Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker (December 20, 1905 – May 5, 1968) was an American character actor renowned for portraying menacing villains in over 70 films, including standout roles as the mad scientist in Dr. Cyclops (1940), the treacherous accountant in The Killers (1946), a corrupt union boss in Kiss Me Deadly (1955), and a ruthless bounty hunter in The Wild Bunch (1969).[1][2]
Dekker launched his career on stage in 1927 with a Cincinnati stock company and a Broadway debut in Eugene O'Neill's Marco Millions, building a reputation before transitioning to Hollywood in 1937 with The Great Garrick.[1] His imposing stature and gravelly voice suited him for heavy roles in film noir, westerns, and horror, earning him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.[1] Politically engaged as a progressive Democrat, he served two years in the California State Assembly (1945–1947), advocating liberal causes and later opposing Hollywood blacklisting during the McCarthy era.[2][3]
Dekker's death in his Hollywood apartment, discovered by his fiancée, involved him being found bound in a bathtub with paint scrawled on his body; the Los Angeles County coroner ruled it an accidental death by asphyxiation from autoerotic practices, rejecting initial suicide suggestions due to lack of evidence for self-harm intent or foul play.[3][4] This determination, based on autopsy findings of no external trauma and contextual materials present, has been upheld despite public intrigue fueled by the scene's peculiarities and Dekker's outspoken politics.[3]