Albert Dekker

Albert Dekker Headshot

Actor • Politician

Birth Date: December 20, 1905

Death Date: May 5, 1968

Birth Place: Brooklyn, New York

A hard-working character actor, Albert Dekker had few opportunities to play the lead in a career that spanned four decades and amassed over 70 motion pictures. After spending a decade on stage in New York, Dekker made his way to Hollywood where he landed supporting parts in "The Great Commandment" (1939), "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1939) and "Strange Cargo" (1940).

But it was his turn as the mad scientist in the camp classic "Dr. Cyclops" (1940) that brought him wider recognition, leading to larger roles in "Once Upon a Honeymoon" (1942), "In Old California" (1942) and "Wake Island" (1942). Following a brief stint in politics where he represented the 57th district in the California State Assembly, Dekker delivered his most memorable character turns in "The Killers" (1946), "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947), "East of Eden" (1955) and "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955).

By the end of the 1950s, his film career began to wane, leading to a necessary switch to the small screen. Dekker found new life as a guest star on shows like "Mission: Impossible" (CBS, 1966-1973), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (NBC, 1964-68) and "Bonanza" (NBC, 1959-1973). He returned to features with a small, but crucial supporting role in "The Wild Bunch" (1969), only to become the victim of a horrific accident when he was found in his bathtub following his death from autoerotic asphyxiation. His sordid death sparked rumors of foul play, though in the end it simply put an abrupt end to a productive but unremarkable career.

Born on Dec. 20, 1905 in Brooklyn, NY, Dekker attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, and found his way to Cincinnati, OH, where he began acting in a stock company in 1927. Rather quickly, he made his Broadway debut in a production of Eugene O'Neill's "Marco Millions," which launched a decade-long career on the stage.

In 1937, Dekker found his way to Hollywood and made his feature debut with a bit part in the 18th century-set romantic comedy "The Great Garrick" (1937), starring Brian Aherne and Olivia de Havilland. After playing the Comte de Provence in "Marie Antoinette" (1938), which featured Norma Shearer in the title role, Dekker stepped up to play more significant supporting roles in William Wellman's action epic "Beau Geste" (1939) and in the biblical drama "The Great Commandment" (1939), where he played Longinus, the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus with a lance as he hung on the cross.

Following roles in James Whale's "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1939) and the rather tepid Bob Hope comedy "Never Say Die" (1939), Dekker was a prison convict who masterminds a breakout from a French penal colony in "Strange Cargo" (1940), starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford.

Following a character turn opposite Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne in the romantic adventure, "Seven Sinners" (1940), Dekker was second billed alongside Fred MacMurray and Gilbert Roland in the Western "Rangers of Fortune" (1940), in which they played a trio of misfits who roam the West in search of adventure. He next found himself in a rare leading role in "Dr. Cyclops" (1940), a campy B-movie classic where he played a diabolical scientist who shrinks a group of humans down to miniature size in his jungle laboratory. He went on to play the lead again, this time as twin brothers in the suspense thriller "Among the Living" (1941), before joining Wayne in a supporting capacity for the Western "In Old California" (1942). After a turn in the Academy Award-nominated war drama "Wake Island" (1942), he delivered another finely turned character performance in the romantic comedy "Once Upon a Honeymoon" (1942), starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, and rejoined Wayne for the glorified Western "In Old Oklahoma" (1943).

In 1944, Dekker indulged his political aspirations by winning a seat in the California State Assembly, representing the 57th Assembly District as a member of the Democratic Party for one term. Though his output slowed down, he continued making appearances in films like "Incendiary Blonde" (1945). Following his two years in Sacramento, Dekker returned to motion pictures full-time and delivered one of his most recognized performances, playing Big Jim Colfax in the classic film noir, "The Killers" (1946), starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. In "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947), he was a magazine publisher who tasks a widowed journalist (Gregory Peck) to pose as a Jewish man to uncover anti-Semitism in an affluent community, which he followed with character turns in the B-pictures like "Fury at Furnace Creek" (1948) and "Tarzan's Magic Fountain" (1949). Returning to the stage, Dekker took over as Willy Loman from departing actor, Lee J. Cobb, during the original Broadway run of "Death of a Salesman" (1949), and segued into television for appearances on anthology series like "Pulitzer Prize Playhouse" (ABC, 1950-52) and "Studio One" (CBS, 1948-1958).

Meanwhile, during the McCarthy Era, Dekker became an outspoken critic of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy and his unrelenting pursuit of alleged Communists in the federal government. Because of this, he spent a great part of his career at this point performing on stage in New York out of fear of being blacklisted.

But Dekker did continue to make movies, delivering brief turns in the religious epic "The Silver Chalice" (1954) and James Dean's first film, "East of Eden" (1955), before making his mark as a traitorous scientist in another classic film noir, "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955). After a return to television for the anthology series "Climax!" (CBS, 1954-58), Dekker had minor supporting roles in "Suddenly, Last Summer" (1959) and "These Thousand Hills" (1959), before focusing almost exclusively on the small screen. Dekker spent most of the 1960s on television, appearing on "Route 66" (CBS, 1960-64), "Mission: Impossible" (CBS, 1966-1973), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (NBC, 1964-68) and "Bonanza" (NBC, 1959-1973). He made a return to features as an unscrupulous railroad detective in Sam Peckinpah's revisionist Western, "The Wild Bunch" (1969). But before he was able to see the finished product, Dekker was found dead on May 5, 1968 in his Hollywood home after two days of numerous unanswered phone calls.

