Photo: Paramount Pictures / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Richard Jaeckel was the quintessential Hollywood character actor, the kind of dependable face you recognized instantly even if you couldn't name him. He made a career out of playing soldiers, sailors and scrappy tough guys, and he was utterly believable in every one. His Oscar-nominated turn in Sometimes a Great Notion proved there was real depth under the rugged exterior. I have a soft spot for these workhorse supporting players who showed up across decades of war films and Westerns and quietly held those movies together. Jaeckel never headlined much, but the screen was always more convincing with him on it.
Overview
Richard Jaeckel (1926-1997) was an American film and television actor born in Long Beach, New York. Over a long career that began in the 1940s, he became a familiar face in war films and Westerns, often cast as tough soldiers and supporting tough guys. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Sometimes a Great Notion (1971) and appeared in classics such as The Dirty Dozen.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Richard Jaeckel
- Name (Japanese)
- リチャード・ジャッケル
- Reading
- りちゃーど・じゃっける
- Born
- October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Tiger
- Origin
- Long Beach, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Actor / Television actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Hollywood High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Television actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.