John Dierkes
Acting • Born 1905-02-10 – Died 1975-01-08
Biography
Dierkes was born on February 10, 1905 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Brown University and subsequently went to work as an economist for the United States Department of State. In 1941 he joined the Red Cross and served in the Britain duringWorld War II. There he met director John Huston who recommended that he try Hollywood after the war. Instead, Dierkes went to work for the U.S. Treasury Department which coincidentally sent him to Hollywood to function as technical advisor for the film To the Ends of the Earth (1948). Because of his appearance and very tall frame (6 feet, 6 inches), Dierkes enjoyed a long career as a character actor, often portraying villains or soldiers. In the 1953 film Shane, Dierkes portrays villain Morgan Ryker, who is the last man shot by the title character, Shane, in the final bar room shootout. One of his more memorable scenes is in the 1960 film, The Alamo. Dierkes portrays a Tennessean named Jocko, who is torn between leaving before the attack to care for his blind wife, or staying to support the Texans' cause. Understanding that if Jocko stays to fight she will likely be widowed, Jocko's wife coaxes him to stay and defend the fort, despite her disability. Dierkes died in 1975 of emphesyma and was survived by his wife Cynthia, two sons, and two daughters.
Filmography
65 credits
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Movie • 1953
Batley
Shane
Movie • 1953
Morgan Ryker
The Haunted Palace
Movie • 1963
Benjamin West / Jacob West
The Buccaneer
Movie • 1958
Deacon
The Alamo
Movie • 1960
Jocko Robertson
Macbeth
Movie • 1948
Ross
The Premature Burial
Movie • 1962
Sweeny
The Raven
Movie • 1963
Roderick Craven
The Left Handed Gun
Movie • 1958
McSween
The Hanging Tree
Movie • 1959
Society Red
Valerie
Movie • 1957
Bartender
Johnny Cool
Movie • 1963
Cripple
Creepy Classics
Movie • 1987
Roderick Craven - (archive footage)
Convicts 4
Movie • 1962
Cell Block Guard (uncredited)
The Buckskin Lady
Movie • 1957
Swanson
Les Miserables
Movie • 1952
Bosun (uncredited)
The Moonlighter
Movie • 1953
Sheriff Daws
Daughter of Dr. Jekyll
Movie • 1957
Jacob
The Vanishing American
Movie • 1955
Freil
Three Husbands
Movie • 1950
Night Court Judge (uncredited)
Hell's Outpost
Movie • 1954
Swede - the Cook (uncredited)
The Naked Jungle
Movie • 1954
Gruber
The Fastest Gun Alive
Movie • 1956
Cross Creek Townsman (uncredited)
The Raid
Movie • 1954
Cpl. Fred Deane
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
Movie • 1963
Preacher (uncredited)
Death in Small Doses
Movie • 1957
The Omega Man
Movie • 1971
Family Member
Rage
Movie • 1972
Bill Parker
Touch of Evil
Movie • 1958
Policeman (uncredited)
The Slowest Gun in the West
Movie • 1960
'Wild Bill' Monks
Betrayed Women
Movie • 1955
Cletus Ballard
Friendly Persuasion
Movie • 1956
Farmer (uncredited)
The Thing from Another World
Movie • 1951
Dr. Chapman
The Desperado
Movie • 1954
Police Sergeant
The Oregon Trail
Movie • 1959
Gabe Hastings
Duel at Apache Wells
Movie • 1957
Bill Sowers
The Comancheros
Movie • 1961
Ranger Bill Larsen (uncredited)
Not as a Stranger
Movie • 1955
Bursar
The Red Badge of Courage
Movie • 1951
Jim Conklin - the Tall Soldier
Jubal
Movie • 1956
Carson - Horgan Rider
Silver City
Movie • 1951
Arnie
The Guns of Fort Petticoat
Movie • 1957
Texas Storekeeper (uncredited)
One-Eyed Jacks
Movie • 1961
Chet
The Vanquished
Movie • 1953
General Morris
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
Movie • 1992
Jocko Robertson
Blood Arrow
Movie • 1958
Ez
Gun Fury
Movie • 1953
The Halliday Brand
Movie • 1957
Reverend
Tales of Wells Fargo
TV • 1957
Scanlon
Gunsmoke
TV • 1955
Rydell
Rawhide
TV • 1959
Private
Peter Gunn
TV • 1958
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Jeb Bricker
The Aquanauts
TV • 1960
Inspector Crail
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Joe Bronson
Wanted: Dead or Alive
TV • 1958
Charlie
The Rifleman
TV • 1958
Nel Svenson
Adventures Of The Falcon
TV • 1954
Telephone Time
TV • 1956
State Trooper
TV • 1956
Rawhide
TV • 1959
Martinson
Gunsmoke
TV • 1955
Ace
Gunsmoke
TV • 1955
Indian
Gunsmoke
TV • 1955
Dahoma
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Dr. Belvedere