CineScope
John P. Ryan picture

John P. Ryan

Acting
Known For

70 Years Old

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.

Born

New York City, New York, USA on 30th July 1936

Died

20th March 2007

All Credits

Police Woman Image
Police Woman
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Image
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Sheriff Bob Cavendish
M*A*S*H Image
M*A*S*H
Major Van Zandt
The Rockford Files Image
The Rockford Files
Dearborn
The F.B.I. Image
The F.B.I.
William Quine
The F.B.I. Image
The F.B.I.
Ernie Flood
Miami Vice Image
Miami Vice
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Image
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Kurt Belzack
Hawaii Five-O Image
Hawaii Five-O
Guido Marioni
Hart to Hart Image
Hart to Hart
Simon & Simon Image
Simon & Simon
Matt Houston Image
Matt Houston
American Playhouse Image
American Playhouse
Peter Doyle
Kojak Image
Kojak
Peter Ibbotson
Matt Helm Image
Matt Helm
Carl Ainsley
Kaz Image
Kaz
Faerie Tale Theatre Image
Faerie Tale Theatre
Hendrick Hudson / Narrator (voice)
Starsky & Hutch Image
Starsky & Hutch
Paris Image
Paris
Cagney & Lacey Image
Cagney & Lacey
Hollywood Beat Image
Hollywood Beat
Bound Image
Bound
Mickey Malnato
The Right Stuff Image
The Right Stuff
Head of Program
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Image
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Buzz Bronski (voice)
Runaway Train Image
Runaway Train
Ranken
Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection Image
Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection
Gen. Taylor
Best of the Best Image
Best of the Best
Jennings
Breathless Image
Breathless
Lt. Parmental
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown Image
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
Nathan White
The Postman Always Rings Twice Image
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Kennedy
The Cotton Club Image
The Cotton Club
Joe Flynn
Futureworld Image
Futureworld
Dr. Mort Schneider
The Pixar Story Image
The Pixar Story
Dr. Schneider (archive footage)
Hoffa Image
Hoffa
Red Bennett
The Missouri Breaks Image
The Missouri Breaks
Si
Class of 1999 Image
Class of 1999
Mr. Hardin
Fatal Beauty Image
Fatal Beauty
Lt. Kellerman
Five Easy Pieces Image
Five Easy Pieces
Spicer
Three O'Clock High Image
Three O'Clock High
Mr. O'Rourke
White Sands Image
White Sands
Arms Dealer (Uncredited)
Rent-a-Cop Image
Rent-a-Cop
Wieser
Avenging Force Image
Avenging Force
Prof. Elliott Glastenbury
No Image
Archer
Lieutenant Barney Brighton
The Patriots Image
The Patriots
Arthur
Dillinger Image
Dillinger
Charles Mackley
Bad Blood Image
Bad Blood
John Blackstone
It's Alive Image
It's Alive
Frank Davis
A Hatful of Rain Image
A Hatful of Rain
Chuck
A Lovely Way to Die Image
A Lovely Way to Die
Harry Samson (uncredited)
The King of Marvin Gardens Image
The King of Marvin Gardens
Surtees
The Escape Artist Image
The Escape Artist
Vernon
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark Image
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
Coslough
It Lives Again Image
It Lives Again
Frank Davis
Blood River Image
Blood River
Henry Logan
Death Scream Image
Death Scream
Detective Dave Lambert
Shamus Image
Shamus
Col. Craig C. Hardcore
A Killing Affair Image
A Killing Affair
Flagler
Cops and Robbers Image
Cops and Robbers
Patsy O'Neill
Rip Van Winkle Image
Rip Van Winkle
Hendrick Hudson
Shooting Stars Image
Shooting Stars
McGee
Paramedics Image
Paramedics
Captain Prescott
Star Time Image
Star Time
Sam Bones
Kill Me If You Can Image
Kill Me If You Can
Johnson
Young Goodman Brown Image
Young Goodman Brown
The Devil
Houston: The Legend of Texas Image
Houston: The Legend of Texas
David Burnett
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me Image
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me
Oeuf
Eternity Image
Eternity
Thomas Vandervere / Prosecutor
Target Risk Image
Target Risk
Ralph Sloan
City of Shadows Image
City of Shadows
Sergeant Fireman
The Legend of Nigger Charley Image
The Legend of Nigger Charley
Houston