Rick Jason

Intro

Rick Jason is remembered chiefly as Lieutenant Gil Hanley in Combat!, the ABC drama that followed American soldiers during World War II. His career, however, began with theatrical work and moved through romantic films, crime television and later guest appearances. Hanley gave him a durable screen identity as an officer responsible for men under pressure. The two surviving publicity photographs presented here show that role in different circumstances: beside fellow series star Vic Morrow and in a scene with guest performer Luise Rainer.

Career snapshot

Born Richard Jacobson in New York, Jason served in the Army Air Forces during World War II and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts afterward. His professional beginnings belong to the postwar New York theatre. Rather than attach an uncertain birth year to that story, this account follows his documented performance chronology. The Broadway record identifies him as Anselmo in Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, which opened on March 2, 1950, and closed on April 8. His work in that production earned a Theatre World Award in 1950.

The entry point

Film work followed in the early 1950s. In Sombrero, released in 1953 and directed by Norman Foster, he played Ruben among an ensemble that included Ricardo Montalban, Pier Angeli, Vittorio Gassman, Yvonne De Carlo and Cyd Charisse. The production drew on Josefina Niggli's Mexican Village. Subsequent credits included Enzio Siniscola in The Saracen Blade and Glenn Harris in This Is My Love, both from 1954. These films establish a varied early screen career before television supplied the role most closely associated with his name.

Screen identity and style

The Wayward Bus, released in 1957, cast Jason as Johnny Chicoy, a driver whose marriage and passengers become part of a troubled California journey. Joan Collins played his wife Alice; Jayne Mansfield and Dan Dailey were also central members of the ensemble. Victor Vicas directed the adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel for Twentieth Century-Fox. Jason's character connects the travelers through his work while carrying problems of his own, making the bus driver's personal life part of the film's larger network of strained relationships.

Collaborations and patterns

Before Combat!, Jason led The Case of the Dangerous Robin as insurance investigator Robin Scott. The syndicated half-hour series ran during 1960 and 1961 and gave him a contemporary crime role rather than a military one. Scott pursued substantial cases for a percentage fee, and the show incorporated karate into its action. That assignment is a useful bridge between Jason's film appearances and his next long-running television identity: it shows him already carrying a series before Lieutenant Hanley arrived.

Era reflection

Combat! ran from 1962 to 1967, pairing Jason's Hanley with Vic Morrow's Sergeant Saunders. The distinction between officer and sergeant helped organize the show's ensemble and its stories of frontline responsibility. Jason's publicity image with Morrow dates from the series launch; the later photograph with Luise Rainer comes from 1965. Both belong to the programme itself, but they are separate photographs, not alternate crops of one session. Together they preserve the contrast between the familiar military partnership and an encounter built around a visiting performer.

Legacy and rediscovery

Jason continued working after Combat!, with credits including Color Me Dead, The Day of the Wolves and television appearances in programmes such as Airwolf and Murder, She Wrote. He also recalled his working life in Scrapbooks of My Mind, a Hollywood autobiography published in 2000 that discusses both of his television series. He died on October 16, 2000. His career can be revisited through its changes of scale: a short Broadway engagement, studio ensemble films, a syndicated lead and the sustained recognition of a network wartime drama.

Selected screen roles

• Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: Anselmo — Broadway — 1950
• Sombrero: Ruben — 1953
• The Wayward Bus: Johnny Chicoy — 1957
• The Case of the Dangerous Robin: Robin Scott — 1960–1961
• Combat!: Lt. Gil Hanley — 1962–1967

A career in pictures

Two distinct ABC publicity photographs from Combat!, preserving the full scenes and identifying Jason in each.

Combat! with Vic Morrow (1962)

Lt. Gil Hanley

Jason is at left; Morrow is at right. ABC publicity photograph from August 1962.

Combat! with Luise Rainer (1965)

Lt. Gil Hanley

Jason reclines in the lower part of the frame; Rainer is above at right. ABC photograph dated November 29, 1965.

Rewatch notes

• Received a 1950 Theatre World Award.
• Played Robin Scott before Lieutenant Hanley.
• Published the autobiography Scrapbooks of My Mind.