He was found kneeling in his bathtub naked with a noose around his neck and looped over the shower curtain rod, hands cuffed, blindfolded and with explicit words written on his back in red lipstick. Though the corner ruled the death accidental by autoerotic asphyxiation, speculation persisted that there was foul play. He was 62 years old and ended his productive, but rather unremarkable career on a sordid note.

By Shawn Dwyer

Credits

The Wild BunchStream

Actor
Pat Harrigan
Movie
1969
91%

Come Spy With Me

Actor
Walter Ludeker
Movie
1967

Ten Blocks on the Camino Real

Actor
Movie
1966

Gammera the Invincible

Actor
Secretary of Defense
Movie
1966

Death of a Salesman

Actor
Ben
Movie
1966

The World I Want

Actor
Karl Hesse
Movie
1966

Seaway

Guest Star
Show
1965

I SpyStream

Guest Star
Series
1965

Gamera

Actor
Movie
1965

Gamera the Invincible

Actor
Secretary of Defense
Movie
1965

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Stream

Guest Star
Series
1964
100%

Route 66Stream

Guest Star
Series
1960

BonanzaStream

Guest Star
Series
1959

RawhideStream

Guest Star
Series
1959

El precio de la deshonra

Actor
Movie
1959

The Wonderful CountryStream

Actor
Texas Ranger Capt. Rucker
Movie
1959

Suddenly, Last SummerStream

Actor
Dr. Hockstader
Movie
1959
68%

The Sound and the Fury

Actor
Earl Snopes
Movie
1959

Middle of the Night

Actor
Walter Lockman
Movie
1959

These Thousand Hills

Actor
Marshal Conrad
Movie
1959

Machete

Actor
Don Luis Montoya
Movie
1958

She Devil

Actor
Dr. Richard Bach
Movie
1957

Playwrights '56

Actor
Major Tobey
Show
1955

Illegal

Actor
Frank Garland
Movie
1955

East of EdenStream

Actor
Will Hamilton
Movie
1955
86%

Kiss Me Deadly

Actor
Dr. G.E. Soberin
Movie
1955
98%

The Silver ChaliceStream

Actor
Kester
Movie
1954
13%

Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie

Actor
Lloyd Slocum
Movie
1952

As Young as You Feel

Actor
Louis McKinley
Movie
1951

The Furies

Actor
Mr. Reynolds
Movie
1950

The Kid From TexasStream

Actor
Alexander Kain
Movie
1950

Destination: Murder

Actor
Armitage
Movie
1950

Search for Danger

Actor
Kirk
Movie
1949

Tarzan's Magic Fountain

Actor
Mr. Trask
Movie
1949

Studio One

Actor
Series
1948

Lulu Belle

Actor
Mark Brady
Movie
1948

Fury at Furnace Creek

Actor
Edward Leverett
Movie
1948

The Pretender

Actor
Kenneth Holden
Movie
1947

Cass Timberlane

Actor
Boone Havock
Movie
1947

Slave Girl

Actor
Pasha
Movie
1947

Gentleman's AgreementStream

Actor
John Minify
Movie
1947
82%

California

Actor
Mr. Pike
Movie
1946

Two Years Before the Mast

Actor
Brown
Movie
1946

Suspense

Actor
Frank Leonard
Movie
1946

The KillersStream

Actor
Big Jim Colfax
Movie
1946
100%

The French Key

Actor
Johnny Fletcher
Movie
1946

Hold That Blonde

Actor
Police Inspector Callahan
Movie
1945

Incendiary Blonde

Actor
Joe Cadden
Movie
1945

Salome, Where She Danced

Actor
Count Erik Von Bohlen
Movie
1945

Experiment PerilousStream

Actor
` 'Clag'` Claghorn
Movie
1944
100%

The Woman of the Town

Actor
Bat Masterson
Movie
1943

Buckskin Frontier

Actor
Gideon Skene
Movie
1943

The Kansan

Actor
Steve Barat
Movie
1943

War of the WildcatsStream

Actor
Jim "Hunk" Gardner
Movie
1943

In Old Oklahoma

Actor
Jim "Hunk" Gardner
Movie
1943

In Old California

Actor
Britt Dawson
Movie
1942

Wake Island

Actor
Shad McClosky
Movie
1942
89%

The Forest Rangers

Actor
Twig Dawson
Movie
1942

A Night in New Orleans

Actor
Police Lieutenant William Richards
Movie
1942

Once Upon a HoneymoonStream

Actor
Gaston Le Blanc
Movie
1942

Yokel Boy

Actor
'Buggsy' Malone
Movie
1942

Blonde Inspiration

Actor
Phil Hendricks
Movie
1941

Honky Tonk

Actor
Brazos Hearn
Movie
1941

Buy Me That Town

Actor
Louie Lanzer
Movie
1941

Among the Living

Actor
John Raden/Paul Raden
Movie
1941

You're the One

Actor
Luke Laramie
Movie
1941

Dr. Cyclops

Actor
Dr. Alexander Thorkel
Movie
1940

Docteur Cyclops

Actor
Movie
1940

Strange Cargo

Actor
Moll
Movie
1940

Seven Sinners

Actor
Dr. Martin
Movie
1940

Rangers of Fortune

Actor
George Bird
Movie
1940

Beau Geste

Actor
Legionnaire Schwartz
Movie
1939
92%

The Great Commandment

Actor
Longinus
Movie
1939

The Man in the Iron MaskStream

Actor
King Louis XIII
Movie
1939

Marie Antoinette

Actor
Comte de Provence
Movie
1938

The Great Garrick

Actor
LeBrun
Movie
1937