Rick Jason

{{short description|American actor (1923–2000)}} {{Infobox person | name = Rick Jason | image = Rick Jason - actor.jpg | birth_name = Richard Jacobson | birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|5|21|mf=y}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2000|10|16|1923|5|21}} | death_place = Moorpark, California, U.S. | resting_place = Hollywood Forever Cemetery | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{Marriage|Aria Allen|1950|1962|end=divorced}}<br />{{Marriage|Shirley Johnston|1962|1962|end=divorced}} * {{Marriage|Jutta Parr |1962|1964| end=divorced}} * {{Marriage|Pat Nelson|1968|1970|end=divorced}} * {{Marriage|Cindy Jason|1983}} }} | years_active = 1950–1989 | alma_mater = American Academy of Dramatic Arts | module = {{Infobox military person | embed = yes | allegiance = {{flagu|United States}} | branch = {{flagicon image|US Army Air Corps Hap Arnold Wings.svg}} U.S. Army Air Forces | rank = Private | service_years = 1943–1945 | battles = World War II }} }}

'''Rick Jason''' (born '''Richard Jacobson'''; May 21, 1923 – October 16, 2000) was an American actor. He is most remembered for starring in the ABC television drama ''Combat!'' (1962–1967).

==Early life and education== Jason was born Richard Jacobson in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish family. As a child, he was a good student who proved to be popular with his classmates and teachers. He graduated from Rhodes Preparatory School in Manhattan.

==Military service== Rick Jason served from 1943 to 1945 in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.<ref name=obit/> In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he visited American troops serving in Vietnam on several USO tours.<ref>Jason (2000), [http://www.scrapbooksofmymind.com/pat_calls_it_quits_and_i_go_to_n.htm "Pat Calls It Quits and I Go To Nam"]</ref>

Later, MGM was searching for an actor to replace Fernando Lamas in the 1953 movie ''Sombrero'' and gave the role to Jason, who was earlier released from Columbia Pictures. This led to Jason being cast in ''The Saracen Blade'' (1954) and ''This Is My Love'' (1954).<ref>Jason (2000) [http://www.scrapbooksofmymind.com/saracen_blade.htm "The Saracen Blade at Columbia Pictures"]</ref>

Although not top-billed, Jason occupied most of the screen time as the amorous driver in John Steinbeck's ''The Wayward Bus'', which included several "torrid scenes" that pushed the bounds of the waning Production Code.<ref>{{citation |title=Young Actress Scores In Torrid Film Scene |newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |publisher=United Press International |date=March 22, 1957 }}</ref>

In 1956, Jason played the lead in ''The Fountain of Youth'', a half-hour unsold television pilot written and directed by Orson Welles which won the Peabody Award in 1958. The pilot aired as an episode of the anthology series ''Colgate Theatre'' on September 16, 1958.

Soon after, Jason received offers for television series. He guest-starred on ABC's anthology series, ''The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse''. In 1954, he played Joaquin Murietta, the notorious Mexican bandit of the California Gold Rush, in an episode of Jim Davis's syndicated western series ''Stories of the Century'', the story of a railroad detective investigating crime in the American West. He appeared on the NBC interview program ''Here's Hollywood'', in the ''Rawhide'' episodes "Incident of the Coyote Weed" and "Incident of the Valley in Shadow", and co-starred in 1969 in ''The Monk''.

In 1960, he starred as insurance investigator Robin Scott in ''The Case of the Dangerous Robin'', a syndicated American television series that lasted only one season. It was not renewed due to Jason's health issues, including back problems. In 1962, he began starring in the television series ''Combat!'' as Platoon Leader 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley, probably his most memorable role. In this series he shared the starring role in an alternating episode rotation, with Vic Morrow as Sgt. Chip Saunders, though in many episodes they both appeared. The show was a hit that lasted for 152 episodes in five seasons. After ''Combat!'', Rick returned to stage acting. He made films in Japan and Israel, as well as films such as ''Color Me Dead'' (1969), ''The Day of the Wolves'' (1971), ''The Witch Who Came from the Sea'' (1976), ''Love and the Midnight Auto Supply'' (1977), ''Partners'' (1982) and ''Illegally Yours'' (1988). He also played Cornelius Vanderbilt in the 1989 miniseries ''Around the World in 80 Days''. In 1973, he was a frequent character on ''The Young and the Restless''.<ref name="ReferenceA">Los Angeles Times</ref> He was also a favorite voice for TV commercial narration in the 1960s.

==Retirement== After retiring from screen appearances, Jason kept busy by doing voice-overs for commercials and wrote his autobiography, ''Scrapbooks of My Mind''. In 2000, he attended a ''Combat!'' reunion in Las Vegas with fellow cast members.<ref name=obit>''Variety'' (2000)</ref>

==Personal life== In his personal life, Jason enjoyed playing guitar, painting, sculpting, collecting wines, flying, hunting, photography, and breeding tropical fish.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In 2000, Jason published his autobiography ''Scrapbooks of My Mind: A Hollywood Autobiography''. The book describes Jason growing up in New York during the Great Depression and shares behind-the-scenes stories of his film and tv career.<ref>Scrapbooks of My Mind (July 29, 2000)</ref> The book was pulled from publication after his death in October 2000. A version of the book exists online.

==Death== Jason died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound one week after the ''Combat!'' reunion, on October 16, 2000, in Moorpark, California, where he lived. He left no note. Authorities said the actor was "despondent" over "unspecified personal matters."<ref name=obit/>

His body was cremated and interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California in the Cathedral Mausoleum.

