, he was given a contract at Universal Studios. A couple of uncredited appearances in It Should Happen to You and A Star Is Born in 1954 led to his first film role in Running Wild with Mamie Van Doren, followed by The Unguarded Moment with Esther Williams, Rock, Pretty Baby! with Sal Mineo, Summer Love with Rod McKuen, Blake Edwards’ This Happy Feeling with Debbie Reynolds, and Vincente Minnelli’s The Reluctant Debutante, the first of three films he made with Sandra Dee. Heftier roles came in The Big Fisherman, Cry Tough, John Huston’s The Unforgiven, Posse From Hell and War Hunt, Denis Sanders’ take on the Korean War. The 1960s saw Saxon filming in Italy including on Otto Preminger’s The Cardinal. As a martial arts expert, he was often cast in macho roles such as The Appaloosa with Marlon Brando, the Don Siegel (as Allen Smithee) Western Death of a Gunfighter, John Sturges’ Joe Kidd with Clint Eastwood, and Enter the Dragon with the iconic Bruce Lee. There was also TV – Dr Kildare, Bonanza, Ironside, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, The Bold Ones etc – but the films were not first grade, except for Sydney Pollack’s The Electric Horseman and perhaps Richard Brooks’ comedic thriller Wrong is Right (released in the UK as The Man with the Deadly Lens) with Sean Connery, Dario Argento’s Tenebrae, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (and a sequel) and Beverly Hills Cop III. More TV included Fantasy Island, Dynasty, Falcon Crest and Murder, She Wrote. John Saxon was married three times, first to Mary Ann Saxon, then Elizabeth Saxon and finally Gloria Martel. With his first wife they have a son, Antonio.

MICHAEL DARVELL

Michael Darvell

Michael Darvell trained as a librarian at Watford and in Surrey before joining Ealing Libraries where he became Music Librarian for the borough. He edited Masthead, the magazine of the University of North London School of Librarianship, The Surrealist, the staff magazine of Surrey County Library, and contributed to the Assistant Librarian and London Librarian professional journals. A freelance film reviewer since 1970, he has written for Film, Films Illustrated, Film Review, Movie Maker and Radio Times, as well as editing Montage, the London film societies magazine, for ten years. A change of career saw him joining What’s On in London as Features Editor and he eventually stepped into the shoes of the late F. Maurice Speed (founding father of Film Review annual) as the magazine’s Editor. From 2007 to 2015, he was co-editor of the Film Review annual with Mansel Stimpson. As well as writing about films, Michael has reviewed theatre for The Stage newspaper, and has written about music theatre and cabaret for the Classical Source and Musical Theatre Review websites. He is also a former restaurant critic for the ViewLondon website. Michael has been a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle since 2005.

JOHN SAXON

OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

ANNIE ROSS