John Forsythe

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Birthday:

29 January 1918, Penn's Grove, New Jersey, USA

Birth Name:

John Lincoln Freund

Height:

180 cm

John Forysthe was born Jacob Lincoln Freund in Penns Grove, New Jersey, the son of Blanche Materson (Blohm) and Samuel Jeremiah Freund, a Wall Street businessman. He chose to pursue acting over the objections of his father. He did some work in radio soaps and on Broadway before signing a movie contract with Warner Bros. His early career was interrupted by World War II. During the war, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps appearing in the Air Corps show "Winged Victory". After the war, he helped found the Actors Studio. He has had the most success on television, with healthy runs on Bachelor Father (1957), Dynasty (1981) and as the unseen voice of Charlie Townsend on Charlie's Angels (1976). John Forsythe died at age 92 of complications from pneumonia on April 1, 2010 in Santa Ynez, California. Show less «

I am an amiable fellow with no mind of my own.

I like to be what I am, a reasonably simple happy kind of fellow.

[His father's reaction when John told him he wanted to be an actor] His idea of an actor was John Barrymore. He could never understand why I...Show more »

[His father's reaction when John told him he wanted to be an actor] His idea of an actor was John Barrymore. He could never understand why I wanted to act. "You're a good boy, a fine boy", he told me. "But I don't see anything about you that could make an actor. No flamboyance.". Show less «

[on his long-running marriage to second wife Julie Warren] And it turned out to be a marriage that lasted 50-some-odd years. Not bad!

[In 1981 about being himself as an actor] When I was down in Atlanta, about 3 or 4 weeks ago, a little lady walked up to me and she circled ...Show more »

[In 1981 about being himself as an actor] When I was down in Atlanta, about 3 or 4 weeks ago, a little lady walked up to me and she circled me, 3 to 4 times, and she looked at me and she said, "Didn't you used to be John Forsythe?". And I freely confessed you used to be. But that meant, too, that not enough people really began to know me as an actor; they never know me as a voice and thought I'd do something about it. Show less «

[In 1970 about being the more mature man he was trying to be] I was a loose-jointed young man about many things, I had no sense of responsib...Show more »

[In 1970 about being the more mature man he was trying to be] I was a loose-jointed young man about many things, I had no sense of responsibility. I wasn't a very serious fellow. Now I have a better sense of proportion about work and hard discipline. Show less «

[In 2009, on the passing of Charlie's Angels (1976) co-star Farrah Fawcett] Though I did not know her well, Farrah left an indelible mark on...Show more »

[In 2009, on the passing of Charlie's Angels (1976) co-star Farrah Fawcett] Though I did not know her well, Farrah left an indelible mark on me and the public during her one-year reign on Charlie's Angels. She put up a gallant fight against her unforgiving disease and I send my deepest sympathy and prayers to her family and friends. Show less «

[In 1984, about his deciding to become an actor] I was 22 years old at the time and had done some announcing for the Dodgers, but no real ac...Show more »

[In 1984, about his deciding to become an actor] I was 22 years old at the time and had done some announcing for the Dodgers, but no real acting. Yet it interested me. I said to my father, "Acting really is very appealing, you know." There was a long silence, which seemed endless, though it was probably only ten minutes or less; and then he looked at me and said, "I'm worried about your sister. And I've worried about your brother, but until now, I never worried about you. I've always thought that whatever happened, you would wind up okay.". Show less «

I have been a very lucky fella, because I never considered myself a Marlon Brando or a Laurence Olivier. I always said life consists of love...Show more »

I have been a very lucky fella, because I never considered myself a Marlon Brando or a Laurence Olivier. I always said life consists of love and work. I tried to balance it 50-50. And, of course, now I'm so happy I did. Show less «

[When asked if he ever spanked his real-life children] Well, I never hit my kids. That's a bully thing to do. My own father believed in "spa...Show more »

[When asked if he ever spanked his real-life children] Well, I never hit my kids. That's a bully thing to do. My own father believed in "spare the rod and spoil the child". Consequently, I feared him and we had a cold and distant relationship until he was quite old. My mother was just the other way. But I do remember, when I was 11 years old, my father said something that stayed with me: "I don't worry about you, John. You will always take care of yourself, you'll be all right.". Show less «

[When he was asked by Aaron Spelling to voice Charlie Townsend in Charlie's Angels (1976)] So, in my pajamas with my raincoat on, I went dow...Show more »

