Trivia

Accidentally hanged himself. On May 5, 1968, Dekker was found dead in his Hollywood apartment after failing to answer numerous phone calls for two days. Although money and camera equipment were missing, there were no signs of forced entry. He was found naked, kneeling in his bathtub with a noose around his neck that was looped around the shower curtain rod. He was handcuffed, blindfolded, gagged and had sexually explicit words scrawled on his body in red lipstick. The coroner ruled his death accidental stating, "We have no information that Mr. Dekker planned to take his own life." Dekker was cremated and his remains were interred at Garden State Crematory in North Bergen, N.J.

Survived by a son Benjamin and a daughter Jan. Another son, 16-year-old John, was found dead of a gunshot wound in 1957; the police called his death accidental.

Although he was a major star in the 1940s, he is probably best remembered by modern audiences for his relatively small, but memorable, role as Harrigan, the tough railroad detective out to destroy The Wild Bunch in The Wild Bunch (1969), which was his final film.

In 1940, he hired modernist Los Angeles architect Rudolf Schindler to design and build a house for him and his wife Esther in Canoga Park, California. In the late 1940s, the house was sold to screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides.

Served in California legislature 1944-46 as the Democratic Assemblyman from the 57th District (Hollywood).

Attended and graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine (1927).

He spoke out forcefully against Sen. Joseph McCarthy during "Red Scare" era of the 1950s, resulting in his not getting as much film work work as he had in the 1940s. However, he did manage to land an important role in Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and another good role in East of Eden (1955). He also did a good bit of work in television.

Attended and graduated from Richmond Hill High School in Queens, New York City.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6620 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

Albert Dekker was never Blacklisted during the 1950's despite some film historians saying he was... Dekker actually worked throughout the entire decade, including the classic Kiss Me Deadly.