John P. Ryan

For the American businessman and politician, see John P. Ryan (New York politician).

"John Patrick Ryan" redirects here. For the fictional character created by Tom Clancy, see Jack Ryan (character).

John P. Ryan
Ryan in Futureworld, 1976
Born	John Patrick Ryan (1936-07-30)July 30, 1936 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	March 20, 2007(2007-03-20) (aged 70) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Rice High School
Alma mater	City College of New York Actors Studio
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1966–1996
Children	3, including Alexa Kenin

John Patrick Ryan (July 30, 1936 – March 20, 2007) was an American actor. A prolific character actor known for playing "slimy villains, tough cops, and military officers," he worked with notable directors like Bob Rafelson, Francis Ford Coppola, Andrei Konchalovsky, Arthur Penn, Philip Kaufman, and The Wachowskis, and often appeared in films starring his real-life friend Jack Nicholson.

Early life and education

Ryan was born in New York City, the son of Irish immigrant parents, and graduated from Rice High School in Harlem. He studied English at the City College of New York and acting at the Actors Studio.

Career

Among his stage roles, Ryan played King Henry in The Lion in Winter and Mr. DePinna in You Can't Take It with You at the 1966 Williamstown Theatre Festival. He starred in the Broadway productions Daphne in Cottage D (1967) and Medea (1973).

Ryan got into film acting at the encouragement of his friend Jack Nicholson. He appeared opposite Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces (1970), The King of Marvin Gardens (1973), The Missouri Breaks (1976), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), and Hoffa (1992).

He usually played supporting roles or character parts, though he played a rare leading role in the Larry Cohen-directed horror film It's Alive and its sequel It Lives Again. He also appeared in such films as Dillinger (1973), Futureworld (1976), Breathless (1983), The Right Stuff (also 1983), The Cotton Club (1984), Three O'Clock High (1987), and Best of the Best (1989). One of his best-known parts was as prison warden Ranken in Runaway Train (1985). His last role was as mobster Mickey Malnato in The Wachowskis' directorial debut Bound (1996).

Personal life

Ryan was married to actress Maya Kenin, becoming the stepfather of Alexa Kenin (1962-1985). He had two daughters.

Ryan was a life member of the Actors Studio, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Death

Ryan died from a stroke in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 70. His remain were buried at Genola Rural Cemetery in East Northport, New York.

Stage appearances

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Notes
1963	The Lady of the Camellias	Buyer	Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway
1966	Serjeant Musgrave's Dance	Constable	Lucille Lortel Theatre, Off-Broadway
	Duet for Three	John	Cherry Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway
	You Can't Take It with You	Mr. DePinna	Williamstown Theatre Festival
	The Lion in Winter	King Henry
1966-67	Yerma	Villager / Victor (understudy)	Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway
1967	Daphne in Cottage D	Joseph	Longacre Theatre, Broadway
1970	Nobody Hears a Broken Drum	Jamie O'Hanlin	Fortune Theater, Off-Broadway
1972	The Love Suicide at Schofield Barracks	Maj. Cassidy	ANTA Playhouse, Broadway
	Gypsy	Rich Man's Son	Theatre at Unitarian Church of AllSouls, Off-Broadway
	The Silent Partner	Mr. Drumm	Actors Studio Theatre, Off-Broadway
	Twelve Angry Men	Juror No. 3	Queens Theatre in the Park
1973	Medea	Jason	Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway
1975	The Country Girl		Stagewest, West Springfield

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	The Tiger Makes Out	Toni's Escort
1968	A Lovely Way to Die	Harry Samson
	What's So Bad About Feeling Good?	Roger	Uncredited
1970	Five Easy Pieces	Spicer
1971	Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me	'Oeuf'
1972	The Legend of Nigger Charley	Martin Goldman
	The King of Marvin Gardens	Houston
1973	Shamus	'Hardcore'
	Dillinger	Charles Makley
	Cops and Robbers	Pasquale 'Patsy' Aniello
1974	It's Alive	Frank Davis
1976	The Missouri Breaks	Cy
	Futureworld	Dr. Schneider
1978	It Lives Again	Frank Davis
1980	On the Nickel
	The Last Flight of Noah's Ark	Coslough
1981	The Postman Always Rings Twice	Ezra Liam Kennedy
1982	The Escape Artist	Vernon
1983	Breathless	Lt. Parmental
	The Right Stuff	Head of Program
1984	The Cotton Club	Joe Flynn
1985	Runaway Train	Warden Ranken
1986	Avenging Force	Prof. Elliott Glastenbury
1987	Three O'Clock High	Mr. O'Rourke
	Fatal Beauty	Lt. Kellerman
	Death Wish 4: The Crackdown	Ferrari / Fake Nathan White
	Rent-a-Cop	Cmdr. Wieser
	City of Shadows	Sgt. Fireman
1989	Best of the Best	Jennings
1990	Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection	Gen. Taylor
	Class of 1999	Mr. Hardin
	Eternity	Thomas Vandervere / Prosecutor
1992	White Sands	Arms Dealer	Uncredited
	Hoffa	"Red" Bennett
	Star Time	Sam Bones
1993	Batman: Mask of the Phantasm	'Buzz' Bronski (voice)
	Young Goodman Brown	The Devil
1994	The Patriots	Arthur
	Bad Blood	John Blackstone
1995	Tall Tale	'Grub'
1996	Bound	Mickey Malnato

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Kojak	Peter Ibbotson	Episode: "Cop in the Cage"
1975	Death Scream	Det. Dave Lambert	Television film
1977	The Rockford Files	Dearborn	Episode: "Dirty Money, Black Light"
1980	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century	Kurt Belzack	Episode: "Twiki is Missing"
1983	M*A*S*H	Major Van Zandt	Episode: "That Darn Kid"
	Miss Lonelyhearts	Peter Doyle	Television film
1984	Simon & Simon	Stewart Crawford	Episode: "Break a Leg, Darling"
1985	Cagney & Lacey	Philip Corrigan	Episode: "Organized Crime"
1986	Houston: The Legend of Texas	David G. Burnet	Television film
1989	Miami Vice	Jake Manning	Episode: "The Cell Within"
1993	The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.	Sheriff Bob Cavendish	Episode: "Showdown"

External links

• John P. Ryan at IMDb
• John P. Ryan at the Internet Broadway Database
• John P. Ryan at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• John P. Ryan at AllMovie