John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932[1]–February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood films after achieving initial television stardom in Canada, and was known for his roles as villainous authority figures.[2]
Born as Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz in Zehner, Saskatchewan,[3] Vernon was one of two sons of Adolf Agopsowicz, a grocer, and his wife Eleonore Krückel (also spelled as Kriekle or Kriekel). Both his parents' families emigrated to the Edenwold district in the late 19th century from the Austrian crownland and duchy of Bukovina. The Agopsowicz family was part of the Armenian community in Poland. Vernon was of Armenian, German, and Polish descent.[4][pageneeded]
Starting in 1966, Vernon played the crime-fighting medical examiner Dr. Steve Wojeck in the CBC TV series Wojeck. It was an instant critical success, and also quickly became the most popular Canadian-produced dramatic series aired at the time. However, due to budget constraints, it ran sporadically, and the CBC could not promise that Wojeck would continue for more than a few episodes at a time. As well, the pay rate for the cast was far less than an American series could offer. With TV work proving precarious, and the Canadian film industry essentially nonexistent at the time, by the end of 1967, Vernon decided to go to the United States to further his acting career.[7]
In 1969, he played Cuban revolutionary Rico Parra in Alfred Hitchcock's Cold War-era spy film Topaz. He appeared on The High Chaparral as the leader of a group of striking Irish miners (1969) in "No Irish Need Apply".
In 1970, he guest-starred in the Hawaii Five-O episode "Force Of Waves" as Cal Anderson, and he appeared in the two-part episode "The Banker" of The Silent Force in 1971. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he made four appearances over five years on the TV series Mission: Impossible as four different lead villains. In 1974, Vernon turned in a supporting performance in Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night.
In 1972, he appeared as a villain in Fear Is the Key and in 1973, Vernon appeared in Charley Varrick, as a sketchy banker with a bigtime mob connection, Maynard Boyle.
In 1975, Vernon portrayed Chicago gangster Ben Larkin in the John Wayne film Brannigan, which was set in London, England, starring alongside Wayne and Richard Attenborough.
Vernon played Dean Vernon Wormer of fictional Faber College in 1978's Animal House (a role that he would reprise in the short-lived television sequel Delta House). He also played Mr. Prindle in 1980's Herbie Goes Bananas, Ted Striker's psychiatrist Dr. Stone in 1982's Airplane II: The Sequel, and Sherman Krader in 1987's Ernest Goes to Camp.
In 1979, Vernon played villainous American bigot Jonathon Pritts in New Mexico, who was trying to steal the land from Mexican landowners in the Louis L'Amour story of The Sacketts.
In 1980, Vernon made a guest appearance in the TV series The Littlest Hobo, playing the cruel hunter Sam Burrows.
Vernon played Ted Jarrett in the season-two The A-Team episode "Labor Pains" (1983). Vernon also played Cameron Zachary in the season-two Knight Rider episode "A Good Knight's Work" (1984). He appeared in three episodes of The Fall Guy, as Carson Connally in the season-two episode "Just a Small Circle of Friends" (1983), as Ellis in the season-three episode "Boom" (1984), and as Mardovitch in the season-four episode "High Orbit" (1985). Vernon later played John Bradford Horn in the season-three Airwolf episode "Discovery" (1986).
In 1986, he played the principal in Fuzz Bucket. He played Sergeant Curt Mooney in Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and was a lead in the short-lived 1990s series Acapulco H.E.A.T. In 1995, he appeared on Walker, Texas Ranger in the episode "Final Justice", in which he played Clint Murdock, a criminal who murdered Cordell Walker's (Chuck Norris) parents when the latter was a kid, and he also served as Walker's arch nemesis in the episode.
Vernon guest-starred as the grouchy principal Dinkler in "Brad to Worse", an episode of Duckman on USA Network.
Vernon was married to and later divorced Nancy West. The couple had three children; actress Kate Vernon, musician Nan Vernon, and actor Chris Vernon.[3]
12345678910"John Vernon (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 6, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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