==Legacy== Concerning ''Combat!'', pop culture scholar Gene Santoro has written: {{blockquote|TV's longest-running World War II drama (1962–1967) was really a collection of complex 50-minute movies. Salted with battle sequences, they follow a squad's travails from D-Day on – a gritty ground-eye view of men trying to salvage their humanity and survive. Melodrama, comedy, and satire come into play as top-billed Lieutenant Hanley (Rick Jason) and Sergeant Saunders (Vic Morrow) lead their men toward Paris ...<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA249135702&v=2.1&it=r&p=EAIM&sw=w |last= Santoro |first= Gene |title= Infantrymen on the Small Screen |journal= World War II |location= Leesburg, Virginia |publisher= Weider History Group |volume= 25 |issue= 6 |date= March–April 2011 |page= 69 |access-date= August 24, 2013}}</ref>}}

Producer Steve Rubin wrote a tribute to Jason published in the ''Los Angeles Times'' on October 20, 2000: {{blockquote|The baby boomer generation lost one of its heroes on Monday — Rick Jason is gone. He was better known as Lieutenant Hanley on the long-running 1960’s World War II series, "Combat!" As they often say in Hollywood war films, we lost us a good man. Jason was not only a wonderful human being, a devoted husband, and a fine actor, he was one of our best storytellers with links to the "Golden Age" of Hollywood.<ref>Steve Rubins (October 20, 2000)</ref>}} Rubin concluded: {{blockquote|For we boomers, Rick Jason helped illuminate the legacy of World War II to those of us too young to experience or remember it. He brought dignity to the image of the fighting man at a time when Vietnam was moving us in the other direction. Over those five years of episodes, he brought home every week the sense of fear, sacrifice and the great love soldiers have for each other. Jason and the squad were our touchstones to the dynamic era of the 1940s when America won the war.<ref>Steve Rubin (October 20, 2000)</ref>}}

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1953|| ''Sombrero'' || Ruben || |- |1954|| ''The Saracen Blade'' || Enzio Siniscola || |- |1954|| ''This Is My Love'' || Glenn Harris || |- |1956|| ''The Lieutenant Wore Skirts'' || Captain Barney Sloan || |- |1957|| ''The Wayward Bus'' || Johnny Chicoy || |- |1958|| ''Rx Murder'' || Jethro Jones || |- |1958|| ''Sierra Baron'' || Miguel Delmonte || |- |1958|| ''Colgate Theatre'' || Alan Brody || Season 1 Episode 5: "The Fountain of Youth" |- |1959|| ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' || Arthur || Season 4 Episode 25: "The Kind Waitress" |- |1959|| ''Rawhide'' || Manso || Season 2 Episode 9: "Incident of the Valley in Shadow" |- |1968|| ''Teppô denraiki'' or ''The Saga of Tanegashima''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=22413|title=鉄砲伝来記|publisher=Kinenote|language=ja|access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref>|| Captain Pinto || |- |1969|| ''Color Me Dead'' || Bradley Taylor || |- |1970|| ''Ha-Pritza Hagdola'' || Beno || Also known as ''Eagles Strike at Dawn'' |- |1971|| ''The Day of the Wolves'' || No. 4 || |- |1971|| ''The Virginian (TV series)'' || Tom Fuller || Season 9 Episode 24: "Jump-Up" |- |1974|| ''A Time for Love'' || || |- |1976|| ''The Witch Who Came from the Sea'' || Billy Batt || |- |1977|| ''Love and the Midnight Auto Supply'' || Councilman Ted Fredricks || |- |1977|| ''Proof of the Man'' || Lionel Adams || |- |1978 |''Wonder Woman'' |Uncle Lawson Koslo |Season 2 Episode 19: "Seance of Terror" |- |1982|| ''Partners'' || Douglas || |- |1983|| ''Shôsetsu Yoshida gakko'' || General Douglas MacArthur || |- |1988|| ''Illegally Yours'' || Freddie Boneflecker || |}

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== *Jason, Rick. ''Scrapbooks of My Mind : A Hollywood Autobiography''; Strange New Worlds; 1st edition 29 July 2000; {{ISBN|978-0970162403}} *{{cite news|title='Combat!' Actor Rick Jason Found Dead|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-17-me-37796-story.html|date=October 17, 2000|accessdate=March 4, 2022|ref=Los Angeles Times}} *[https://variety.com/2000/scene/people-news/rick-jason-1117796488/ Obituary] in ''Variety''; 9 November 2000 *{{cite book|title=Scrapbooks of My Mind : A Hollywood Autobiography|isbn=0970162405 |ref=Scrapbooks of My Mind (July 29, 2000)|last1=Jason |first1=Rick |date=July 2000 |publisher=Strange New Worlds }} *{{cite web|last=Rubin|first=Steve|title=A Final Salute to Lieutenant Hanley|url=http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/personnel/a_final_salute_to_lieutenant_han.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010223154225/http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/personnel/a_final_salute_to_lieutenant_han.htm |archive-date=2001-02-23 |ref=Steve Rubin (October 20, 2000)|date=February 23, 2001|accessdate=March 9, 2022}}

==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} * {{IMDb name|0419275}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maDTnpfEglo ''The Fountain of Youth''] on YouTube * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyC7WtexXQg The Life and Sad Ending of Rick Jason] (December 18, 2020) Access Date: March 9, 2022 * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnIJEnjAcD4 A Salute to Rick Jason (as platoon leader 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley) 2018] Access Date: March 9, 2022

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jason, Rick}} Category:1923 births Category:2000 deaths Category:2000 suicides Category:20th-century American Jews Category:20th-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Category:Jewish American male actors Category:Jewish American military personnel Category:Male actors from New York City Category:Military personnel from New York City Category:Military personnel from New York (state) Category:People from Moorpark, California Category:Suicides by firearm in California Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers Category:Male actors from Ventura County, California