John Saxon: From crazed cult leader to murderous magnate and more

John Saxon, at left, as a robot doing battle
with Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man.
Source: https://bionic.fandom.com/wiki/
Day_of_the_Robot?file=Day_of_the_robot_stevevsrobot.jpg
(May be subject to copyright)

The image is indelibly burned in my mind – Steve Austin in a fight with another man. Only it wasn’t a man it was a robot, and his face had just come off. All you could see were the inner workings of a robot that would soon be short-circuited by the Six Million Dollar Man.

That was the first time I saw John Saxon, but it was just the beginning.

He would be best known as a bad guy, usually in horror movies, but he would also play a good guy who couldn’t catch a break in my favourite night-time soap opera.

A few months ago, I heard John Saxon had passed away, and it reminded me of how prolific an actor he was.

Chilling
He opened the decade playing the villain Sador in 1980's “Battle Beyond the Stars”. It was a chilling performance. Sador had a disease that forced him to continue killing people, cutting off their body parts and grafting them onto himself because his were rotting off. A band of misfits, led by a teen named Shad, played Richard Thomas, got together and took him on to protect Shad’s planet.

Guest star extraordinaire
You would definitely know John Saxon to see him, because he was a guest star in dozens of shows throughout the ‘80s. He had guest roles in everything from “Vegas”, “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”, “Magnum P.I.” and “Fantasy Island”, to “Dynasty”, “Another World”, “Hotel”, and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”.

John Saxon up close in
"The Six Million Dollar Man".
Source:
https://bionic.fandom.com/
wiki/Fred_Sloan?
file=Fred_Sloan_MCU.jpeg
(May be subject to copyright)

John Saxon as a robot
without his face off in
"The Six Million Dollar Man".
Source:
https://www.imdb.com/
title/tt0702046/
(May be subject to copyright)

He also appeared in forgettable shows such as “Finder of Lost Loves”, “Glitter”, “Half Nelson” and “Masquerade.

Memorable moments – for me
The first time I recall seeing him was in an episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man” called “Day of the Robot”. He played a fried of Steve Austin, the Bionic Man, who is abducted and replaced by a robot lookalike. What I recall most about that is the fight between him and Steve Austin. It was awesome, culminating in the face mask coming off the robot to reveal the machine underneath, just seconds before Austin pulls the plug.

John Saxon would make another appearance in a two-part crossover event of “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman” where he played an alien manipulating Sasquatch in a plot to take over the world. He was great as the bad guy, something he would keep on doing.

I remember him guest starring in one of the first episodes of “The A-Team” where he played a crazed cult leader. The team has to penetrate his compound to rescue the daughter of a parent who hired them. If I recall, they built a flame thrower from scratch to accomplish their mission.

John Saxon as a crazed cult leader
in "The A-Team".
Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/
tv/the_a_team/s01/e03
(May be subject to copyright)

That same year he played the villain in the pilot of “Hardcastle and McCormick”, a man who killed McCormick’s friend. The premise of the show is that Judge Milton C. Hardcastle is going after criminals who escaped justice in his court room, with the help of ex-con race driver Mark McCormick. John Saxon plays the first one they go after, who murdered McCormick’s friend and the designer of the “Cody Coyote” the car McCormick would drive for the remainder of the series.

Father figure
One of my outstanding memories of John Saxon was his role as Tony Cumson in “Falcon Crest”. He physically looked like Lorenzo Lamas, who played his son Lance. He appeared in 32 episodes of the night-time drama from 1982 to 1988.

Parting thoughts
John Saxon played the consummate villain, whether as an intergalactic intimidator, crazed cult leader, or murderous industrial magnate. What made him so good as Tony Cumson was that he played against that typecasting.

It showed just how versatile an actor he was.

Wikipedia reveals he appeared in more than 200 projects over 60 years.

So beyond versatile, John Saxon was durable, making him another part of the television tapestry of the ‘80s.