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| Jon (John) Austin Lormer, 1906-1986. |
I
never met my distant cousin Jon Lormer, now deceased. The funny thing is, I’d
seen him and heard him in action several times. So I had at least some
awareness of his existence. But until about a year ago, I had no idea we were
related.
John
Austin Lormer was born in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, on May 7, 1906. His father
was Robert Austin “Bud” Lormer (1880-1958), the son and grandson of English immigrants
to the USA. Bud was born in Massillon, Stark County, Ohio. After a stint in the
Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War, Bud worked at Dueber
Hampden Watch Works in Canton where he met Bird Smith, a jewel setter. They
married in 1905.
John’s
mother, Lydia Birdella “Bird” Smith Lormer (1878-1966), was also born in Massillon,
Stark County, Ohio, the daughter of John E. Smith (1851-1929) and Elemina
“Ellen” Shanower Smith (1849-1938). [UPDATE: In another post on this blog I discuss a photo I believe pictures Jon Lormer's maternal grandparents, John and Ellen Smith—click here.] Ellen’s parents were John Abraham Shanower
(1814-1859) and Mary “Polly” Roush Shanower (1820-1896), my
great-great-great-grandparents. So John
Lormer and I are second cousins twice removed.
In
1924 John Lormer graduated from McKinley High School in Canton. A
school yearbook from the period when his younger brother Donald attended
McKinley High School suggests that John was involved in school plays, a hint of
things to come.
By
1925 John was living in Cleveland, Ohio, and working as first teller in the
Lakewood branch of the Cleveland Trust Bank. At the same time he studied
stagecraft at the Bradley School of Dramatic Art in Cleveland. Evidently he had
a back-up plan in mind in case acting didn’t work out, because he also attended
the Case School of Applied Science, now the Case School of Engineering at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
His
apprenticeship on stage began at the Cleveland Play House. Though the Cleveland Play House was just over a
decade old at the time, today it's the longest-running
professional regional theater in the USA and it celebrates its 100th
anniversary this year.
 |
| Jon Lormer, about 1930. |
One
of John Lormer’s first parts was the lead in Elmer
Gantry at the Little Theater in Cleveland. He later managed that theater
and worked at the Ohio Theatre with Bob McLaughlin’s stock company, as well as
at the Colonial, Hanna, Metropolitan, and Alhambra stock companies in
Cleveland.
He
changed the spelling of his first name from John to Jon for professional
reasons. I don’t know the details of what prompted the change. Perhaps there
was another actor with a similar name. Perhaps he thought the spelling of Jon
was more distinctive.
During
the late 1920s he traveled east to New York City where he directed and assisted
with stage productions there. Plays he appeared in include Gods of the Lightning by Maxwell Anderson and
Harold Hickerson, based on the Sacco-Vanzetti case, and Wild Birds by Dan
Totheroh. He appeared with such well-known
actors of the day as Jacob Ben-Ami, Fritzi Leiber, Georgette Cohan, Charles
Gilpin, and Patricia Collinge. He’s reported to have been in the 1929 motion
picture Glorifying the American Girl,
an early sound and Technicolor movie produced by Florenz Ziegfeld to show off
his Ziegfeld Follies performers.
By
1929 Jon had moved to Bayonne, New Jersey, where he was leading man with the
Bayonne Art Players, Inc. He starred in the plays Two Girls Wanted by Gladys B. Unger, Abie’s Irish Rose by Anne Nichols, and Crime. In February 1929 he sang to the music of Vincent Youmans in Hit the Deck.
I
don’t know how Jon Lormer formed a partnership with the young dancer Waldo de
Castro. They most likely met in New York City where Waldo had appeared in
recitals at the Forrest and Hampden Theaters. Waldo’s earlier career included
performing at the Folies Bergere in Paris, France, and the Teatro Reale in
Madrid, Spain, where he was a principal dancer. In New York he appeared in the 1924
Sigmund Romberg musical Artists and
Models on Broadway and in musical revues such as Broadway’s 1927 A Night in Spain in which he played the
female dancer.
 |
| Waldo de Castro, about 1930. |
By
1930 Jon Lormer and Waldo de Castro were touring together in a joint recital. Jon
presented half of the recital, performing a series of character sketches in the
form of monologues he’d written himself. In the recital’s other half Waldo de
Castro performed dances from his native Spain and other European countries,
while clad in colorful costumes appropriate to each dance. This might seem like an unlikely pairing of
performance types to an audience of today, but back in 1930 when vaudeville was
not yet dead, such a presentation would probably not have seemed quite so unusual.
Jon
and Waldo presented their recital in Jon’s hometown of Canton, Ohio, on May 5,
1930. Waldo’s performance included
typical Spanish numbers and humorous imitations of well-known dances, including
the Garrotin Flamenco from Seville, a dance from Manuel de Falla’s ballet El Amor Brujo, the “Alegrias Toreadas”
by Spanish composer Joaquín
Valverde Durán, “Jarabe Tapatio
(Mexican Hat Dance)” by F. A. Partichela, and the “Dance of Fate” from Carmen by Georges Bizet. The next day in
its review of the recital, the Canton
Repository singled out as “most unusual” Waldo’s performance of “Cadiz” by
Isaac Albeniz, in which he portrayed La Argentina (Antonia Mercé y Luque), a world-renowned Spanish dancer known for
her rendition of “Cadiz.”
Jon’s
second act consisted of character sketches. He used no make-up, costumes, or
props in his monologues, only his voice and gestures to communicate his
characters to the audience. His performance included his original pieces “Old
Man’s Folly,” “One That Was Hanged,” “The Rehearsal,” “A Chip,” “Trapped,” and
a sketch suggested by de Maupassant’s short story “The Necklace” titled
“Reward.” He also performed a characterization of the female character “Tosca,”
which the newspaper review called “extremely well done.”
