In 1967, a staggering 78 million viewers were glued to their screens as David Janssen's Dr. Richard Kimble finally caught up with the one-armed man who killed his wife in the iconic series finale of The Fugitive. But behind the scenes, David's own life was a different kind of chase—one for lasting happiness that always seemed just out of reach.
David's early life was far from the glamour of Hollywood. When he was just four years old, his parents split, and his mother, a former Ziegfeld Follies showgirl, left him at the McKinley Home for Boys in Los Angeles for three years. “Many times, his mother would call and say, ‘I’m picking you up,’ and she just wouldn’t show,” recalls friend Mike Phelps, co-author of David Janssen: My Fugitive, speaking to Closer Weekly in their latest issue, available now on newsstands.
From Teenage Dreams to TV Stardom
David found his passion for acting as a teenager, but fame didn’t come overnight. It wasn’t until 1957 that he landed the lead role in Richard Diamond: Private Detective, catapulting him into the spotlight. A year later, he tied the knot with model Ellie Graham in Las Vegas. “The first five years were bliss,” says Phelps. “But as David’s star rose internationally, Ellie became insanely jealous and incredibly insecure.”
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A Complex Love Life
By the time David's marriage to Ellie unraveled, it was after an affair with The Fugitive guest star Suzanne Pleshette. Suzanne later reminisced, “David was one of the great loves of my life, but he had to figure out his life.” Unfortunately, by the time their paths crossed again, Suzanne had already moved on and married someone else.
In 1975, David remarried, this time to actress Dani Crayne, a well-known socialite famous for her extravagant parties. But Phelps reveals that David wasn’t thrilled with the lifestyle. “He hated it,” Phelps shares. “He had a minibar in his bedroom, and that’s where he would retreat.”
A Life Cut Short
David's struggles with heavy drinking and smoking may have played a role in his premature death from a heart attack at the age of 48 in 1980. Phelps describes David as a "functioning alcoholic," adding that David found solace in work. “He told me once, ‘It keeps me out of trouble, especially with my wives.’”
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