John Forsythe.

John Forsythe was born John Lincoln Freund in Penn’s Grove, New Jersey, on January 29, 1918, the son of Blanche Materson and Samuel Jeremiah Freund, a Wall Street businessman. His father opposed his acting ambitions. At age 11, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Abraham Lincoln High School alongside future hotelier Leona Helmsley. He played baseball in high school and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but dropped out in his junior year to take roles on radio soap operas. He also studied acting free of charge at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, making his stage debut there.

Forsythe began his contract career as a bit player for Warner Bros. in 1943, but World War II interrupted; he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and appeared in the show Winged Victory. After the war, he helped found the Actors Studio. He appeared on Broadway in the 1953 hit The Teahouse of the August Moon and in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons directed by Elia Kazan. His film work includes Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry 1955 and Topaz 1969, and Richard Brooks’ In Cold Blood 1967 and The Happy Ending 1969.

Television became his domain: he starred as Bentley Gregg on Bachelor Father 1957–1962, moved his family to California, and based his character on two real Beverly Hills bachelors. He was the unseen voice of Charlie Townsend on Charlie’s Angels 1976–1981, recording his lines in minutes. He later portrayed Blake Carrington on Dynasty 1981–1989, appearing in all 220 episodes. Forsythe created the character of Blake, modeling him on MCA Chairman Lew Wasserman, and encouraged writers to play him as a good guy rather than a villain. He also voiced Charlie in the 2000 and 2003 Charlie’s Angels movies, signing a $5 million contract, and retired from acting in 2003.

Forsythe married three times: to Parker McCormick from June 19, 1939 to August 12, 1943; to actress Julie Warren from December 17, 1943 until her death on August 15, 1994; and to Nicole Carter from July 25, 2002 until his death in 2010. He had three children: daughters Page and Brooke with Julie, and son Dall with Parker. He was a close friend of Linda Evans, Cheryl Ladd who was his next-door neighbor, and Cloris Leachman whom he met on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1955. He had 12 hobbies including flying, golf, tennis, thoroughbred racing, and gardening. He served on the Board of Directors of Hollywood Park racetrack from 1972 and was a national officer of the American Cancer Society. Forsythe underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 1979 and was treated for colorectal cancer in 2006, but died of pneumonia complications on April 1, 2010 in Santa Ynez, California.

John Forsythe is best remembered as the voice of Charlie Townsend on Charlie’s Angels and as Blake Carrington on Dynasty. He was the only actor to appear in all 220 episodes of Dynasty and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. He taught acting to future stars including Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Julie Harris, Patricia Neal, and a teenage Joan Collins. At least nine actors who worked with him on Dynasty named him as their favorite actor. He was a celebrity spokesperson for Michelob Beer and appeared on the cover of TV Guide six times. Forsythe’s legacy endures through his television roles and his influence on generations of actors.