By
the time I learned about Jon and Waldo appearing on stage in performances that
included female roles, my gaydar was going off bigtime. Were Jon Lormer and
Waldo de Castro simply just stage partners, touring the USA with their two-part
recital? Or could they have been lovers? I don’t have an answer about their
relationship behind the scenes. But I do have more evidence that suggests they
were both gay.
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| May 4, 1930, Canton Daily News ad for the recital with Lormer and de Castro. |
In
August 1930 Jon and Waldo announced that they were accepting registrations from
both adults and children for the fall term of the school of dance and drama that
they were opening in Canton, Ohio. There Jon taught classes in elocution and
the dramatic arts. Waldo taught classical ballet, ballroom dancing, Spanish dancing,
and dances of other nations.
That
fall of 1930 was busy for Jon Lormer. In September he accepted directorship of
the Rainbow Players Club, a Canton organization that performed plays, often in
conjunction with Parent-Teachers associations and Boy Scout troops. Then a
recital by the dance and drama students of Jon and Waldo’s school took place
October 13, 1930, at Lehman High School auditorium. All the costumes used in
the recital were made under Jon’s direction at the school. And on November 8,
Jon performed two of his monologues, “Reward” and “Ticklish,” at a morning
musicale of the Canton Women’s Club.
Then
came the weekend of November 15-16. Jon and Waldo, both 23 years old, were
arrested in Canton by probation officer Frank Schumacher, along with Earl Leon
Crubaugh, a 39-year-old music teacher. The three were charged with
“contributing to the delinquency of boys of juvenile age.” By Monday, November
17, both Jon Lormer and Earl Crubaugh were out of jail on bond.
Jon’s
uncle, Ira Manderbaugh—husband of Lillian Smith Manderbaugh, the sister of Jon
Lormer’s mother—was a captain of police in Canton at this time. From 1928 through
1932 Ira Manderbaugh battled with Canton Chief of Police Earl W. Hexamer in a
departmental feud that sometimes made newspaper headlines. Chief Hexamer
believed Manderbaugh routinely neglected his duty and specifically charged that
Manderbaugh failed to properly handle vice conditions in giving orders to vice
squads. I don’t know whether Captain Manderbaugh played any part during his
nephew’s arrest or influenced his release, but Manderbaugh was in a position
where he might have.
I
also don’t know what specific actions led to Jon and Waldo’s arrests. I don’t
know the ages of the “boys of juvenile age” whose delinquency they contributed
to—I prefer to think they were about 17 years old rather than, say, 13. I don’t know if
anything sexual occurred among the adults and the “boys of juvenile age.” I
don’t know how active Jon and Waldo were in getting themselves into this
situation. I prefer to think that the much older Earl Crubaugh was the leader.
Earl never married. He seems to have lived with his mother in Alliance, Stark
County, Ohio, for the rest of her life and then remained alone until his death
on December 3, 1963.
Or
were Jon and Waldo set up? Were they accustomed to a more relaxed atmosphere in the
New York theater world and not discreet enough for the gatekeepers of Canton,
Ohio?
After
the arrest why wasn’t Waldo released on bond with the other two? Was Waldo
considered a flight risk and denied bond because he was a foreign national? Did
Jon’s parents or other relations pay Jon’s bond and refuse to pay Waldo’s? Was
this incident the end of Jon and Waldo’s relationship, whatever that
relationship was?
It
seems to have ended their dance and drama studio. I find no more reference to
the studio, and I don’t suppose any parent in Canton, Ohio, was willing to
enroll a son or daughter in a school run by anyone publicly exposed for such a
crime.
Waldo
continued to perform Spanish and other European and character dances around
North America at least through 1939. I don’t know what happened to him after
that.
After
I learned of the arrest of Jon Lormer and Waldo de Castro, I wondered whether
Jon’s acting career had completely collapsed and he had faded into obscurity. The
only later information I had about Jon said that he was living in California in
the 1970s. I didn’t see anything special about this, since I knew his birth
family had moved in the late 1940s to the San Francisco area, where his parents,
Bud and Bird Lormer, are buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery.
But
I began to find references to a Jon Lormer—sometimes spelled Lorimer, other
times spelled Lormier—who had been a television actor throughout the 1960s and
’70s. A check of this Jon Lormer’s Wikipedia entry
showed a birthdate that matched the birthdate of my cousin Jon. The television
actor Jon Lormer’s Internet Movie Database entry revealed his birthplace as Canton,
Ohio. After that I easily found an obituary that clearly established that this
Jon Lormer and my cousin were one and the same.
No
online source gives a thorough picture of Jon Lormer’s career. IMDB lists many
of his credits, but the list is incomplete. Fortunately I’ve found other
sources that together give a fuller picture of his career after he left Canton.
Jon
seems to have remained in Canton through at least 1932. By 1935, he was back in
New York with his acting career in full swing. In the first half of 1936 he had
parts in three Broadway shows: he played Joe Lash in American Holiday by Edwin L. Barker and Albert
Wineman Barker, he played the Third Knight in T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral, and he played
the Policeman in Class of ’29 by Orrie Lashin and Milo Hastings, all
produced by the Popular Price
Theatre of The Federal Theatre Project of the WPA.
After
the USA entered World War II, Jon Lormer was shipped off to Europe on June 15,
1942. He spent the war in the Army Signal Corps, stationed in England and
France. On June 3, 1946, following the war’s end, he departed Le Havre, France,
on the ship Tufts Victory, and
returned to New York City.
There
he joined the American Theatre Wing Professional Training Program. He served as
the head of the Theatre Training Division until 1956. Meanwhile, his stage
career continued. He branched out into television beginning in 1948 and
appeared on many early live television shows, including Studio One, Ford
Theatre, and Playhouse 90.
