Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

A stage actor from 1927, Albert Dekker was an established Broadway star when he made his film debut ten years later. Tall and with rugged good looks, he often played aggressive character roles, a prime example being his double-crossing gang leader in the classic Die Killer (1946). From 1944-46 he served a term in the California legislature representing the Hollywood district. As he got older Dekker, unlike many actors, turned to the stage rather than television, and achieved great success there and on the college lecture circuit. His last role, in The Wild Bunch - Sie kannten kein Gesetz (1969), was one of his most memorable: the tough railroad detective Harrigan, who hires a murderous group of bounty hunters to track down and kill a gang of outlaws who've been robbing his company's trains.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com

Spouse (1)

Teresa Esther Guerini (4 April 1929 - 18 February 1964) ( divorced) ( 3 children)

Trivia (8)

Served in California legislature 1944-46 as the Democratic Assemblyman from the 57th District (Hollywood).



Accidentally hanged himself. On May 5, 1968, Dekker was found dead in his Hollywood apartment after failing to answer numerous phone calls for two days. Although money and camera equipment were missing, there were no signs of forced entry. He was found naked, kneeling in his bathtub with a noose around his neck that was looped around the shower curtain rod. He was handcuffed, blindfolded, gagged and had sexually explicit words scrawled on his body in red lipstick. The coroner ruled his death accidental stating, "We have no information that Mr. Dekker planned to take his own life." Dekker was cremated and his remains were interred at Garden State Crematory in North Bergen, NJ.



Was of Dutch ancestry.



Graduated from Bowdoin College.





In 1940 he hired modernist Los Angeles architect Rudolf Schindler to design and build a house for him and his wife Esther in Canoga Park, CA. In the late 1940s it was sold to screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides

Survived by a son Benjamin and a daughter Jan. Another son, 16-year-old John, was found dead of a gunshot wound in 1957; the police called it accidental.





He spoke out forcefully against Sen. Joseph McCarthy during "Red Scare" era of the 1950s, resulting in his not getting as much film work work as he had in the '40s. He did, however, manage to land an important role in Rattennest (1955) and another good part in Jenseits von Eden (1955). He also did a good bit of work in television.



Although he was a major star in the 1940s, he is probably best remembered by modern audiences for hi relatively small, but memorable, role as Harrigan, the tough railroad detective out to destroy The Wild Bunch in The Wild Bunch - Sie kannten kein Gesetz (1969), which was his final film.

Personal Quotes (1)

The theater is a horrible place in which to make a living. They sit you on the shelf for years. They take you off and brush you off and later you have to find your way back to that shelf.



Salary (1)