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John Diehl

Biography

John Diehl

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Overview

  • Born
    May 1, 1950 · Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
  • Nickname
    • South Beach
  • Height
    6′ (1.83 m)

Biography

    • John Henry Diehl has appeared more than 150 times in films and TV including Armageddon Time (2022), Five Days at Memorial (2022), Nixon, Stripes, and TV series Dark Winds (2022), Snowfall (2017), Castle Rock (2018), The Shield, and Miami Vice. Described by the Los Angeles Times as a "versatile and immediately recognizable" character actor, Diehl has has "...avoided the typecasting that is an accepted part of most character actors' careers." NY Times' A.O Scott hailed his "wry, cunning performance" in Wim Wenders' post 9/11 film Land of Plenty (2004). A member of The Actors Studio since 2004, Diehl's career has spanned over 40 years. Playing a colorful array of wackos in his earlier years, he has since become a fine character actor. In the early 80s Diehl played bit parts in movies such as Escape from New York (1981) with Kurt Russell and Stripes (1981) with Bill Murray and then landed a co-starring role in the pilot for Miami Vice (1984) playing Detective Larry Zito in a Hawaiian shirt. He continued that role in Miami Vice (1984) for three seasons before leaving to pursue other roles. Film credits include The Client (1994), A Time to Kill (1996), Stargate (1994), Nixon (1995) and Pearl Harbor (2001) and the first one to get eaten in Jurassic Park III (2001). He lives in New Mexico with his wife, singer Julie Christensen. They have one son, Los Angeles actor and filmmaker Magnus Diehl b. 1993.
      - IMDb mini biography by: John Henry

Family

  • Spouse
      Julie Christensen(May 27, 1992 - present) (1 child)
  • Children
      Magnus Diehl

Self-verified on IMDbPro

  • Gender / Gender identity
    Male

Trivia

  • Made his professional boxing debut on December 21, 1985, at the Miami Beach Convention Center on 17th Street in South Beach. Diehl knocked out Deboe Bickering in one round.
  • Probably most familiar to TV audiences as Det. Larry Zito on the smash hit 1980s cop series Miami Vice (1984) and most recently as the spirit of pioneering GM auto designer Harley Earl in a series of commercials for Buick.
  • Took his undefeated boxing record of 3-0 to the Sports Arena in Los Angeles to fight winless Gene Holly 0-6-0. Diehl lost the four-round decision on April 11, 1986, and retired from boxing after the fight.
  • Attended St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
  • Filmed scenes for White of the Eye (1987) but they were ultimately deleted by the studio before release. The scenes can be seen on the Arrow Video DVD/BD release as bonus features, including audio commentary by the director, Donald Cammell.

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