The
early 1950s found him in Hollywood. From then until his death in 1986 he
appeared in television shows and feature films, only occasionally returning to
the legitimate stage.
 |
| Jon Lormer as the Scientist in "The Legacy" episode of the live television series Planet of the Apes, 1974. |
It
was Jon Lormer’s television appearances that really struck me. I’d seen shows
he’d been in. If you watched television during the 1960s and 1970s, you very
likely saw him on one show or another. I’d seen him in an episode of tv’s Planet of the Apes, I’d seen him in Star Trek, I’d seen him in the tv movie The Legend of Lizzie Borden starring
Elizabeth Montgomery. I’d even seen him in the 1982 motion picture Creepshow where he played Nathan
Grantham in the “Father’s Day” segment. I went to that movie with my cousin
Carol Shanower-Strazinsky when it was released. Neither of us knew that we were
watching our second cousin twice removed.
Although
I’d seen Jon Lormer perform many times, I’d never remembered him in particular.
He was what I’d guess they call a character actor. He had speaking parts in nearly
all of his projects, but he was never a lead on television. His looks seem to
have made him fit to play judges, doctors, and preachers, roles he was cast in
again and again. In a number of shows he had recurring roles, most notably on Peyton Place where he played Judge Irwin
A. Chester in eighteen episodes. But he was usually cast in small parts, there
for just one or two scenes.
 |
| Jon Lormer on the set of the television series Peyton Place, 1966. |
Nevertheless,
his resume remains impressive in both length and breadth. He played all sorts
of parts throughout his career, usually sporting his white comb-over. He was in movies that are still worth watching,
such as Pollyanna (1960) with Hayley
Mills and I Want to Live! (1958) with
Susan Hayward. He was also in clunkers, such as A Fine Madness (1966) with Sean Connery and Doctors’ Wives (1971) with Dyan Cannon. When he was sixty-nine
years old he played the father to sixty-eight-year-old Katharine Hepburn in Rooster Cogburn (1975). Name a
television Western either well-known or obscure—Jon Lormer was probably cast in
it—and likely more than once. He’s unique in having been on an episode of The Twilight Zone as a different
character in each of its four seasons on television.
While
Jon Lormer’s professional career from the late 1950s onward is pretty well
documented, his private life in those decades is virtually unknown, at least to
me. He didn’t marry. I wonder what sort of relationships he had and whether he
found a partner to share his life.
Jon
had two younger brothers, Donald Marshall Lormer (1908-1986) and Robert Wilmer
Lormer (1916-1972). Donald had seven children, six of whom lived to adulthood.
Four of those are still alive. One niece of Jon Lormer stayed in touch with her
uncle while he was alive. When Jon Lormer died of cancer in Burbank, California, March 1986, that
niece attended his funeral. I’d love to speak with her, my third cousin once
removed, about her uncle Jon, but I haven’t been able to contact her.
In
any case, I’m proud to be a cousin of Jon Lormer. I’ve assembled a list of his
credits from a variety of sources. A number of the early dates I’ve had to be a
bit vague on and the list of early plays is certainly not complete. But as far
as I know, what follows is the most comprehensive resume of his acting career:
Gods
of the Lightning (play) by Maxwell Anderson and Harold
Hickerson (circa 1920s)
Elmer
Gantry
(play) by Patrick Kearney (circa 1920s) role: Elmer Gantry; Little Theater,
Cleveland, Ohio
Wild
Birds
(play) by Dan
Totheroh (circa
1920s)
Crime (play, circa late 1920s) Bayonne Art
Players, Bayonne, New Jersey
Two
Girls Wanted
(play) by Gladys B. Unger (circa late 1920s) leading
role; Bayonne Art Players, Bayonne, New Jersey
Hit
the Deck
(musical play) music by Vincent
Youmans, lyrics by Clifford Grey and Leo Robin, book by Herbert Fields (circa
late 1920s) leading role; Bayonne Art Players, Bayonne, New Jersey
Abie’s Irish Rose (play) by Anne Nichols (circa late 1920s) leading role; Bayonne Art
Players, Bayonne, New Jersey
Stepping
Heels
(movie, circa late 1920s)
Nothing
but the Truth
(play) by James Montgomery (April 20, 1928) leading role; benefit performance for the Firestone Park Presbyterian Church, Akron, Ohio
Glorifying
the American Girl
(movie) produced by Florenz Ziegfeld (1929)
Cradle
Snatchers
(play) by Russell Medcraft and Norma Mitchell (circa late 1920s-1930s)
vaudeville Keith Circuit with Bertha Belmore
The
Mother Heart
(play, circa 1930s) vaudeville circuit tour with Ida Kramer
Treasure
Island
(play) by Jules Eckert Goodman (opened May 14, 1938) role: Long John Silver; Hippodrome, New York City
American Holiday (play) Edwin L. Barker and Albert
Wineman Barker (Feb 21,
1936 - Mar 1936) role: Joe Lash; Manhattan Theatre, Broadway, New York City
