Biography
Albert Dekker, also credited as Thomas Albert Ecke Van Dekker, was an American character actor and politician. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on 20 December 1905, he began his professional stage career in 1927 and made his film debut ten years later. He appeared in some 70 films, frequently in supporting roles, and served a term in the California State Assembly representing a Hollywood district from 1945 to 1946.
Dekker is known for his performances as Dr. G.E. Soberin in Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Big Jim Colfax in The Killers (1946), Will Hamilton in East of Eden (1955), John Minify in Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and Pat Harrigan in The Wild Bunch (1969). He also had a substantial Broadway career, including replacing Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman in the original production of Death of a Salesman, and worked in television. He died in Hollywood, California, on 5 May 1968.
