Actor John Lasell Passes On

Character actor John Lasell, who played parapsychologist Peter Guthrie on the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, died on October 4 2024 at the age of 95.

John Lasell was born on November 6 1928 in Williamstown, Vermont. He made his television debut in 1960 in an episode of the anthology series Armstrong Circle Theatre. He guest starred on the shows Hong Kong, One Step Beyond, and The DuPont Show with June Allyson. In the Sixties he was a regular on the soap opera As the World Turns in 1966. The following year he appeared as Dr. Peter Guthrie on Dark Shadows. He guest starred on the shows The DuPont Show with June Allyson, The Twilight Zone, Camera Three, General Electric Theatre, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Tall Man, Wagon Train, Alcoa Premiere, Gunsmoke, Hazel, The New Breed, The Investigators, Ben Casey, Checkmate, Shotgun Slade, Route 66, 87th Precinct, Shannon, Hawaiian Eye, Naked City, The Nurses, Flipper, Dr. Kildare, The Rogues, Peyton Place, Slattery's People, Rawhide, I Spy, 12 O' Clock High, My Favorite Martian, The F.B.I., Perry Mason, The Fugitive, The Invaders, This is the Life, Judd for the Defense, Adam-12, and The Psychiatrist. He appeared in the movies Topaz (1969), Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970), and Helen Keller and Her Teacher (1970).

In the Seventies he had a recurring role as Ben Wedlock on the TV series Dan August and a recurring role on Lassie as Dr. Robbins. He guest starred on the TV shows Storefront Lawyers. The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, Night Gallery, The Mod Squad, The Streets of San Francisco, Mannix, Cannon, The New Perry Mason, This is the Life, Police Story, and Barnaby Jones. He appeared in the movies The Organization (1971), Honky (1971), and Deathmaster (1972).

In the Eighties, John Lasell guest starred on Dallas and Falcon Crest. His final appearance was in the mini-series A Death in California in 1985.

While John Lasell may always be best remembered as Dr. Peter Guthrie on Dark Shadows, he played a wide variety of roles during his career. He had a major role in the Twilight Zone episode "Back There," in which time traveller Peter Corrigan (Russell Johnson) discovers the man calling himself Jonathan Wellington (John Laseell) is not who he claims to be. He played a U.S. Cavalry officer on Rawhide, a district attorney on Judd for the Defense, an Army officer on 12 O' Clock High, and several other roles. His roles may not have been particularly big sometimes, but he always left a profession.