Murder in the Cathedral (play) by T. S. Eliot (Mar 20, 1936 - Apr 1936) role: Third
Knight; Manhattan Theatre, Broadway, New York City
Class of ’29 (play) by Orrie Lashin and Milo
Hastings (May 15, 1936 - Jun 1936) role:
Policeman; Manhattan Theatre, Broadway, New York City
Young
Loves (play, circa
1930s-1940s) New York City
The
Sun and I
(play) by Barrie and Leona Stavis (February 26, 1937 – May 22, 1937) roles: Ishmaelite Slave Merchant & Shilah; Adelphi Theatre, Broadway, New York
City
Hippolytos
(play,
circa 1930s-1940s) New York City
The
First Year
(play, circa 1930s-1940s) on tour
The
Thirteenth Chair
(play) by Bayard Veiller (circa 1930s-1940s) on tour
Stage recitals of monologues, including “Ticklish,” “Tosca,” “One Man’s Folly,”
“One That Was Hanged,” “The Rehearsal,” “A Chip,” “Trapped,” and “Reward,”
written by Jon Lormer (1930s-1940s) New York City and on tour, including at the
Hotel Northern in Canton, Ohio, on May 5, 1930, and at the Canton [Ohio] Women’s
Club on November 8, 1930
Fireworks
on the James
(play) by John Cournos and Elizabeth McCormick, based on Chekhov’s Platonov (May 14, 1940) Provincetown
Playhouse, Provincetown, Massachusetts; planned two-week run cut short after
one week
The
Classic Comics
(play) “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” segment (March 3, 1948) role: Starveling,
Equity Library Theater, New York City
(click review at right to see larger)
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| The Classic Comics review, Billboard, March 20. 1948. |
Big
Knife
(play) by Clifford Odets (after 1949) New York City
The Ford
Theatre Hour (TV
series)
“Subway Express”
(1950)
Nash Airflyte
Theatre (TV
series)
“The Boor”
(1950)
The Philco Television Playhouse (TV series)
(circa early 1950s)
The Big Story (TV series)
(circa 1950s)
Sure As Fate (TV series)
“Macbeth”
(1951) role: King Duncan
Martinsville,
U.S.A. (TV series)
Unknown (1951)
Studio One in
Hollywood (TV
series)
“A Bolt of
Lightning” (1951) role: Mr. Huntington
Miss Susan (TV series)
(1951)
The Goldbergs (TV series)
“Dreams”
(1955) role: Henry Carey
“The Jury”
(1955) role: Juror (uncredited)
Crime Syndicate (TV series)
(circa 1950s)
Lamp Unto My Feet (TV series)
(circa 1950s)
The Goldbergs (TV series)
“unknown episode”
(circa 1955) role: unnamed juror
“unknown episode”
(circa 1955) role: Mr. Carey
“unknown episode”
(circa 1955) role: Mr. Carey
Finian's Rainbow (muscal play) by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy (July 9, 1956, through rest of week) Brandywine Music Box, Wilmington, Delaware; role: Mr. Shears
Playhouse 90 (TV series)
(circa 1956-60)
Search for Tomorrow (TV series)
(circa 1950s)
Cheyenne (TV series)
“Town of Fear”
(1957) role: Dan Slater
Girls on the
Loose (movie, 1958) role: Doctor
The
Millionaire (TV
series)
“The Tony
Drummond Story” (April 9, 1958) role: Job Foreman
Zane Grey
Theater (TV
series)
“A Handful of
Ashes” (May 2, 1958) role: Doc
Have Gun -
Will Travel (TV
series)
“Three Sons”
(May 10, 1958) role: Judge Cates
From Hell to
Texas aka Hell Bent Kid (movie,
1958) role: Grizzled Man (uncredited)
The
Matchmaker (movie,
1958) role: Mr. Duckworth, Jeweler (uncredited)
The
Californians (TV
series)
“Overland Mail”
(1958)
Lawman (TV series)
“The Prisoner”
(October 12, 1958) role: Harry Tate
“The Joker”
(October 19, 1958) role: Harry Tate
“The Jury”
(November 9, 1958) role: Harry Tate
“Bloodline”
(November 30, 1958) role: Harry Tate
“The Outsider”
(January 4, 1959) role: Harry Tate
“The Big Hat”
(February 22, 1959) role: Harry Tate
Matinee Theatre (TV series)
(circa 1955-58)
Wanted: Dead
or Alive (TV series)
“The Giveaway
Gun” (October 11, 1958) role: Jack the Stableman (uncredited)
“Railroaded”
(March 14, 1959) role: Mark Crow (uncredited)
The Walter
Winchell File
(TV series)
“Hot Night in
Manhattan” (1958) role: Store Owner
“Death Comes
in a Small Package: File #37” (1959) role: Watchman
I Want to
Live! (movie, 1958) role: San Quentin
Doctor (uncredited)
Rescue 8 (TV series)
“Find That
Bomb!” (1958) role: Motel Manager
Sugarfoot (TV series)
“Deadlock”
(February 4, 1958) role: Mike Feeny
“The Wizard”
(October 14, 1958) role: Sam McClain
“Outlaw Island”
(November 24, 1959) role: Doc Basher
“The Shadow
Catcher” (September 26, 1960) role: Paul Loring
Rally 'Round
the Flag, Boys!
(movie, 1958) role: George Melvin (uncredited)
Maverick (TV series)
“Day of
Reckoning” (February 2, 1958) role: Somers
“The Lonesome
Reunion” (September 28, 1958) role: Newspaperman
“Brasada Spur”
(February 22, 1959) role: Belle Morgan's Personal Waiter (uncredited)
“The Town That
Wasn't There” (October 2, 1960) role: Sam Bradford
The Loretta
Young Show (TV
series)
“The Woman
Between” (November 23, 1958) role: Dr. Gibbs
“The Best
Season” (April 17, 1960) role: Doctor (credited as John Lormer)
“Switchblade”
(1960) role: Corey Bellman Sr.
