John Merton
Biography
John Merton was an American film actor who appeared in over 250 features and whose career ran from the late 1920s into the 1950s. Born Myrtland F. LaVarre in 1901, he was raised in Washington, D.C. He started on the New York stage in 1919 with the Theatre Guild, and one of his parts there was the robot Marius in R.U.R. in 1922. His first movie job came in Running Wild (1927), where he played a police officer, and it was shot at Astoria Studios on Long Island. By 1932 he had moved to Hollywood, where he built a long career in small roles in major pictures and as a villain in B-movies and serials. Cecil B. DeMille gave him the part of a Roman guard in Cleopatra (1934), which led to work in every DeMille film through The Ten Commandments (1956). DeMille also proposed the more masculine name he adopted professionally. Merton died in 1959.
58years old at death
- Born Washington, D.C.
- Died Los Angeles
- Star sign: AquariusLast day of the sign, on the Pisces cusp
- Myrtland F. LaVarre (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 6
- Career span
- 8 years1936 to 1944
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First role
Merton joined the New York Theatre Guild in 1919 and played the robot Marius in the 1922 production of R.U.R., years before his film work began.
About the name
Merton met Cecil B. DeMille, who gave him the part of a Roman guard in Cleopatra (1934). DeMille was the one who suggested he take the more masculine name John Merton.
John Merton movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Spencer Gordon Bennet directed two of these films, Sam Newfield two. Tim McCoy appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Tim McCoy's page
Jimmy Aubrey's page
Raymond Hatton's page
Frank Ellis's page
Rex Lease's page
Joseph W. Girard's page
Spencer Gordon BennetDirector, 2 films, 1941 to 1944
All films by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Sam NewfieldDirector, 2 films, 1936
All films by Sam Newfield
Also two films together5 more actors
- Jack KirkZorro's Black Whip (1944) and Aces and Eights (1936)
- Jack EvansAces and Eights (1936) and Lightnin' Bill Carson (1936)
- Karl HackettAces and Eights (1936) and Lightnin' Bill Carson (1936)
- Barney BeasleyAces and Eights (1936) and Lightnin' Bill Carson (1936)
- Oscar GahanAces and Eights (1936) and Lightnin' Bill Carson (1936)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.