In Memory of Actor Jack Lord ('Hawaii Five-O"): 25 Years After His Tragic Death From Heart Failure

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It's been over twenty-five years since actor Jack Lord died tragically from congestive heart failure in 1998. Best known as Lt. Steve McGarrett on the original Hawaii Five-O crime-adventure series (CBS, 19668-80), Lord had appeared in countless other TV shows, as well as in movies and the Broadway stage. In his later years, he lived a private life. This is his story.

A Closer Look

Jack Lord was born John Joseph Patrick Ryan on December 30, 1920 in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York. The son of Irish-American parents (his father was a steamship company executive), Lord was raised in Richmond Hill, Queens.

In his youth, Lord loved horses, and spent his summers traveling by sea to exotic places like Africa, the Mediterranean and China. He attended St. Benedict Joseph Labre School, St. John Adams High School (in Ozone Park, Queens), and the United States Merchant Marine Academy (at Fort Trumball in New London, Connecticut), New York University on a football scholarship, and earned a degree in Fine Arts.

Lord served in the first year of World War II, building bridges in Persia. Upon his return to the Merchant Marine, he made time for making maritime training films, and dabled in acting.

Lord initially and formally studied his craft under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse, and then at the Actor's Studio.

That's when he changed his name to Jack Lord, as "Jack Ryan" was already registered with the actor's union.

Lord made his screen debut in the motion picture, Project X (1949), which was followed by The Tattooed Stranger (1950). However, the actor ultimately first became known for his early work on television anthlogy shows like Alcoa Presents, the U.S. Steel Hour, and the Kraft Suspense Theatre.

The Name Was Lord, Jack Lord

In 1962, Jack Lord became the first actor to portray CIA Agent Felix Leiter in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No. Into this spy-mix, Lord's birth name of John Patrick Ryan also happens to the name of the CIA Agent hero of Tom Clancy's novels. (Both characters initially appeared on film opposite Sean Connery (the big-screen's first James Bond).

In 1964, Lord was asked to reprise Felix Leiter in the subsequent Bond film Goldfinger, but producer Albert R. Broccoli feared that his portrayal of 007's CIA partner would overshadow the Bond persona. As such, Cec Linder was cast as the new Leiter.

Two years later, Lord was considered for the role of Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series, but in the end, William Shatner (following Jeffrey Hunter's decline) won the part.

Then Came McGarrett

In 1968, Jack Lord was then cast in his benchmark role as Steve McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O, which also starred James MacArthur, and Kam Fong, among others.

On January 20, 1974, Five-O creator and executive producer Leonard Freeman died unexpectedly during the show's sixth year. At which point, CBS and Lord agreed to make him an uncredited executive producer, a title he retained until the show was cancelled in 1980.

Post-Hawaii

After Hawaii Five-O ended in 1980, Jack Lord lived a private life. That year, he made his final TV appearance a failed pilot for a new CBS series called M Station: Hawaii. He had also directed directed the production, which was filmed before the last season of Hawaii Five-O.

His Final Years

In the last seven years of his life, Jack Lord suffered from Alzheimer's, and then succombed to congestive heart failure at his home in Honolulu, on January 21, 1998, at the age of 77.

The philnatriopic actor left an estate of $40 million, which was dispersed to Hawaiian charities upon his wife Marie's demise in 2005. (They had a son who died from hepititus at age 12 in 1955.)

Lasting Impression

Beyond the scenes, Jack Lord was an avid photographer; he enjoyed fencing, horseback riding, and sailing. He was dear frineds to actors Richard Crenna, William Windowm, Will Geer, Harold Gould, and others.

A dedicated liberal activist, Lord was a vocal advocate of gun control in America, the United States. Due to his love for the water, his body was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.

On June 19, 2004, Hawaii sculptor Lynn Weiler Liverton unveiled a sculpture of in a ceremony at the Kahala Mall outside Macy's. Lord and his wife resided in a condominium in the Kahala area, and were known to frequent the mall.

The Jack Lord Memorial Fund raised the money for the memorial, was co-chaired by British Hawaii Five-O fan Esperanza Isaac and Lord's co-star Doug Mossman.