Lassie (TV series)
“The Teacher”
(September 21, 1958) role: School Board Member (uncredited)
“The Contest”
(September 20, 1959) role: Silas Huff
“The
Grasshopper and the Ant” (January 24, 1960) role: Silas Huff
“The Odyssey:
Part 1” (February 18, 1962) role: Henry DeShaw
“Guide Dog”
(April 5, 1964) role: Jim Stanton
“The Eighth
Life of Henry IV” (1967) role: George Ramsey
Lassie: Joyous
Sound (TV movie, 1973) role: Man With
Yorkshire Terrier (uncredited)
“A Joyous
Sound: Part 2” (1973) role: Man in the Park
Gunsmoke (TV series)
“Young Love”
(January 3, 1959) role: Jesse Wheat
“Jailbait
Janet” (February 27, 1960) role: Clerk
“He Who Steals”
(1965) role: Mr. Hoyt (uncredited)
“McCabe”
(November 30, 1970) role: Judge Clairborne
“New Doctor in
Town” (October 11, 1971) role: Cody Sims
“Trafton”
(October 25, 1971) role: Storekeeper (uncredited)
“Alias Festus
Haggin” (March 6, 1972) role: Judge Clayborne
77 Sunset
Strip (TV series)
“The Secret of
Adam Cain” (January 16, 1959) role: Hotel Clerk #1 (uncredited)
The Real
McCoys (TV series)
“Son of the
Mystic Nile” (January 25, 1959) role: Sam Watkins
“The Big Skeet
Shoot” (June 4, 1959) role: Announcer
“The
Politician” (1959) role: Sam Watkins
“The Perfume
Salesman” (1959) role: Sam Watkins
“The
Television Set” (1959) role: Sam Watkins
“Weekend in
Los Angeles” (1960) role: Sam Watkins
“The Delegates”
(1960) role: Sam Watkins
“The Berry
Crisis” (1961) role: Farmer
Peter Gunn (TV series)
“Pecos Pete”
(February 9, 1959) role: Coroner
“See No Evil”
(February 1, 1960) role: Judge (credited as John Lormer)
 |
| Jon Lormer on the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Glamorous Ghost," 1962. |
Perry Mason (TV series)
“The Case of
the Jaded Joker” (February 21, 1959) role: Coroner
“The Case of
the Stuttering Bishop” (March 14, 1959) role: Doctor
“The Case of
the Calendar Girl” (April 18, 1959) role: Autopsy
Surgeon (scenes deleted)
“The Case of
the Frantic Flyer” (January 9, 1960) role: Autopsy
Surgeon
“The Case of
the Clumsy Clown” (November 5, 1960) role: Autopsy
Surgeon
“The Case of
the Provocative Protege” (November 12, 1960) role: Autopsy
Surgeon
“The Case of
the Renegade Refugee” (December 9, 1961) role: Autopsy
Surgeon
“The Case of
the Glamorous Ghost” (February 3, 1962) role: Dr. Oberon
“The Case of
the Melancholy Marksman” (March 24, 1962) role: Medical Examiner
“The Case of
the Hateful Hero” (October 25, 1962) role: Autopsy
Surgeon
“The Case of
the Elusive Element” (April 11, 1963) role: Autopsy
Surgeon
“The Case of
the Devious Delinquent” (December 5, 1963) role: Medical Examiner
Northwest
Passage (TV
series)
“The Counterfeiters” (1959) role: Jonathan Henderson (uncredited)
(click link to watch)
Richard
Diamond, Private Detective
(TV series)
“Pack Rat”
(February 22, 1959) role: Gerald Wilkerson
Alcoa
Presents: One Step Beyond
(TV series)
“The Captain's
Guests” (May 26, 1959) role: Realtor Caleb Leach
"Who Are You?”
(1960) role: Joe Fisher
“Legacy of Love” (December 20, 1960)
role: Resident
The David Niven Show (TV series)
"The Vengeance”
(June 30, 1959) role: Jake
Riverboat (TV series)
“About Roger
Mowbray” (September 27, 1959) role: Dr. Landers
Career (movie, 1959) role: Process Server (uncredited)
The Gazebo (movie, 1959) role: Dr. Weiner, Police Surgeon (uncredited)
Shotgun Slade (TV series)
“Mesa of
Missing Men” (1959) role: Bascomb
“Misplaced
Genius” (1961)
Destination Space (TV movie, 1959) role: Professor Logan
(click link to watch)
Trackdown (TV series)
“The Trick”
(1959) role: Will - The Blacksmith (uncredited)
 |
| Jon Lormer in "The Scapegoat" episode of Bonanza, 1964. |
Bonanza (TV series)
“The Newcomers” (September
26, 1959) role: Doc Riley (credited as John
Lormer)
“The Scapegoat”
(October 25, 1964) role: Collings
“The
Thirteenth Man” (January 21, 1968) role: Lamar Forbes (credited as
John Lormer)
“The Bottle
Fighter” (May 12, 1968) role: Winter
“The Real
People of Muddy Creek” (October 6, 1968) role: Jody
“Is There Any
Man Here?” (February 8, 1970) role: Preacher
Laramie (TV series)
“Duel at Alta
Mesa” (1960) role: Wally
Pollyanna (movie, 1960) role: Mr. Geary (uncredited)
Bourbon
Street Beat (TV
series)
“Interrupted
