John Craig

A familiar face, if not a familiar name, actor John Craig worked on stage, television and occasionally on screen from the late 1940s on. A tall, handsome, robust performer, he was born Joseph Cline, Jr. in 1928. The son of an insurance executive and former Army man, John received a Bachelor of Science degree from Butler University in Indianapolis, and, for all intents and purposes, was planning on post-graduate work at George Washington University when fate stepped in. At a formal French embassy gathering John sang by chance and was encouraged to try a professional musical career along the lines of an Alfred Drake, Howard Keel or John Raitt. Inspired, he headed to New York and eventually won a role in a touring company of "South Pacific," Broadway's biggest hit at the time. He went on to perform in other plays as well before breaking into TV work on episodes of such established shows as "I Remember Mama." Broadway came his way with the Ethel Merman musical "Happy Hunting" and then an