John Beck (born January 28, 1943) is an American retired actor, known best for his role as Mark Graison in the television series Dallas during the mid-1980s.

Early life Beck was born in Chicago, Illinois but he grew up in Evanston and Joliet on his father's ranch, with the goal of becoming a veterinarian. His goals changed at the age of sixteen after performing in a play in high school to overcome shyness. Three years later, Beck relocated to California and had jobs in television commercials. In 1963–1964, Beck attended Joliet Junior College but quit to begin acting in plays in other cities.

Career Beck's television debut was as a Sergeant in the 1965 episode "Russian Roulette" of the television series I Dream of Jeannie. His first regular role was for the television western series Nichols (1971-1972) alongside James Garner, playing the roles of Orv/Ketcham.

One of Beck's earliest movie roles was as Skinny in Cyborg 2087 (1966). Beck played Erno who commands a revolt against a totalitarian government in Woody Allen's science fiction comedy Sleeper (1973). That same year, he appeared as John W. Poe in the Sam Peckinpah western Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. In 1975, he appeared opposite James Caan as Moonpie in the science-fiction film Rollerball. The following year he played Shoulders in the disaster movie spoof The Big Bus (1976). He had a leading role in The Other Side of Midnight (1977), which the critics condemned, but the movie was a financial success. Other movie credits include Audrey Rose (1977), Deadly Illusion (1987), In the Cold of the Night (1990), A Climate for Killing (1991), Last Time Out (1994), Black Day Blue Night (1995), Dark Planet (1997), A Place to Grow (1998), Chain of Command (2000), Crash Point Zero (2001), Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision (2003), and Crash Landing (2005).

Beck also had guest roles for television series and movies, one of the most popular being his 67-episode stint as Mark Graison on Dallas. Guest appearances include those for Baywatch, Bonanza, Death Valley Days, Diagnosis: Murder, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Magnum, P.I., Mannix, Matlock, Mission: Impossible, The Mod Squad, Murder, She Wrote, Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Touched by an Angel, The Twilight Zone (1989), and Walker, Texas Ranger, among others.

Recurring soap opera roles include Dorian Blake in Peyton Place: The Next Generation, Sam Curtis in Flamingo Road, David Raymond in Santa Barbara, and Bruce in Passions.

As a voice actor, Beck played the role of the Punisher, Frank Castle in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Personal life On April 23, 1971, in Los Angeles, Beck married Valerie Shellibeer (also known by her stage name, Tina Carter). The couple had a son and three daughters.

Filmography A partial filmography follows.

Film

Cyborg 2087 (1966) as Skinny A Good Time with a Bad Girl (1967) as Cowboy (uncredited) Three in the Attic (1968) as Jake Lawman (1971) as Jason Bronson Mrs. Pollifax-Spy (1971) as Lulash Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) as Poe Paperback Hero (1973) as Pov Sleeper (1973) as Erno Windt Only God Knows (1974) as Reverend Philip Norman Nightmare Honeymoon (1974) as Lee Rollerball (1975) as Moonpie The Big Bus (1976) as Shoulders Sky Riders (1976) as Ben Audrey Rose (1977) as Bill Templeton The Other Side of Midnight (1977) as Larry Douglas Deadly Illusion (1987) as Alex Burton In the Cold of the Night (1990) as Rudy A Climate for Killing (1991) as Kyle Shipp Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) as Waiter (uncredited) Last Time Out (1994) as Joe Dolan Black Day Blue Night (1995) as Chief Morris Reed Dark Planet (1997) as General A Place to Grow (1998) as Paul Shuler Chain of Command (2000) as General Peterson The Alternate (2000) as President Fallbrook Militia (2000) as Dep. Dir. Anderson Crash Point Zero (2001) as Dr. Maurice Hunter Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision (2003) as O'Rourke Crash Landing (2005) as General McClaren

