person

John P. Ryan

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Male

Birthday

1936-07-30

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

John P. Ryan

Biography

Character actor John P. Ryan was born on July 30, 1936 in New York City. The son of Irish immigrant parents, Ryan graduated from Rice High School and studied English at the City College of New York, where he first developed an interest in acting. He served six years in the US Army and worked as a welfare investigator prior to pursuing an acting career. John made his film debut in the 1967 comedy "The Tiger Makes Out." He appeared in five pictures for Jack Nicholson; he's especially memorable as male nurse Spicer in "Five Easy Pieces." Manic, pale-eyed and craggy-faced, with an often intense and explosive screen presence, Ryan was frequently cast as nasty villains, hard-boiled police officers, and strict military men. John gave a strong and touching performance in a rare change-of-pace sympathetic role as Frank Davis, the bitter and regretful father of a murderous monster mutant baby in Larry Cohen's excellent "It's Alive." He also portrayed Davis in the okay sequel "It Lives Again." Other notable movie parts include the fanatical Colonel Hardcore in "Shamus," shrewd mob capo Patsy O'Neill in the witty "Cops and Robbers," evil scientist Schneider in "Futureworld," the dogged Lt. Parmental in "Breathless," vicious Irish mobster Joe Flynn in "The Cotten Club;" at his ferocious best as sadistic prison Warden Ranken in the powerful "Runaway Train," hateful fascist lunatic Glastenbury in the exciting "Avenging Force," ruthless drug kingpin Nathan White in the cruddy "Death Wish IV: The Crackdown," ramrod high school principal Mr. O'Rourke in the amusing "Three O'Clock High," and lethal robot history teacher Mr. Hardin in "Class of 1999." Among the TV shows Ryan did guest spots on are "M.A.S.H.," "The Rockford Files," "Hawaii Five-O," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," "Starsky & Hutch," "Kojak," "Hart to Hart," "The F.B.I.," and "Miami Vice." John had a recurring role on the TV series "Archer." In addition to his film and TV credits, Ryan also appeared in over 90 stage plays. Following his final film appearance in "Bound," John spent his later years giving acting lessons and was an advocate of spiritual healing. John P. Ryan died from a stroke at age 70 on March 20, 2007 in Los Angeles, California; he's survived by two daughters.

Also Known For

poster

58

Breathless

May 13, 1983

poster

59

Futureworld

Aug 13, 1976

poster

64

Shamus

Jan 31, 1973

poster

52

A Killing Affair

Sep 21, 1977

poster

60

Class of 1999

Apr 01, 1990

poster

69

Runaway Train

Nov 15, 1985

poster

45

A Lovely Way to Die

Apr 19, 1968

poster

56

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown

Jun 11, 1987

poster

72

Bound

Sep 13, 1996

poster

71

Five Easy Pieces

Sep 12, 1970

poster

65

Dillinger

Jul 20, 1973

poster

60

It's Alive

Apr 26, 1974

poster

54

It Lives Again

May 10, 1978

poster

55

Fatal Beauty

Oct 30, 1987

poster

55

The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

Jun 24, 1980

poster

65

The Missouri Breaks

May 19, 1976

poster

74

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Dec 25, 1993

poster

55

Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection

Aug 24, 1990

poster

55

Avenging Force

Sep 12, 1986

poster

58

The King of Marvin Gardens

Oct 13, 1972

poster

22

Paramedics

Jun 01, 1988

poster

23

City of Shadows

Dec 11, 1987

poster

76

The Pixar Story

Aug 28, 2007

poster

NA

Kill Me If You Can

Sep 25, 1977

poster

NA

Target Risk

Jan 06, 1975

poster

65

The Postman Always Rings Twice

Mar 20, 1981

poster

46

Rent-a-Cop

Nov 28, 1987

poster

35

Shooting Stars

Jul 28, 1983

poster

63

The Legend of Nigger Charley

Mar 16, 1972

poster

68

Houston: The Legend of Texas

Nov 22, 1986

poster

62

Hoffa

Dec 25, 1992

poster

44

Bad Blood

Nov 03, 1994

poster

64

Best of the Best

Nov 10, 1989

poster

74

The Right Stuff

Oct 20, 1983

poster

65

The Cotton Club

Dec 14, 1984

poster

55

Star Time

Jan 20, 1992

poster

36

Eternity

Nov 15, 1990

poster

45

Blood River

Mar 17, 1991

poster

50

Young Goodman Brown

Apr 16, 1993

poster

67

Three O'Clock High

Oct 09, 1987

poster

NA

A Hatful of Rain

Mar 03, 1968

poster

61

Cops and Robbers

Aug 15, 1973

poster

62

The Escape Artist

May 28, 1982

poster

66

The Patriots

May 18, 1994

poster

66

Death Scream

Sep 26, 1975

poster

59

White Sands

Apr 24, 1992

poster

50

Rip Van Winkle

Mar 23, 1987

poster

32

Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me

Sep 15, 1971

poster

79

M*A*S*H

Sep 17, 1972

poster

70

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

Aug 27, 1993

poster

73

Starsky & Hutch

Sep 10, 1975

poster

54

The F.B.I.

Sep 19, 1965

poster

75

Miami Vice

Sep 16, 1984

poster

67

Simon & Simon

Nov 24, 1981

poster

71

Hawaii Five-O

Sep 20, 1968

poster

69

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Sep 20, 1979

poster

50

Kaz

Sep 10, 1978

poster

70

Kojak

Oct 24, 1973

poster

68

Hart to Hart

Sep 22, 1979

poster

69

Cagney & Lacey

Mar 25, 1982

poster

62

Police Woman

Sep 13, 1974

poster

50

Hollywood Beat

Sep 21, 1985

poster

62

Matt Houston

Sep 26, 1982

poster

50

Paris

Sep 29, 1979

poster

75

Archer

Jan 30, 1975

poster

74

Matt Helm

Sep 20, 1975

poster

54

The F.B.I.

Sep 19, 1965

poster

81

Faerie Tale Theatre

Sep 11, 1982

poster

62

American Playhouse

Jan 12, 1982

poster

75

The Rockford Files

Sep 13, 1974