John Vernon

John Vernon

Birth : 1932-02-24, Zehner, Saskatchewan, Canada

Death : 2005-02-01

History

John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 – February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer in Animal House, the Mayor in Dirty Harry and Fletcher in The Outlaw Josey Wales. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Vernon, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia​

Profile

John Vernon
John Vernon
John Vernon

Movies

Animal House: The Inside Story
Self
Documentary about the making of Animal House
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
Rupert Thorne (voice)
As if the Penguin wasn't enough to contend with, a new vigilante has surfaced in Gotham City, and her strong-arm tactics give Batman cause for concern.
Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update
Vernon Wormer
A hilarious John Landis-created 'mockumentary' that provides updates on what became of Faber College's most notorious alums. Features original cast members.
Warrior Angels
Ansgar / Bladrick
Elizabeth of Cooke (Joanna Pacula), a beautiful and valiant warrior returns from the Crusades to discover that her son Peter (Sander Kolosov) has been taken by Grekkor (Rutger Hauer), an ex-Lord wreaking havoc throughout the land. She sets out to locate and save Peter.
Sorority Boys
Old Man
After being falsely accused of stealing the budget for their annual cocktail cruise, three very different fraternity brothers are kicked out of their dorm. In order to clear their name and to secure their future careers, the three dress up in drag and pledge the sorority next door where they learn a few valuable - and hilarious - lessons about themselves and the female species.
Welcome to America
Det. Golding
A gang of Estonian bank robbers in Los Angeles.
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
Documents the race riot of 1921 and the destruction of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With testimony by eyewitnesses and background accounts by historians.
Stageghost
Slim
A group of people are trapped inside a stagecoach station under attack by spirits.
Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure
Principal Scotti
In this live-action musical comedy, Baby Huey, the lovable seven foot tall duckling, is taken in by a caring little boy named Nick and his kind but surprised family. A sinister scientist and a mean Las Vegas producer want Baby Huey for themselves, but they don't know what a little boy, a caring community, and a baby bird that's bigger than all of them is capable of.
The Yearbook: An Animal House Reunion
Himself - 'Dean Wormer'
This documentary, created for the Animal House (1978) collector's edition DVD, is composed of a collection of new interviews with the cast and crew behind the making of the film. There's even some archive footage of John Belushi, and many hilarious behind the scenes stories are told. Its evident that they had a great time creating this classic, and memorable comedic landmark of a film.
Family of Cops
Frank Rampola
Paul Fein is a veteran police detective whose son Eddie is also a cop. Paul is assigned to investigate the murder of a prominent businessman, and he soon learns that the field of suspects has been narrowed down to two—the victim's sexually freewheeling wife Anna, and Paul's wild-child daughter Jackie. Neither Paul nor Eddie believe that Jackie could have committed the murder, and soon Paul is using himself as a decoy in a bid to find out more about what Anna does and doesn't know about her husband's death.
Malicious
Detective Pronzini
A mystery woman turns vengeful after a college athlete dumps her following a one-night stand.
Paris or Somewhere
Old Mahon
A confessed killer wanders into a small community in the Canadian prairies.
Hostage for a Day
V.D. Regan
Warren Kooey is a man who's tired of his current life; a witch of a wife, a boss who complains about everything he does and looses his lifesavings (stolen by the wife). He has only one thing on his mind: Alaska
The Forget-Me-Not Murders
Boyce
A detective tries to track down a serial killer who is thought to be targeting the policeman's god-daughter.
Sodbusters
Slade Cantrell
A group of homesteaders in 1875 are harassed by an evil, land-grabbing, gunslinging cattleman until a stranger with a mysterious past comes to their aid.
The Naked Truth
Von Bulo
Two friends, both named Frank, accidentally obtain a suitcase at the airport. It contains incriminating evidence against a mafia boss, who sends his Terminator-like lackie to find them. The Franks hide by impersonating make-up women for a beauty pageant. While in drag, the mafioso falls in love with one of the Franks.
The Woman Who Sinned
Lieutenant Girvetz
A woman contemplates having an affair, which leads her into a web of deceit, suspense, and murder.
Object of Desire
A beautiful young soap opera star is stalked and terrorized by an obsessive admirer.
Mob Story
On the run from a U.S. Senate investigation, New York mob boss Don Luciano (John Vernon) flees to his Canadian hometown and old flame Dolores (Margot Kidder) in this kooky, disorganized crime caper. Luciano soon discovers his long-lost son and tries to teach him the tricks of the trade. Meanwhile, Luciano's bumbling right-hand man (Albert S. Waxman) -- who'd like to become the boss himself -- has put a contract on Luciano.
Bail Out
Mr. Ridgeway
