John Alderman was a talented, prolific, and ubiquitous actor in numerous
low-budget exploitation features who appeared in everything from 1960s
softcore items to 1970s drive-in fare to 1980s hardcore porn throughout
the course of his long and diverse career.
Alderman was born on June 12, 1934, in Syracuse, New York. His father was a prominent lawyer. Alderman attended Syracuse University as a theater major. He first
began acting in both films and TV shows alike in the late 1950s,
alternating between lead and co-starring roles. His most memorable
parts include pathetic twitchy heroin addict Jimmy Devlin in the
gloriously lurid
The Hard Road (1973), antsy hoodlum
Lattimer in
Terror über den Wolken (1973), a
flunky for Shelley Winters in
Jack Starrett's delightful blaxploitation
blast Ein Fall für Cleopatra Jones (1973),
stuttering drug dealer Cockroach in
The Black Godfather - Der Schwarze Pate (1974),
uptight all-girls school principal Dr. Baxter in the amusing
Schwer erziehbare Mädchen (1975)
and coldly rational researcher Dr. Frank Rogers in the nifty sci-fi
doomsday thriller
The Alpha Incident (1978).
Alderman appeared in four softcore movies for legendary schlockmeister
David F. Friedman:
Mädchen in der Rückenlage (1969),
Das Schiff der liebestollen Frauen (1968),
Zorro und seine lüsternen Mädchen (1972)
and Joy 3 (1970). Although
he primarily worked in maverick independent cinema productions, he
nonetheless did manage to pop up in the occasional mainstream film like
Flucht vom Planet der Affen (1971)
and Der lange Tod des Stuntmans Cameron (1980).
In the early 1980s Alderman acted in a handful of hardcore X-rated
porno films for director Gary Graver, under
the pseudonym Frank Hallowell. Among the TV shows Alderman appeared on
are Hunter (1984),
Der Denver-Clan (1981),
Ein Colt für alle Fälle (1981),
Starsky und Hutch (1975),
Iron Horse (1966),
12 O'Clock High (1964),
The Lieutenant (1963),
Checkmate (1960),
Der Kopfgeldjäger (1958),
Hawaiian Eye (1959),
Wagon Train (1957) and
Rauchende Colts (1955). He directed the
crime opus Lisa's Folly (1970) and
co-wrote the script for the lowbrow comedy romp
C.B. Hustlers (1976).
John Alderman died at age 52 of an apparent heart attack on January 12,
1987, in Hollywood, California.
