When finding work in the field of cinematography proved difficult Archer drifted into acting, working as a radio announcer and actor, including one year (beginning in 1944[3]) in the starring role of Lamont Cranston in The Shadow,[2] a role originally played by Orson Welles.
Stage
Archer honed his acting skills in plays at the Ben Bard Playhouse.[2] He appeared on Broadway in The Odds on Mrs. Oakley (1944), One-man Show (1945), A Place of Our Own (1945), The Day Before Spring (1945-1946), This Time Tomorrow (1947), Strange Bedfellows (1948), and Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1950-1951).[4]
In 1960 Archer was cast as Joe Holman in the episode "Phantom Trail" of the western series Colt .45.[citation needed] He made five guest appearances on Perry Mason. He played Frank Maddox in the show's second episode in 1957, "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece". In 1958 he played murder victim Maj. Frank Lessing in the episode "The Case of the Sardonic Sergeant", and in 1959 he played murderer J. R. Bradbury in the episode "The Case of the Lucky Legs". He also played murder victim Harry Arnold in the 1965 episode "The Case of Candy Queen". He also made seven guest appearances on Lassie and six on Bonanza. He played the outlaw Matt Grundy in a 1962 episode of Laramie, entitled "The Confederate Express".[citation needed]
Personal life
Archer was married twice. From 1941 to 1955,[2][6] he was married to actress Marjorie Lord. They had two children, including daughter actress Anne Archer. Archer had two children with his second wife, Ann Leddy, to whom he was married from 1956 until his death.[2][6] Archer was a grandfather of Tommy Davis, son of his daughter Anne, both of whom are noted members of the Church of Scientology.[7]
^Staff (1948). "Profile". World Biography. 1. New York City, New York, U.S.: Institute For Research In Biography. OCLC760070148. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
^DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 14
^"John Archer". Playbill Vault. Retrieved November 6, 2015.