Wedding” (June 20, 1960) role: Organist
Tate (TV series)
“The Return of
Jessica Jackson” (September 14, 1960) role: Indian Chief
Thriller (TV series)
“The Mark of
the Hand” (October 4, 1960) role: Dr. Emil Berland (replaced by Marc
Lawrence) (scenes deleted)
The Jim
Backus Show (TV
series)
“Mike O'Toole,
Angler” (1960) role: Goodman
Dan Raven (TV series)
“The Night Is
Numbered” (1960) role: Kallen
Rawhide (TV series)
“Incident of
the Last Chance” (June 10, 1960) role: Harry Gillespie
“The Lost Herd”
(1964) role: Clayton (uncredited)
The Rebel (TV series)
“Night on a
Rainbow” (May 29, 1960) role: Doctor
“The Legacy”
(November 13, 1960) role: Judge Adam Ricker (credited as John Lormer)
Where the
Boys Are (movie,
1960) role: Motel Manager (uncredited)
Death Valley Days (TV series)
“Extra Guns” (November 24, 1960)
Route 66 (TV series)
“A Fury Slinging
Flame” (December 30, 1960) role:
Mr. White
“In the
Closing of a Trunk” (March 8, 1963) role: Man #2
Twilight Zone (TV series)
“Execution”
(April 1, 1960) role: Minister
“Dust”
(January 6, 1961) role: First Townsman (credited as John Lormer)
“The Last Rites
of Jeff Myrtlebank” (February 23, 1962) role: Mr. Strauss
“Jess-Belle”
(February14, 1963) role: Minister
Outlaws (TV series)
“Beat the Drum
Slowly” (1960) role: Pop Morton
“The Sisters”
(1962) role: Judge
Two Faces
West (TV series)
“The Accused”
(1961)
Naked City (TV series)
“New York to
L.A.” (April 19, 1961) role: Minister
Stagecoach
West (TV series)
“The Dead
Don't Cry” (1961) role: Liveryman
Ada (movie, 1961) role: James Ordman - Committee Man
(uncredited)
 |
| Jon Lormer as the man on the riverboat in the movie The Comancheros, 1961. |
The
Comancheros (movie,
1961) role: White-Haired Man on Riverboat (uncredited)
Tales of
Wells Fargo (TV
series)
“The Dodger”
(October 7, 1961) role: the Clerk
“End of a
Minor God” (April 7, 1962) role: Bert Hensley
The
Untouchables (TV
series)
“Death for
Sale” (April 27, 1961) role: Clary
“Fall Guy”
(January 11, 1962) role: Finley Connors
“Pressure”
(June 14, 1962) role: Lawton Hollis, School Superintendent
Dennis the
Menace (TV series)
“Dennis and
the Good Example” (March 26, 1961) role: Mr. Bergstrom
“Wilson's
Little White Lie” (1963) role: Mr. Nelson (uncredited)
Bronco (TV series)
“Destinies
West” (February 26, 1962) role: Doc Emory
The Tall Man (TV series)
“Phoebe”
(May 26, 1962) role: Medford (credited as John Lormer)
The Wonderful
World of the Brothers Grimm
(movie, 1962) role: The Doctor (uncredited)
The Andy
Griffith Show
(TV series)
“Bailey's Bad
Boy” (January 15, 1962) role: Fletch Dilbeck
“The Cow Thief”
(October 29, 1962) role: Tate Fletcher
“Opie's
Fortune” (November 16, 1964) role: Parnell Rigsby
Saints and
Sinners (TV
series)
“Slug It, Miss
Joyous” (1963) role: Templar
General Electric True (TV
series)
“The Black-Robed Ghost” (March 10, 1963)
Empire (TV series)
“Nobody Dies
on Saturday” (April 16, 1963) role: Sam Richmond
The Third Man (TV series)
“Meeting of
the Board” (1963)
Temple
Houston (TV
series)
“Billy Hart”
(November 28, 1963) role: Matt Turner
Ben Casey (TV series)
“Hang No Hats
on Dreams” (May 13, 1963) role: Sam Carstairs
“Journeys End
in Lovers Meeting” (April 19, 1965) role: Dr. Martinson
The Virginian (TV series)
“Vengeance Is
the Spur” (February 27, 1963) role: Tom the Blacksmith
Series retitled The Men from Shiloh for
final 1971 season
“Nan Allen”
(February 6, 1971) role: Dr. Walker
“The Angus
Killer” (1971) role: Doctor
Arrest and Trial (TV series)
“Somewhat
Lower Than the Angels” (1964) role: Vicar
Dead Ringer (movie, 1964) role: Alonzo (uncredited)
One Man's Way (movie, 1964) role: John Hellman
A Tiger Walks (movie, 1964) role: Mr. Wilson, Butcher (uncredited)
Dr. Kildare (TV series)
“A Day to
Remember” (April 2, 1964) role: Mr. Teale
Kisses for My
President (movie,
1964) role: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (uncredited)
Youngblood
Hawke (movie, 1964) role: Dr. Eversill
(uncredited)
The Fugitive (TV series)
“Tug of War”
(October 27, 1964) role: Pastor
“End of the
Line” (December 21, 1965) role: Conductor
The Young Marrieds (TV series)
(circa 1964-66)
General Hospital (TV series)
(circa 1960s?)
