Men Of Character Character Actors
John Dierkes
Shane/Morgan Ryker
The Hanging Tree/ Society Red
The Alamo/ Jocko Robertson
The Red Badge Of Courage/ The Gaunt Soldier
Per Quinlan's Character Stars:
Since this cleft chinned American actor always looked a bit like a scarecrow, it was no surprise to find him as The Gaunt Man looming out of the mist like a phantom in one of his early films The Red Badge Of Courage. Tall (6' 4"), fair haired and craggy with coat hanger shoulders,, Dierkes was an economist who worked for the U. S. Government before becoming interested in acting......
John Dierkes was born at Cincinnati, OH in 1905.
Dierkes attended Brown University and started a career as an economist. He was in the Red Cross during World War Two and it was during that time that he met director John Huston who recommended that he try Hollywood after the war. He returned to the U. S. Treasury and they sent him out as a technical adviser on the film To The Ends Of The earth. Later on he was then cast by Orson Welles as Ross in his adaptation of MacBeth.
After that Dierkes took a leave of absence from his job to play The Gaunt Soldier in The Red Badge Of Courage. At this point his leave remained permanent.
Some Of John Dierkes film roles were:
Mac Beth (1948) as Ross
The Red Badge Of Courage (1950) as Jim Conklin - The Gaunt Soldier
The Thing From Another World (1951) as Dr. Chapman
Silver City (1951) as Arnie
The Sellout (1952) as Big Jake
Les miserables (1952) as Bosun
Plymouth Adventure (1952) as Greene
A Perilous Journey (1953) as First Mate
Shane (1953) as Morgan Ryker
The Vanquished (1953) as General Morris
Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde ( 1953) as Batley
The Moonlighter (1953) as Sheriff Daws
Gun Fury (1953) as Sheepherder
The Naked Jungle (1954) as Gruber
Prince Valiant (1954) as Sir Tristram
The Desperado (1954) as Police Sergeant
Silver Lode (1954) as Blacksmith
The Raid (1954) as Cpl Fred Deane
Passion (1954) as Escobar
Hell's Outpost (1954) as Swede The Cook
Timberjack (1954) as The Sheriff
The Road To Denver (1955) as Sheriff Dedrick
Not As A Stranger (1955) as Bursar
Betrayed Women (1955) as Cletus Ballard
The Vanishing American (1955) as Friel
Jubal (1956) as Carson
The Fastest Gun Alive ( 1956) as Walter Hutchins
Friendly Persuasion (1956) as A Farmer
The Halliday Brand (1957) as The Reverend
Duel At Apache Wells ( 1957) as Bill Sowers
The Guns Of Fort Petticoat (1957) as Texas Storekeeper
The Buckskin Lady (1957) as Swanson
Daughter Of Dr. Jekyll ( 1957) as Jacob
Death In Small Doses (1957) as Shug Grandon
The Rawhide Trail (1958) as Hangman
Blood Arrow (1958) as Ez
Touch Of Evil (1958) as Policeman
The Left Handed Gun (1958) as McSween
The Buccaneer (1958) as Deacon
The Hanging Tree (1959) as Society Red
The Oregon Trail (1959) as Gabe Hastings
The Slowest Gun In The West ((1960-TV) as Wild Bill Monks
The Alamo (1960) as Jocko Robertson
One Eyed Jacks (1961) as Chet
The Comancheros (1961) as Ranger Bill Larsen
Premature Burial (1962) as Sweeney
Convicts 4 (1962) as Cell Block Guard
The Raven (1963) as The Corpse Of Roderick Raven
X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes (1963) as Preacher
The Haunted Palace (1963) as Benjamin West/ Jacob West
Johnny Cool (1963) as Cripple
The Cardinal (1963) as Redneck
The Omega Man (1971) as Family Member
Buck And The Preacher (1972) as Townsman
Rage (1972) as Bill Parker
Oklahoma Crude (1973) as Farmer
Mr. Dierkes was active on television appearing on such programs as Chevron Theater, Racket Squad, Death Valley Days, Lux Video Theater, Your Favorite Story, Family Theater, Topper, Adventures Of The Falcon, The Adventures Of Rin Tin Tin, My Little Margie, Climax!, Schlitz Playhouse Of Stars, Casey Jones, The Restless Gun, Wanted Dead Or Alive, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, State Trooper, Frontier Doctor, Bonanza, Peter Gunn, The Dick Powell Theater, The Lloyd Bridges Show, Rawhide and Gunsmoke among others.
Dierkes was married and had two sons and two daughters.
John Dierkes passed away in 1975 of emphysema.
John Dierkes was great as The Gaunt Soldier in The Red Badge Of Courage and Morgan Ryker in Shane as well as his roles in The Alamo, The Hanging Tree, Jubal and Duel At Apache Wells.
Louie The Movie Buff