George Dickerson

George Graf Dickerson Jr. (July 25, 1933 – January 10, 2015) was an American actor, writer, and poet.

Biography

Dickerson was born July 25, 1933, in Topeka, Kansas, to George Graf Dickerson, a lawyer, and Elizabeth Dickerson (née Naumann); he did not develop a good relationship with his parents. He had one brother, five years his junior. As a child, his family lived in Michigan, the South Side of Chicago, Queens, New York, and Virginia. From 1965 onwards he lived in the same apartment in Manhattan once rented by critic James Agee (with whom Dickerson claimed to have spiritual contact).

Dickerson served in the U.S. Army from December 1953 to the fall of 1954.

Dickerson married four times and had five children: two daughters by his first wife, a son by his third wife, a daughter by his fourth wife, and a son born out of wedlock with a Finnish journalist. He was romantically involved with 1960s supermodel Veruschka.

Writing

By 1960, Dickerson was working at the Macmillan Publishing Company. His poetry has been praised by critics such as Nicholas Birns who reviewed it for the Hollins Critic. Dickerson also wrote drama, including a one-man play, A Few Useless Mementos For Sale.

Acting

Dickerson returned from Lebanon to the United States and became an actor, taking roles in the television series Hill Street Blues, as Police Commander Swanson, He also featured in the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, as well as local theater and independent films, such as Broken Giant, Ties to Rachel, and Stranger in the Kingdom. He had major roles in films like Psycho II (1983), Space Raiders (1983), The Star Chamber (1983), No Mercy (1986), Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987), After Dark, My Sweet (1990), and Death Warrant (1990). Dickerson also guest starred on episodes of shows like Three's Company, Charlie's Angels, Little House On The Prairie, L.A. Law, and Sledge Hammer!.

Dickerson was a member of SAG, AFTRA, Actors' Equity, the Dramatists' Guild, the Author's Guild, the Academy of American Poets, and AMPAS.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1981 Cutter's Way Mortician 1982 National Lampoon's Movie Madness More Lecherous Dairy President - 'Success Wanters' 1982 Jinxed! Tahoe Casino Manager 1983 Psycho II County Sheriff 1983 Space Raiders Tracton 1983 The Star Chamber George Tillis 1986 Blue Velvet Detective John Williams 1986 No Mercy Reblue 1987 Death Wish 4: The Crackdown Detective Sid Reiner 1990 After Dark, My Sweet Doc Goldman 1990 Death Warrant Tom Vogler 1996 Vertical City 1997 Ties to Rachel Bucyrus 1997 The Broken Giant Thomas Smith 1999 A Stranger in the Kingdom Sheriff Mason White (final film role)