John Friedrich (actor): Difference between revisions

In 1978, he appeared in two films; the much-criticized disco film, ''[[Thank God It's Friday (film)|Thank God It's Friday]]'', and the school comedy ''[[Almost Summer]]''. TheA year later he was cast as Joey in ''[[The Wanderers (1979 film)|The Wanderers]]''. In 1982, he worked alongside [[James Woods]] in the prison drama, ''[[Fast-Walking]]'', in which he portrayed a [[homosexual|gay]] convict called "Squeeze."

Another of Friedrich's most recognizable roles was as Frank Cleary, the oldest of the Cleary brothers, in the 1983 mini-series, ''[[The Thorn Birds (TV miniseries)|The Thorn Birds]]''; based on the novel by [[Colleen McCullough]]. In both ''The Thorn Birds'', and Friedrich's final film release, ''[[The Final Terror]]'', he worked with the British actress [[Rachel Ward]].

''[[The Final Terror]]'', also known as ''Campsite Massacre'', was filmed in 19801981 but released in 1983 (after Friedrich's retirement), due to the popularity of its female leads, [[Rachel Ward]] and [[Daryl Hannah]].

At the peak of his career with ''The Thorn Birds'';, Friedrich retired to New Mexico, married, started a family, and began a career as a financial consultant.<ref name="auto">http{{Cite web|url=https://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/05/04/features/story07.html|title=starbulletin.com &#124; Features &#124; /2007/05/04/|website=archives.starbulletin.com}}</ref> He also became something of a cult icon as his films developed a cult following. Rumors persisted about him, including one recurring myth that he was working as a live-in gardener for his ''Wanderers'' co-star, [[Ken Wahl]],<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.markallencam.com/?p=99|title=Mark Allen » John Friedrich}}</ref> who had gone on to success in the television series ''[[Wiseguy (TV series)|Wiseguy]]''.

There has also been confusion between the film actor, and an Australian criminal and former government official of the same name who committed suicide in 1991. At least one website, listing actors (Answers.com) has claimed that the actor and the criminal, [[John Friedrich (fraudster)|John Friedrich]], are one and the same.<ref>http://www.markallencam.com/?p name=99<"auto1"/ref>

In 2007, Friedrich resurfaced when he appeared on stage at the [[University of Hawai'iHawaiʻi]] to discuss his films with UH professor, Marc Moody. During this stage appearance, Friedrich shared anecdotes of his decade-long career and commented that he would like to return to acting, to "complete that chapter" in his life.<ref>http: name="auto"//archives.starbulletin.com/2007/05/04/features/story07.html</ref>