Two on a
Guillotine (movie,
1965) role: Minister at Funeral (uncredited)
Wendy and Me (TV series)
“Jeff Takes a
Turn for the Nurse” (February 22, 1965) role: Doctor
Zebra in the
Kitchen (movie,
1965) role: Judge
Branded (TV series)
“The Mission:
Part 1” (March 14, 1965) role: Col. Harry S. Snow
“The Mission:
Part 2” (March 21, 1965) role: Col. Harry S. Snow
“The Mission: Part 3” (March 28,
1965) role: Col. Harry S. Snow
“Now Join the
Human Race” (September 19, 1965) role: Judge Markham
Walt Disney's
Wonderful World of Color
(TV series)
“The Further
Adventures of Gallegher: A Case of Murder” (1965) role: Pete
“The Further
Adventures of Gallegher: The Big Swindle” (1965) role: Pete
“The Further
Adventures of Gallegher: The Daily Press vs. City Hall” (1965) role:
Pete
Hank (TV series)
“Candidate”
(October 15, 1965) role: Professor Grimley
 |
| Jon Lormer as Dr. Theodore Haskins in the Star Trek pilot episode "The Cage," 1964. |
Star Trek (TV series)
“The Cage”
(filmed in 1964, this pilot for the series wasn’t broadcast until 1986) role: Dr. Theodore
Haskins (uncredited); filmed his scenes on Monday, December 7, 1964, and Tuesday, December 8, 1964, at Desilu Culver
Stage 16
“The Menagerie, Part 1” (November
17, 1966; incorporated scenes from the pilot episode “The Cage”) role: Dr. Theodore
Haskins (uncredited)
“The Return of
the Archons” (February 9, 1967) role: Tamar; filmed his
scenes on Monday, December
12, 1966,
at Desilu
Stage 10
“For the World
Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” (November 8, 1968) role: Old
Man
Dawn of
Victory (short,
1966) role: Nicodemus
Laredo (TV series)
“Meanwhile
Back at the Reservation” (February 10, 1966) role: Banker
The Singing
Nun (movie, 1966) role: The Bishop
(uncredited)
A Fine
Madness (movie,
1966) role: Dr. Huddleson
Dimension 5 (movie, 1966) role: Professor
The Sand
Pebbles (movie,
1966) role: Hamilton (uncredited)
Peyton Place (TV series)
“Episode
#2.146” (August 22, 1966) role: Judge Chester (uncredited)
“Episode #3.5”
(September 26, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester (uncredited)
“Episode #3.6”
(September 28, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #3.7”
(October 3, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #3.11”
(October 17, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester (uncredited)
“Episode #3.12”
(October 19, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester (uncredited)
“Episode #3.16”
(November 2, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester (uncredited)
“Episode #3.21”
(November 21, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #3.22”
(November 23, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #3.26”
(December 7, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #3.27”
(December 12, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #3.31”
(December 26, 1966) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #3.74”
(May 30, 1967) role: Judge Chester
“Episode #3.75”
(June 5, 1967) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #4.15”
(October 30, 1967) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #4.28”
(December 21, 1967) role: Judge Irwin A. Chester
“Episode #4.92”
(September 11, 1968) role: Judge Chester
“Episode #5.3”
(September 23, 1968) role: Judge Chester
Daniel Boone (TV series)
“When a King
Is a Pawn” (1966) role: Doctor
“The Renegade”
(September 28, 1967) role: Eli Jimson
“The Flaming
Rocks” (February 1, 1968) role: Yellow Knife
The Wild Wild
West (TV series)
“The Night of
the Infernal Machine” (December 23, 1966) role: Judge Vickerman
“The Night of
the Spanish Curse” (January 3, 1969) role: 2nd Elder
“The Night of
the Bleak Island” (March 14, 1969) role: Boatman
A Man Called Shenandoah (TV series)
“The Impostor” (April 4, 1966) role:
guest star
The F.B.I. (TV series)
“The Satellite”
(April 2, 1967) role: Earl Page
Doctor,
You've Got to Be Kidding!
(movie, 1967) role: Emergency Room Doctor (uncredited)
Don’t
Go Gentle
(play) by William Inge (1967) UCLA Theater, Los Angeles, California
The Invaders (TV series)
“Valley of the
Shadow” (1967) role: Minister
Voyage to the
Bottom of the Sea
(TV series)
“Fatal Cargo”
(November 5, 1967) role: Dr. Pierre Blanchard
Batman (TV series)
“How to Hatch
a Dinosaur” (November 9, 1967) role: Professor Dactyl
Judd for the
Defense (TV
series)
“Citizen
Ritter” (1967) role: Judge
The Big
Valley (TV series)
“The Stallion” (January
30, 1967) role: Wilson
“The Time After
Midnight” (October 2, 1967) role: Dr. Russell
“Days of Wrath”
(January 8, 1968) role: Doc Saxton
“They Called
Her Delilah” (September 30, 1968) role: Dr. Thomas J. Merar
“Run of the
Cat” (October 21, 1968) role: Dr. Merar
“A Stranger
Everywhere” (December 9, 1968) role: Senator Roberts
Run for Your
Life (TV series)
“One Bad Turn”
(January 10, 1968) role: Judge Wallace Barnes
Lancer (TV series)
“Blood Rock”
(October 1, 1968) role: Preacher
If He
Hollers, Let Him Go!
(movie, 1968) role: Chaplain
 |
Jon Lormer as Charles Gant in "The Counterfeiter" episode of Mission: Impossible, 1968.
|
Mission:
Impossible (TV
series)
“The
Counterfeiter” (February 4, 1968) role: Charles Gant
“Nicole”
(March 30, 1969) role: Minister
Ironside (TV series)
“Officer Bobby”
(March 14, 1968) role: Tommy
“Gentle Oaks”
(November 25, 1971) role: Walter Cook
The Outcasts (TV series)
“They Shall
Rise Up” (1969) role: Creasy
The Guns of
Will Sonnett (TV
series)
“The Trial”
(February 28, 1969) role: Judge
The Learning
Tree (movie, 1969) role: McCormack
Mannix (TV series)
“Death in a
Minor Key” (February 8, 1969) role: Boylan
“War of Nerves”
(March 14, 1970) role: Hotel Clerk
“A Step in Time” (September 29,
1971) role: Dr. Kenbrook
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (TV
series)
“Once Again a Star”
(October 31, 1969) role: Manager
The Young
Lawyers (TV
series)
“Pilot”
(1969) (credited as John Lorimer)
“Down at the
House of Truth, Visiting” (1971) role: Dean Stewart
Love, American Style (TV series)
(circa 1969-74)
The Cliff (TV movie, 1970)
Medical
Center (TV series)
“The V.D.
