John David Carson

John David Carson
Born	John Franklin Carson (1952-03-06)March 6, 1952 North Hollywood, Los Angeles, U.S.
Died	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1966-1990

John David Carson (born John Franklin Carson; March 6, 1952 – October 27, 2009) was an American actor. He was born in North Hollywood, California.

Career

Carson began his career at a young age, acting in television advertisements, and later doing cartoon voice-acting for Hanna-Barbera. He attended Los Angeles Valley College where he played a lead role in their 1969 production of The Taming Of The Shrew. Upon beginning his Hollywood career he was immediately engaged in a dispute with Johnny Carson over the use of their shared name - he subsequently went by the name John David Carson. He appeared in many B-movies and television shows throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Film career

Carson's first feature film was Pretty Maids All in a Row in 1971, a sex comedy set in a high school, also featuring Rock Hudson. Carson portrayed "Ponce de Leon Harper", a nerdy and sexually inexperienced young man who is tormented with lust at the pretty young women around him at school and suffers from chronic priapism. Ponce is eventually "mentored" by his guidance counselor, played by Hudson, an expert at seducing younger women, who takes him under his wing and persuades an attractive female teacher to sleep with him. This film was directed by Roger Vadim and the screenplay was written by Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek fame.

Another notable role was in the 1976 film Stay Hungry, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jeff Bridges and Sally Field. Carson also appeared in a great deal of television productions, including Hawaii Five-O and Charlie's Angels. He portrayed "Jay Spence" on Falcon Crest, a prime-time soap opera.

He played "Larry Burns", a television repairman who is briefly framed for a woman's murder by a corrupt sheriff, on Murder She Wrote and an Irish jockey named "Kevin Ryan" on Charlie's Angels. He appeared in various B-movies such as Empire of the Ants (1977), an adaptation of an H. G. Wells story about gigantic, man-eating ants, Creature from Black Lake (1976), Charge of the Model T's (1977) and The Fifth Floor (1978), and acted alongside George C. Scott in The Day of the Dolphin (1973). He again appeared opposite Scott, playing his character's son, in The Savage is Loose (1974). Carson continued acting in small parts up until 1990, appearing in the Julia Roberts hit Pretty Woman, which marked his very last appearance on film. He voluntarily retired from acting after this role.

Personal life

John Franklin Carson was the son of Western actor Aldrich "Kit" Carson and Rosamonde (née James) Carson, a fashion model, and was of Irish and Cherokee ancestry. He entered Hollywood from a theater background; at the time of his arrival on the motion-picture scene, he had already undergone several traumatic incidents. His parents had split up; furthermore, he had been involved in a serious motorcycle accident which left him almost completely deaf in his left ear, according to an interview in Interview Magazine.

Carson was raised as a Christian Scientist, which he claimed to still practice on a day to day basis. In the interview he also expressed an interest in Scientology and astrology.

Death

Carson was romantically involved with actress Kim Darby. He was also briefly married to model Vicki Morgan. He died on October 27, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was survived by his long-time girlfriend and wife of 3 years, Diana Carson, and their daughter.

External links

• John David Carson at the Internet Movie Database