A bail bondman hires three L.A. bounty hunters to protect a wealthy heiress, after her ex-boyfriend with connections to a drug cartel is murdered. When the heiress is abducted and taken to the cartel's Mexican hideout, the trio heads south to rescue her in time for her to testify against her ex-boyfriend's killers.
Afghanistan: The Last War Bus
Ken Ross
Soldiers find themselves trapped and in mortal danger behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. Their only hope for survival is to board a specially-designed bus. THE WAR BUS!!!!
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
Mr. Big
Jack Spade returns from the army in his old ghetto neighbourhood when his brother, June Bug, dies. Jack declares war on Mr. Big, powerful local crimelord. His army is led by John Slade, his childhood idol who used to fight bad guys in the 70s.
Deadly Stranger
Mr. Mitchell
An undercover cop infiltrates an illegal labor racket on a remote Texan/Mexican border farm. After falling for the farm owner's mistress, the two discover the tables have been turned and they are the hunted.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Curtis Mooney
Aliens disguised as clowns crash land on Earth in a rural town to capture unsuspecting victims in cotton candy cocoons for later consumption.
Dixie Lanes
Elmer Sinclair
A small-town Southern family may have survived World War II, but will they survive a family reunion?
Hostile Takeover
Mayor
A man takes three co-workers hostage while working overtime on Thanksgiving weekend. He has no demands.
Blue Monkey
Roger Levering
While working in a greenhouse, a man receives an insect bite after touching an exotic plant. Immediately, he falls ill and is taken to an emergency room where the doctors diagnose him as suffering from an unknown bacteria, and a strange parasite which emerges from his mouth as a large slimy wormlike creature. Soon, there are more cases of bacterial infection, but the more immediate problem for the hospital is the wormlike creature which after accidental exposure to a genetic growth stimulant grows to monstrous proportions and starts a reign of terror and bloodshed in the hospitals abandoned wing.
Terminal Exposure
Mr. Karrothers
Two beach combing-shutterbugs accidentally capture a murder on film. Now detectives, the boys set out to capture a murderess shot only from behind, with a rose tattoo on her behind. Fun in the sun turns dangerous when they end up shooting bullets instead of film.
Nightstick
Adam Beardsly
A cop tries to prevent a gang of extortionists from blowing up New York City with nitroglycerin.
Ernest Goes to Camp
Sherman Krader
Ernest, a lovable loser who works as a summer camp handyman and dreams of becoming a guidance counselor, must find a way to inspire a group of juvenile delinquents while stopping a shady strip mining company from closing the camp as well.
Fuzzbucket
Principal
In the vein of "Harvey", an invisible creature befriends a 12 year old boy. Of course, no one else can see him nor believes in him.
Fraternity Vacation
Chief Ferret
A nerd gains the friendship of two of his frat brothers when his dad offers them his condo for the week in Palm Springs, and also offers the fraternity a hot tub and jacuzzi if they can help his son find a girl. They meet two guys from a rival fraternity, and make a bet on who can nail the Designated Babe first.
Doin' Time
Big Mac
Duke Jarrett is sent to jail at the John Dillinger prison. However, the prison looks more like a zoo, more or less ruled by the prisoners themselves.
Savage Streets
Principal Underwood
A teenage vigilante seeks revenge on a group of violent thugs who raped her handicapped sister and murdered her best friend.
Jungle Fever
Vito Mastranga
A group of models fly into the jungle of some South American country to look for a photo location. Their plane is shot down and they are captured by a drug baron's private army. At the same time, the Mafia's representative arrive to negotiate future collaboration.
Le Sang des autres
Charles
In the German-occupied Paris, Helene is torn between the love for her boyfriend Jean, working for the resistance and the German administrator Bergmann, who will do anything to gain her affection.
Little Red Riding Hood
Father
A sheltered but adventurous young woman finds trouble when she encounters a wolf.
Chained Heat
Warden Bacman
Linda Blair plays Carol, a young woman who must serve 18 months in prison after driving drunk and killing a man. The prison turns out to be brimming with decadence, corruption and sleaze, where the other female inmates are sadistic crack-selling lesbian rapists and the guards and warden are no better.
Curtains
Jonathan Stryker
Six young actresses auditioning for a movie role at a remote mansion are targeted by a mysterious masked murderer.
Airplane II: The Sequel
Dr. Stone
A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the sun, and man-with-a-past, Ted Striker must save the day and get the shuttle back on track – again – all the while trying to patch up his relationship with Elaine.
The Kinky Coaches and the Pom Pom Pussycats
Coach "Bulldog" Malone
Two long-time rival high school football coaches lead their respective teams into battle for the city football championship. However, before the opening kickoff, various students from each school try to do whatever it takes to throw the opposing team off of their game.
Heavy Metal
Prosecutor (voice)
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
It Rained All Night the Day I Left
Killian
