Actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the Greek mythological hero Jason in the fantasy adventure film "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963). Born John Armstrong, he was one of three children raised in a family of wealth and position. His father, Harris Armstrong, was a well-known architect who designed several civil landmarks one of which was the Shanley Building. After completing his public education at Ladue High School, he settled in California and began to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. While working as a gardening landscaper, he was discovered by television actress Gloria Henry while working on her rose bushes. Impressed by his dark good looks and articulate voice, she took notice of his potential and arranged for him to get a screen test at Columbia Pictures. After being given a recurring role on the television series "Manhunt," he would go on to enjoy a successful career in the film and television industry; often typecast as husbands, fathers, doctors, lawyers, cowboys, playboys, businessmen, villains, detectives, guards, reporters, soldiers, and aristocrats. He appeared in such feature films as "Walk on the Wild Side" (1962), "Five Finger Exercise" (1962), "King Rat" (1965), "The Silencers" (1966), "Scalplock" (1966), "Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round" (1966), "Winnetou and Old Firehand" (1966), and "A Time for Killing" (1966). On television, he became a familar face appearing in various guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "Iron Horse," "Gunsmoke," "Nakia," "Hawaii Five-O," "Gunsmoke," "Icebound in the Antartic," and "Greatest American Hero." During his career, he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been a member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, was a chairman for his local charters of the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, was one of the founding members of the Canyon Theatre Guild, and was instrumental in establishing the career of his brother-in-law casting director Tom Jennings. In 1982, Armstrong retired from acting and spent the final years of his life dividing time between his homes in the Virgin Islands and California, living a life of immense seclusion. After developing a drinking habit and falling into a series of bad debts due in part to overdoing a lavish lifestyle, he died from complications of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.