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John Larkin was born on April 11, 1912 in Oakland,
California. Before being cast in 12 O'Clock High, he was best known for his work on the radio series Perry
Mason. Although several performers had read the title role, Larkin was the one most identified with the part and he worked
on the show from 1947 until 1955.
In 1955, Proctor & Gamble and CBS agreed to transfer
Perry Mason from radio to TV as a thirty minute daytime serial. However, Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner
wouldn't hear of it so Irving Vendig, who was head writer of the radio series, tinkered with the concept and created The
Edge of Night, a thinly-veiled imitation of the famous detective show. In Vendig's version, protagonist Mike Karr, who
was
initially a detective, then later an attorney, was patterned after Perry Mason, and Vendig hired Larkin to play Karr.
The show debuted on April 2, 1956 and Larkin stayed with the series until October 1961.
ABOVE: A shot of Larkin in the daytime serial The Edge of Night.
He originated the character of Mike Karr, a role he played for five years.
After leaving The Edge of Night, Larkin made
a few guest appearances, including one on Perry Mason after Gardner finally gave in and allowed the show to be produced
as a prime time series.
Larkin was then cast as a regular on Saints and
Sinners, a drama that ran on NBC from 1962-63. It starred Nick Adams and Barbara Rush as reporters for the fictitious
newspaper, The New York Record. He played Mark Grainger, the editor of the paper. Larkin worked with Bob on
that series when Bob guest-starred in the episode "The Year Joan Crawford Won the Oscar". Ironically, that particular show
was directed by William Graham, the same man who directed nine first season episodes of TOH.
After Saints and Sinners was cancelled, Larkin
appeared in the movie Seven Days in May, starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, and kept busy as a guest star
on such well-known shows as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Untouchables, The Fugitive, and Wagon
Train. He also made three additional appearances on Perry Mason.
ABOVE: John Larkin and Teal Ames as Mike and Sara Karr on The
Edge of Night.
Larkin then landed the role of Major General Wiley
Crowe, the man who was both Savage's commanding officer and his best friend. He appeared in 20 of the first 25 episodes, and
was an integral part of the series. Sadly, Larkin suffered a heart attack while filming the episode "The Threat" and later
died at the hospital. He was 52 years old.
His last screen appearances were in two movies: Those
Calloways, a Disney movie that starred Brian Keith and Vera Miles, and The Satan Bug, a sci/fi thriller that
featured George Maharis. Both were released after his death.
Larkin was married to Teri Keane, who also worked on radio serials and later
on Edge of Night. They had a daughter, Victoria, who, as an infant, played his daughter Laurie Ann on
the Edge of Night.
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