Story” (March 25, 1970) role:
Dr. Riedmont
Getting
Straight (movie,
1970) role: Vandenburg
The Bold
Ones: The Senator
(TV series)
“Power Play”
(November 1, 1970) role: Holden Stowe
The Bold
Ones: The Lawyers
(TV series)
“The People
Against Doctor Chapman” (1970) role:
Judge
Family Affair (TV series)
“Wish You Were
Here” (December 10, 1970) role: Mr. Bradley
My Three Sons (TV series)
“Dodie's
Dilemma” (1970) role: Judge Markham
“TV Triplets”
(1972) role: Blake Willerson
Winesburg,
Ohio
(play) by Christopher Sergel, based on the book by Sherwood Anderson (1971)
Performing Arts Center at Santa Barbara High School, Santa Barbara, California
Adam-12 (TV series)
“Log 175: The
Con Artists” (1971) role: George Sawyer
Doctors'
Wives (movie, 1971) role: Elderly Doctor
This Is the
Life (TV series)
“A Will to
Live” (1971) role: Bradford
The Smith
Family (TV series)
“The Weekend”
(1971)
 |
Jon Lormer in the "Lady in Waiting" episode of Columbo, 1971.
|
Columbo (TV series)
“Lady in
Waiting” (December 15, 1971) role: Hearing Officer
Alias Smith
and Jones (TV
series)
“Wrong Train
to Brimstone” (February 4, 1971) role: Farmer
“Return to
Devil's Hole” (February 25, 1971) role: 2nd Desk Clerk
“Jailbreak at
Junction City” (September 30, 1971) role: Telegrapher (uncredited)
“The Biggest
Game in the West” (February 3, 1972) role: Parsons
“The Long
Chase” (September 16, 1972) role: Proprietor
The Rookies (TV series)
“The Good Die
Young” (1972) role: Mr. Baxter
Summer
and Smoke
(play) by Tennessee Williams (January 23 - October 21, 1973) role: Reverend Winemiller, Peachtree Playhouse, Atlanta, Georgia (January 23-28); New Locust
Theater, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (March 30 - April 1); Palm Beach, Florida; Kennedy Center, Washington, DC; Westport, Connecticut; Music Hall for the Performing Arts, Detroit, Michigan (through September 9, 1973); and the Hartford Theater, Los Angeles, California (three weeks beginning October 1)
The
Man
(movie, 1972)
The Delphi
Bureau (TV series)
“The Face That
Never Was Project” (1973) role: Senator Hicks
The Wide
World of Mystery
(TV series)
“Frankenstein:
Part 1” (January 16, 1973) role: Charles DeLacey
“Frankenstein:
Part 2” (January 17, 1973) role: Charles DeLacey
Owen
Marshall, Counselor at Law (TV series)
“Seed of Doubt”
(1973) role: Dr. Edwards
The Gun and
the Pulpit (TV movie,
1974) role: Luther
Dirty Sally (TV series)
“Horse of a
Different Color” (June 21, 1974) role: Miller
Lincoln (TV mini- series)
“Mrs.
Lincoln's Husband” (September 6, 1974) role: Senator Sutton
Harry O (TV series)
“Gertrude”
(September 12, 1974) role: Mr. Olsher
“Victim”
(March 4, 1976) role: Old Man
Paper Moon (TV series)
“Second Prize” (September 19, 1974)
role: Farmer
Planet of the
Apes (TV series)
“The Legacy”
(October 11, 1974) role: Scientist
The Legend of
Lizzie Borden
(TV movie, 1975) role: Bailiff
 |
| Katharine Hepburn and Jon Lormer on the set of the movie Rooster Cogburn, 1975. |
Rooster
Cogburn (movie,
1975) role: Rev. Goodnight
The Waltons (TV series)
“The Nurse”
(December 11, 1975) role: Lafe Basham
Conspiracy of
Terror (TV movie, 1975) role: Mr. Slate
The Blue
Knight (TV series)
“Odds Against
Tomorrow” (1975) role: Louis
Barney Miller
(TV series)
“Werewolf”
(October 28, 1976) role: Mr. Fuller
Phyllis (TV series)
“Phyllis and
the Jumper” (1976) role: Rumsey
Arthur
Hailey's the Moneychangers
(TV mini-series, 1976) role: Depositor
Mary Tyler
Moore (TV series)
“Mary and the
Sexagenarian” (1977) role: Ronny Williams
James at 16 (TV series)
“Mrs. Carson”
(1977) role: Minister
Loose Change (TV mini-series, 1978) role: Mike
Rhoda (TV series)
“Two's Company”
(March 5, 1978) role: Mr. Steiner
With This
Ring (TV movie, 1978) role: Reverend
Greatest
Heroes of the Bible
(TV series)
“Joshua and
the Battle of Jericho” (November 1978)
The
Incredible Hulk
(TV series)
“Haunted”
(February 7, 1979) role: Dr. Rawlins
The Golden
Gate Murders (TV movie,
1979) role: Archbishop
Little House
on the Prairie
(TV series)
“The Preacher
Takes a Wife” (October 22, 1979) role: Jeremy Tyler
“Marvin's
Garden” (January 3, 1983) role: Mr. Jedediah Thoms
The Dukes of
Hazzard (TV
series)
“People's
Choice” (November 30, 1979) role: the PreacherLife and Times of Eddie Roberts (TV
series)
“People's
Choice” (January 7, 1980)
Nero Wolfe (TV series)
“The Golden
Spiders” (1981) role: the Butler
Quincy M.E. (TV series)
“Seldom Silent,
Never Heard” (March 4, 1981) role: William Anders
The Boogens (movie, 1981) role: Greenwalt, the old man
Lou Grant (TV series)
“Double-Cross”
(December 7, 1981) role: Max Matheson
Magnum, P.I. (TV series)
“Ghost Writer”
(December 24, 1981) role: Barker, the Butler
Harper Valley
P.T.A. (TV series)
“Firechief
Follies” (1982) role: Colonel
 |
| Jon Lormer as Nathan Grantham in the "Father's Day" segment of the movie Creepshow, 1982. |
Creepshow (movie, 1982) segment: “Father’s Day,” role: Nathan
Grantham
Father Murphy
(TV series)
“Outrageous
Fortune” (1982) role: Station Agent
The Healing (Video, 1983) role: Jamie
Highway to
Heaven (TV series)
“Help Wanted:
Angel” (November 21, 1984) role: Martin Lamm
Beyond the
Next Mountain
(movie, 1987, released posthumously) role: Watkin Roberts
Additions
and corrections are welcome.