[When he was asked by Aaron Spelling to voice Charlie Townsend in Charlie's Angels (1976)] So, in my pajamas with my raincoat on, I went down to the bowels of 20th Century-Fox, ooh, nothing but a microphone and two people standing, one being Aaron, the other being the writer. So from 12:30 P.M. or 12:45 P.M. until about 3:00 P.M., we did it! Show less «

[About being cast on Dynasty (1981)] My Carrington is much more human than he had been conceived by the authors and by the producer, at the ...Show more »

[About being cast on Dynasty (1981)] My Carrington is much more human than he had been conceived by the authors and by the producer, at the beginning. Show less «

[In 1994] I remember one Friday night I called to tell Julie [wife Julie Warren] I would be home late, I was shooting a scene with Joan Coll...Show more »

[In 1994] I remember one Friday night I called to tell Julie [wife Julie Warren] I would be home late, I was shooting a scene with Joan Collins that we finished around one in the morning. When I finally got home, I was exhausted, but Julie was waiting up for me. "It was quite a night", I told her, and hopped into bed. The next morning, I looked in the mirror and saw there was lipstick on my mouth. And on my shirt. Joan Collins used a lot of lipstick, a tremendous amount of lipstick. At breakfast, I asked Julie, "Didn't you notice anything funny last night?" "Funny? In what way?" she asked slyly. "Just a little lipstick on your collar." "You want to know how I got it? Joan Collins.". Show less «

[on his popularity while playing the 60-something Blake Carrington on Dynasty (1981)] It's rather amusing at my advanced age to become a sex...Show more »

[on his popularity while playing the 60-something Blake Carrington on Dynasty (1981)] It's rather amusing at my advanced age to become a sex symbol. Show less «

I'm a vastly usable, not wildly talented actor.

Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift and all those were in torn T-shirts, and I had my button-down collars. They called me the Brooks Bros. bo...Show more »

Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift and all those were in torn T-shirts, and I had my button-down collars. They called me the Brooks Bros. bohemian. Show less «

[In 1981] I figure there are a few actors like Marlon Brando, George C. Scott and Laurence Olivier, who have been touched by the hand of God...Show more »

[In 1981] I figure there are a few actors like Marlon Brando, George C. Scott and Laurence Olivier, who have been touched by the hand of God. I'm in the next bunch. Show less «

[on Dynasty (1981)'s Moldavia storyline] Moldavia -- we're still living that down. That was one of our less ineffective storylines.

[In 1984] I've had a good time but if I had been willing to starve so that I could play Hamlet, I might have been a better actor than I am t...Show more »

[In 1984] I've had a good time but if I had been willing to starve so that I could play Hamlet, I might have been a better actor than I am today. Show less «

[on champagne] Once you drink one glass, you went another.

I'm from the east and tend to be conservative. So I don't believe an actor has to get himself up to look like the "Son of the Sheik", nor do...Show more »

I'm from the east and tend to be conservative. So I don't believe an actor has to get himself up to look like the "Son of the Sheik", nor does a young man need to dress like a beat-up beatnik to show his independence. Show less «

[In 1977] I've played a lot of reporters and have learned that a kind of intellectualism goes with being a newsman.

[in 1987, about the relationship between fathers and sons] I think it was mandatory then for fathers, particularly with sons; they never emb...Show more »

[in 1987, about the relationship between fathers and sons] I think it was mandatory then for fathers, particularly with sons; they never embraced, I never saw my father cry until the end of his life, they never threw their arms around you and said they loved you. It was supposed to be tacit: you knew they loved you. My father and I had a better relationship toward the end of his life, not unlike my son in On Fire (1987), who feels close to his dad. As his father goes down, he gets more and more involved with his father. Show less «

[In 1987, about his television movie On Fire (1987)] Like a lot of writers, some actors have hidden away in desks and things ideas and piece...Show more »

[In 1987, about his television movie On Fire (1987)] Like a lot of writers, some actors have hidden away in desks and things ideas and pieces of ideas and this is kind of a labor of love for me that I have had tucked away for a long time. My father died two years after he had to retire -- mandatory retirement -- in his early 60s, and it was a terrible blow obviously to him and also to the family. He was a vital, top-of-his-form man. He was an executive on Wall Street. But because of some ridiculous regulations, he had to go. As a result, our family began to disintegrate along with him. It was a bad time in our lives. Show less «