A tough rich female ranch owner in Africa wants to cut off the water supply to the locals, since she holds them responsible for the murder of her husband. She hires two charming gunrunners as help, but they suspect her shady competitor.
Herbie Goes Bananas
Prindle
The adorable little VW helps its owners break up a counterfeiting ring in Mexico.
Fantastica
Jim McPherson
In this Canadian made oddball mix of music and drama, an actress (Carole Laure) in a traveling musical revue is involved with the show's director until she meets and falls for an aging ecological activist. He too is drawn to her, and together they try to stop a factory from being built over an old-growth forest.
Animal House
Dean Vernon Wormer
At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.
Golden Rendezvous
Luis Carreras
Action-packed suspense thriller finds innocuous-looking purser Carter (Harris) the unlikely hero when the floating casino on which he works is hijacked by a heavily armed group of mercenaries, led by John Vernon. Complicating matters, a nuclear warhead has been smuggled aboard as collateral for a rendezvous with another ocean liner, loaded with gold bullion. A cast full of supernovas, dazzling set & stunt work, and a catchy theme tune by Jeff Wayne create a pleasing audio-visual experience light on logic but fast paced and entertaining nonetheless.
Angela
A war vet finds out that a former prostitute had his baby. Doubting it's his, he gives it away, so she reports him. Twenty years later, she still wants to find her son. She meets a young man and falls in love, but the vet's prison term ends.
Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night
Dr. Orrin Helgerson
A disturbed young mother with some serious psychological problems begins to take them out on her infant daughter.
The Uncanny
Pomeroy (segment 3 "Hollywood 1936")
Wilbur Gray, a horror writer, has stumbled upon a terrible secret, that cats are supernatural creatures who really call the shots. In a desperate attempt to get others to believe him, Wilbur spews three tales of feline horror.
A Special Day
Emanuele Taberi
In Rome, fascist supporter Emanuele attends a parade commemorating Adolf Hitler's historic meeting with Italian leader Benito Mussolini, leaving his apolitical wife, Antonietta, to tend to household duties. Antonietta encounters a man, Gabriele, who appears surprisingly nonplussed by the political event. Over the course of the day, the two forge a close friendship that will forever change their perceptions of life, love and politics.
Drum
A mid-19th century mulatto slave is torn between his success as a pit-fighter and the injustices of white society.
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Fletcher
After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected.
Matt Helm
Harry Paine
In this pilot film for the later series, a former secret agent, now a private investigator, is hired to protect a beautiful film star and gets involved with black marketeers and gun runners.
The Swiss Family Robinson
Charles Forsythe
A family shipwrecked on a deserted island tries to survive the best way they can. All is going well until a gang of pirates arrives on the island looking for a hidden treasure.
Brannigan
Ben Larkin
Jim Brannigan is sent to London to bring back an American mobster who is being held for extradition but when he arrives he has been kidnapped which was set up by his lawyer. Brannigan in his American Irish way brings American law to the people of Scotland Yard in order to recapture this mobster with both a price tag on his head and a stuffy old London cop to contend with.
The Impostor
Sheriff Turner
An ex-Army intelligence agent is hired to impersonate a rich builder who has been marked for assassination. While impersonating the builder, he discovers a conspiracy to embezzle a land-development company.
Virginia Hill
Nick Rubanos
The story of Virginia Hill, a former prostitute who was the girlfriend of '40s killer and gangster Bugsy Siegel.
Sweet Movie
Aristote Alplanalpe, AKA M. Kapital
The winner of the Miss World Virginity contest marries, escapes from her masochistic husband and ends up involved in a world of debauchery.
W
Arnie Felson
Is a young woman being stalked by her ex, or is she imagining things?
Mousey
David Richardson
A high school teacher separated from his son plots revenge on his ex-wife.
The Black Windmill
McKee
A British agent's son is kidnapped and held for a ransom of diamonds. The agent finds out that he can't even count on the people he thought were on his side to help him, so he decides to track down the kidnappers himself.
The Questor Tapes
Geoffrey Darro
Project Questor is brainchild of the genius Dr. Vaslovik: he developed plans to build an android super-human. Although he's disappeared and half of his programming tape was erased in the attempt to decode it, his former colleagues continue the project and finally succeed. But Vaslovik seems to have installed a secret program in Questor's brain: He flees and starts to search for Vaslovik. Since half of his knowledge is missing, he needs the help of Jerry Robinson, who's now under suspect of having stolen the android.
The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping
Julian Peck
A criminal organization known as OSO specializes in kidnapping high ranking U.S. representatives. Although Steve Austin has already thwarted one of their kidnappings, he is unable to stop them from grabbing William Henry Cameron right from under OSI's nose. OSO demands one million dollars in gold and Oscar Goldman takes the opportunity to try and lure them out into the open. Meanwhile, Steve accompanies Dr. Erica Bergner, who is testing a new method of brain transferal in order to find out where Cameron is being kept.
