John Lasell, a character actor known for his television portrayals in Perry Mason (1957), The Twilight Zone (1959) and Dark Shadows (1966), has died in Los Angeles at the age of 95.
The news was confirmed by an obituary notice, which listed the death date as Oct. 4.
His last screen credit dates back to 1985, with the Emmy-nominated TV miniseries A Death in California, opposite Cheryl Ladd and Sam Elliott. He appeared in a handful of episodes in the aforementioned television classic Perry Mason (three in total), as well as one guest spot on The Twilight Zone. His most regular appearance was on the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, where he portrayed vampire hunter Dr. Peter Guthrie across 25 episodes.
Other notable TV appearances include Dallas, Falcon Crest, Lassie, Mannix, The Streets of San Francisco, The Mod Squad, Mission: Impossible (in 1972) and Gunsmoke. He was also in two episodes of Wagon Train and four episodes of the Emmy-winning show The Fugitive. While Lasell mainly worked in television, he had several film credits, including a role as Helen Keller’s father in 1970’s Helen Keller and Her Teacher.
Born John Whitin Lasell Jr. on Nov. 6, 1928, the retired performer married thrice, including to fellow Twilight Zone and Helen Keller and Her Teacher co-star Patricia Smith.
The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
