The son of writer-director Lawson Harris and actress Dolores Johnson, John Derek won notice with his first major role as a juvenile delinquent in Nicholas Ray's social drama, "Knock on Any Door" (1949) and as politician Willie Stark's troubled son in "All the King's Men" (1950). Although he traded on his good looks playing dashing leads in a succession of action films and costume dramas in the 1950s (including 1956's "The Ten Commandments"), he gradually turned from acting to still photography. By the mid-60s, Derek had moved into producing and directing features which generally received a poor critical and popular reception like "Once Before I Die" (1965), which co-starred his second wife Ursula Andress, and "Childish Things/Tale of the Cock/Confessions of Tom Harris" (1969) which featured his third wife Linda Evans. In the 80s, he wrote, shot and directed a string of lackluster films that exhibited the limited charms of his fourth wife, Bo Derek, including "Tarzan, the Ape Man" (1981), "Bolero" (1984) and their last opus "Ghosts Don't Do It" (1990).
Family
FATHER: Lawson Harris. Screenwriter, director.
MOTHER: Dolores Johnson. Actor.
SON: Russell Andre Derek. Born in April 1950; mother, Pati Behrs; survived him.
DAUGHTER: Sean Catherine Derek. Born in October 1953; mother, Pati Behrs; survived him.
Companion
WIFE: Pati Behrs. Actor. French; married in 1948; divorced.
WIFE: Ursula Andress. Actor. Married in 1957; divorced in 1966; starred with Derek in his first feature as a director "Once Before I Die" (1965).
WIFE: Linda Evans. Actor. Separated in 1973; divorced in 1975.
WIFE: Bo Derek. Actor. Born on November 20, 1956; met while Derek was filming "Once Upon a Time" (1973) in Greece; married in 1974; appeared in several films he directed; survived him.
Milestone
1944: First screen appearance (as extra), "Since You Went Away"
1945: Screen acting debut in "I'll Be Seeing You"
1949: First major acting role in "Knock on Any Door"
1956: Appeared in "The Ten Commandments"
1960: Co-starred in "Exodux"
1965: First film as producer, "Nightmare in the Sun"
1965: Feature directing debut, "Once Before I Die"; also acted and produced
1966: First film as director of photography and director "Childish Things/Tale of the Cock" (released in 1969, re-released in 1972 as "Confessions of Tom Harris")
1969: Screenwriting debut, "A Boy... A Girl"; also directed and served as cinematographer
1973: First directed Bo Derek, "Fantasies"
1984: Directed wife in "Bolero"
1990: Final film, "Ghosts Can't Do It"
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