John Harmon

John Harmon was one of those actors with an instantly recognizable face. Even if one didn't know his name, his sharp, hooked nose and bald head were instantly familiar due to the sheer number of television and film appearances he made during his career. He was rarely the star, but could often be seen playing country sheriffs, shifty gangsters, and browbeaten husbands. His earliest role was in 1935 in "Three Kids and a Queen," about three impoverished kids taking in an injured wealthy woman, but, as was the case with many of his early roles, he wasn't credited for it. It wasn't until 1949 that he landed his first major part, playing Clubby Blake, the cellmate of a falsely imprisoned newspaper man, in "I was Framed." The prolific actor appeared in such eclectic fare as Charlie Chaplin's 1947 crime comedy "Monsieuer Verdoux," the TV action series "Adventures of Superman" in 1953, the iconic sci-fi series "Star Trek" in 1967, and the medical drama "Emergency!" in 1974. In total, he appeared in over 300 films and TV programs. In his later years, Harmon retired to a life as a used-book dealer and collector of Mark Twain first editions. His last film appearance came 20 years after his death, in 2005, in a low-budget spoof called "The Naked Monster," which used clips from classic B-movies to create one film.