Charley Varrick
Maynard Boyle
Charley Varrick robs a bank in a small town with his friends, but instead of obtaining a small amount of money, they discover they stole a very large amount of money belonging to the mob. Charley must now come up with a plan to not only evade the police but the mob as well.
Nightmare Step
Allan
The cure is more dangerous than the malady as a mild-mannered woman who is slowly summoning the strength to rid herself of a cruel and domineering husband ... permanently.
Fear Is the Key
Vyland
A man becomes a criminal in Louisiana after a plane crash. During a fight with local police, he escapes custody and kidnaps the daughter of a local millionaire.
Journey
Boulder Allin
A woman with a troubled past is saved from drowning in a river and brought to a strange community hidden in the woods.
Dirty Harry
The Mayor
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath. Harry eventually collars Scorpio in the process of rescuing a kidnap victim, only to see him walk on technicalities. Now, the maverick detective is determined to nail the maniac himself.
Face-Off
Fred Wares
Love story involving a Canadian professional hockey player and a hippie folk singer. Their union is tumultuous, as both try to come to terms with their differences in careers and lifestyles.
Escape
Doctor Charles Walding
A scientist's experiment could lead to the first man-made, functioning, living organism. An elite escape artist-private investigator is working to stop him.
One More Train to Rob
Timothy Xavier Nolan
Harker Flet and compatriots Timothy X. Nolan and Katy, along with three other men, steal $40,000 in money and jewelry from a California train in the gold-mining country of the 1880's. The six split up and while they are hiding out awaiting the rendezvous to divide the loot, Hark is cornered, framed and sent to prison. He is released after two-and-a-half years and sets out to find Katy and Nolan and get his share of the loot.
Topaz
Rico Parra
Copenhagen, Denmark, 1962. When a high-ranking Soviet official decides to change sides, a French intelligence agent is caught up in a cold, silent and bloody spy war in which his own family will play a decisive role.
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
Hacker
While confronting the disapproving father of his girlfriend Lola, Native American man Willie Boy kills the man in self-defense, triggering a massive manhunt, led by Deputy Sheriff Christopher Cooper.
Justine
Nessim
In Alexandria, in 1938, Darley, a young British schoolmaster and poet, makes friends through Pursewarden, the British consular officer, with Justine, the beautiful and mysterious wife of a Coptic banker. He observes the affairs of her heart and incidentally discovers that she is involved in a plot against the British, meant to arm the Jewish underground in Palestine. The plot finally fails, Justine is sent to jail and Darley decides to return to England.
Trial Run
Leo D'Agosta
A slice-of-life drama involving a young lawyer, his adoring secretary who tries to help to advance his career, and his employer, a famed lawyer burdened with an unfaithful wife.
Point Blank
Mal Reese
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.
The Rock
Himself
A promotional short for John Boorman's "Point Blank" shot on and around Alcatraz. Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson and former inmate Joe Giles share their thoughts on the former prison.
Nobody Waved Goodbye
Lot Supervisor
18 year-old Peter lives with his parents in a middle-class Toronto suburb and rebels constantly against their imposed middle-class goals and conventions and the materialist values they represent. He constantly mocks and belittles his family with his only real ally being his girlfriend Julie. Peter's relationship with his parents reaches its boiling point when he borrows his father's new car without permission and is left by him to spend the night in jail after Peter is arrested for reckless driving. Peter runs away from home and moves into a rooming house, and eventually gets a shady job as a parking attendant. His relationship with Julie becomes exponentially more complicated and he finally realizes that being alone in the real world is much harder than he ever imagined.
The Long Rifle and the Tomahawk
A feature made out of two episodes from the 1958 TV series "Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans."
Tourist Go Home
Himself
This short film is a humorous look at the tourist industry in Canada. In tongue-in-cheek fashion, it points out the importance of good public relations in the tourist industry - more specifically, what not to do to tourists. (Sourced from the National Film Board of Canada: https://www.nfb.ca/film/tourist_go_home)
Fires of Envy
A dramatization of Canadian author W.O. Mitchell's penetrating story about the racial prejudice encountered by a Polish immigrant farmer in a rural Saskatchewan community.
1984
Big Brother (uncredited)
In a totalitarian future society, a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.
Wojeck: Out of the Fire
Dr Steve Wojeck
Former coroner Dr. Steve Wojeck returns to Toronto after 21 years working at a clinic in the Congo. While he reunites with his family, he gets embroiled with the plight of a family of refugees from Guatemala.