John Beck

John Beck (born January 28, 1943) is a retired American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Mark Graison in the television series Dallas during the mid-1980s. He often portrayed hard-ball businessmen.

Beck grew up in Chicago. His childhood ambition was to become a veterinarian. However, following his performance in a school play at the age of sixteen, which he had been asked to take part in as a means of overcoming profound shyness, his tutors encouraged him to try to get into drama school. He moved to California in 1962 at the age of nineteen and made his living by appearing in television commercials. In 1963/1964, he attended Joliet Junior College and was in an acting class. A year later, he made his first television appearance as an actor in his own right in a 1965 episode of I Dream of Jeannie (entitled ‘Russian Roulette’) at the age of 21. Beck had a regular supporting role as Ketcham in the weekly series Nichols (also known as James Garner as Nichols) which ran for one season on NBC from 1971 to 1972. His numerous credits as a supporting actor over the years include guest slots in series such as Death Valley Days, Diagnosis: Murder, Dan August, Baywatch (Beck was a good friend of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff during the 1980s), Tales from the Crypt, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Mod Squad, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-O and Matlock.