He was also 'The Mayor' in 'Dirty Harry'
Posted on 02/03/2005 11:39:38 AM PST by Borges
Toronto — He was the smarmy Dean Wormer in the sophomoric cult movie Animal House.
He was a bad guy who got tossed out a window to his death by the even badder Lee Marvin in Point Blank.
But Canadians may best remember actor John Vernon as a crusading coroner in the groundbreaking 1960s CBC crime series Wojeck.
Mr. Vernon, 72, died peacefully at his Los Angeles home on Tuesday, his family said.
With his pockmarked face and heavy-lidded eyes, Mr. Vernon made an ideal villain in dozens of the 85 motion pictures he made over a four-decade career. But he started out as the hero in Wojeck in which his character was based on real-life coroner and politician Dr. Morton Shulman and formed the template for future crime series formats, from Quincy to Da Vinci's Inquest to CSI.
He was seen most recently on the “double secret probation” DVD edition of Animal House, in a feature that offered a tongue-in-cheek look at the characters of the 1978 film as they would be today. Mr. Vernon's Dean Wormer was a crotchety, snowy-haired senior citizen in a wheelchair.
His other notable film roles included The Outlaw Josey Wales, Dirty Harry, Airplane II, Topaz, Brannigan, Charley Varrick, Nobody Waved Goodbye and Tell Them Willie Boy Was Here. He also starred in a 1990 CBC movie that reprised his Wojeck character.
Born in Zehner, Sask., and stage trained, the 6-foot-2 Mr. Vernon, whose birth name was Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz, attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and in London joined several repertory companies. His Broadway debut came in Royal Hunt of the Sun. From there, he moved to Hollywood for a prolific career playing mostly heartless villains.
He leaves his former wife, Nancy; his children, Chris, Kate, Nan and Jim West and Grant West, and a granddaughter.
There will be a private service in Los Angeles and a gathering of friends to remember him in Toronto at a later date, the family said.
How sad ... what a funny guy he was in Animal House. He will be missed.
Rest in peace, Mr. Vernon.
I thought that guy was Bill Murray's father. He's a great character actor.
I guess that is double double secret probation......nice knowing ya Dean Werner.........
"Son, fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life."
You beat me to it. We'll miss him.
"I hate those guys"
"It's time somebody put their foot down....and that foot... is ME!"
RIP John Vernon. Also memorable in "The Outlaw Josey Wales"
"Somebody has to put their foot down, and that foot is me!"
The most intruiging thing about that phrase if how the writers of Animal house knew about Michael Moore even back then.
Does this mean we are off double double secret probation now?
This guy was a First Class Character actor and will be missed.
Blutowski........"zero point zero"......
Excellent work, you beat me to it.
A great part for a good actor. These are always personal opinion, but I think this is the best western ever made.
"Wormer...dead!
Neidermeyer...actually, still alive..."
"I hate those guys." -Dean Wormer, Faber College
"My favorite role he played was Fletcher in The Outlaw Josey Wales."
One of my favorite lines from that movie is at the beginning, when Fletcher and his troop of guerillas come upon a dispondent Josey Wales. "We're going to Kansas to set things a right."
A man "setting things a right" has been one of my guiding philosophies in life.
Godspeed Mr. Vernon.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.