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'{{short description|American film actor (born 1958)}} {{Cleanup bare URLs|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = John Friedrich | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|3|15}} | birth_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S. | occupation = Actor | yearsactive = 1976–1984 }} '''John Friedrich''' (born March 15, 1958) is an American film actor. ==Career== A character actor of the 1970s and early 1980s, John Friedrich is probably best known for his portrayal of Joey Capra in ''[[The Wanderers (1979 film)|The Wanderers]]'' (1979), [[Philip Kaufman]]'s film adaption of [[Richard Price (writer)|Richard Price]]'s novel. A familiar face on television throughout the '70s, Friedrich made guest starring appearances on the police drama series, ''[[Baretta]]'', and ''[[The Streets of San Francisco]]''. He also had a strong supporting role in the [[John Travolta]] telefilm, ''[[The Boy in the Plastic Bubble]]''. In 1984 Friedrich played the lead role of Marshall Weatherly in ''[[The Paper Chase (TV series)|The Paper Chase]]'' episode "Not Prince Hamlet". 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]]''. A 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]]. After working in ''The Thorn Birds'', Friedrich ended his film career. ''[[The Final Terror]]'' was filmed in 1981 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>http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/05/04/features/story07.html</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>{{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 has claimed that the actor and the criminal, [[John Friedrich (fraudster)|John Friedrich]], are one and the same.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.markallencam.com/?p=99|title=Mark Allen » John Friedrich}}</ref> In 2007, Friedrich resurfaced when he appeared on stage at the [[University of Hawaiʻi]] to discuss his films with 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://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/05/04/features/story07.html</ref> ==Filmography== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |+ Film |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! class="unsortable" | Director |- | 1976 | ''[[Bittersweet Love]]'' | Josh | [[David Miller (director)|David Miller]] |- | 1978 | ''[[Thank God It's Friday (film)|Thank God It's Friday]]'' | Ken | [[Robert Klane]] |- | 1978 | ''[[Almost Summer]]'' | Darryl Fitzgerald | [[Martin Davidson]] |- | 1979 | ''[[The Wanderers (1979 film)|The Wanderers]]'' | Joey | [[Philip Kaufman]] |- | 1980 | ''[[A Small Circle of Friends]]'' | Alex Haddox | [[Rob Cohen]] |- | 1982 | ''[[Fast-Walking]]'' | Squeeze | [[James B. Harris]] |- | 1983 | ''[[The Final Terror]]'' | Dennis Zorich | [[Andrew Davis (director)|Andrew Davis]] |} {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |+ Television |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1975 | rowspan="2"|''[[Baretta]]'' | Niki Coppelli | "The Coppelli Oath" (S1E7) |- | 1976 | Cornflakes | "Under the City" (S3E7) |- | 1976 | ''[[The Boy in the Plastic Bubble]]'' | Roy Slater | TV movie |- | 1977 | ''[[The Death of Richie]]'' | Kurt | TV movie |- | 1977 | ''Baretta'' | Donnie Locker | "Guns and Brothers" (S3E23) |- | 1977 | ''[[The Streets of San Francisco]]'' | Hal Fin | "Breakup" (S5E21) |- | 1977 | ''[[In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan]]'' | John Quinlan | TV movie |- | 1978 | ''[[Forever (1978 film)|Forever]]'' | Artie Lewin | TV movie |- | 1978 | ''[[Family (1976 TV series)|Family]]'' | Robert Pearson | "See Saw" (S3E15) |- | 1979 | ''[[Studs Lonigan#Television|Studs Lonigan]]'' | Martin Lonigan | Miniseries (3 episodes) |- | 1980 | ''[[A Rumor of War (miniseries)|A Rumor of War]]'' | Cpl. Pascarella | Miniseries (2 episodes) |- | 1983 | ''[[The Thorn Birds (miniseries)|The Thorn Birds]]'' | Frank Cleary | Miniseries (3 episodes) |- | 1984 | ''[[The Paper Chase (TV series)|The Paper Chase]]'' | Marshall Weatherly | "Not Prince Hamlet" (S2E18) |} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{IMDb name|0295440}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich, John}} [[Category:1958 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American male film actors]]'