Television Year Title Role Notes 1965 I Dream of Jeannie Sergeant "Russian Roulette' 1966 Days of Our Lives Sam Wilson 1969 Bonanza Walt Nagel "The Medal" 1969 Death Valley Days Sandy Peters "Solomon's Glory" 1969 Mannix Jerry Boyes "Color Her Missing" 1969 The Mod Squad Bill "A Seat by the Window" 1969 The Silent Gun Billy Reed TV Movie 1970 Bonanza Luke Baldwin "What Are Pardners For?" 1970 Gunsmoke Albert Vail "Kiowa" 1970 Lancer Chad Buford "Chad" 1970 Lancer Chad Lancer "Dream of Falcons" 1971 Gunsmoke Moody Fowler "The Tycoon" 1971 Lock, Stock and Barrel Micah Brucker TV Movie 1971 Mission: Impossible John Hecker "The Missile" 1971-1972 Nichols Orv Ketcham 23 episodes 1974 Hawaii Five-O Walter Stark "Nightmare in Blue" 1974 Nourish the Beast Bruno TV Movie 1974 The Law Gene Carey TV Movie 1974 Sidekicks Luke TV Movie 1975 Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan Rev. George Greg TV Movie 1975 Gunsmoke Mitch Hansen "The Busters" 1976 The Call of the Wild John Thornton TV Movie 1978 Greatest Heroes of the Bible Samson "Samson and Delilah" 1978 The Time Machine Neil Perry TV Movie 1978 Wheels Peter Flodenhale TV Mini Series (episode 1) 1979 The Buffalo Soldiers Col. Frank "Buckshot" O'Connor TV Movie 1979 Time Express Roy Culper "Rodeo/Cop" 1980-1982 Flamingo Road Sam Curtis 38 episodes 1980 The Great American Traffic Jam (aka Gridlock) Buzz Gregory TV Movie 1981 Tales of the Unexpected Jack "A Glowing Future" 1983-1986 Dallas Mark Graison 67 Episodes1985 Murder, She Wrote Web McCord "Sudden Death" 1985 Peyton Place: The Next Generation Dorian Blake TV Movie 1986 Crazy Dan "Crazy" Dan Gatlin TV Movie 1986 Matlock Brad Bingham The Seduction 1987 Magnum, P.I. Edward T. Durant "Limbo" 1988 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake Doug Vickers TV Movie 1989 Fire and Rain Captain Edward Conners TV Movie 1989 The Twilight Zone Maj. Alex McAndrews "The Wall"1991 Murder, She Wrote Ben Olston "Thursday's Child" 1991-1992 Santa Barbara David Raymond 114 Episodes 1993 Diagnosis: Murder Detective Eugene Vickers "Vanishing Act" (2 episodes) 1993 Trade Winds Robert Philips TV Mini Series (episodes 1–3) 1994 Baywatch Buzz Buchannon "Coronado del Soul" (2 episodes) 1994 Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders Detective Les Zoeller TV Movie 1994 Matlock Paul Cox "The Idol" 1994 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Raymond Boone "Tribunal" 1995 Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart Captain Jeremy Daniels TV Movie 1995 Spider-Man: The Animated Series Punisher / Frank Castle (voice) "Neogenic Nightmare" (2 episodes) 1995 Suspect Device CIA Director TV Movie 1995 Touched by an Angel Captain Meyers "Trust" 1996 Time Well Spent Cal Clevenger TV Movie 1996 Walker, Texas Ranger Sergeant Lou Ross "The Brotherhood" 1997 Spider-Man: The Animated Series Punisher / Frank Castle (voice) "Partners in Danger Chapter 8: The Return of the Green Goblin" 1997 Steel Chariots Dale Tucker TV Movie 1997 Walker, Texas Ranger Max Elson "Rainbow's End" 2000 Walker, Texas Ranger Jake Foley "Showdown at Casa Diablo: Part 1" 2001-2003 Passions Bruce 22 episodes 2002 Project Viper Simpkins TV Movie

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