John F. Goff is an exceptionally prolific and versatile individual, often overlooked yet thriving within the realm of 1970s Grade B exploitation cinema. Born on May 24, Goff was raised in the small town of Kreole, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast. He was a scholarship student at Mississippi Southern College, where he initially pursued a promising athletic career before switching to acting.
Physically, Goff stands out with his burly build, gray hair, and gentle twangy voice, which bears a striking resemblance to Hal Holbrook. Goff's early foray into acting began with summer stock theater productions and writing movie reviews for both "Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter" before entering the film industry.
Throughout his career, Goff has secured numerous memorable roles, including one of Ralph Meeker's ruthless flunkies in the brutal revenge thriller "Johnny Firecloud," Millie Perkins' abusive and intoxicated sea captain father in the deeply disturbing "The Witch Who Came from the Sea," an excitable railroad worker in the nifty sci-fi item "The Alpha Incident," a helpful psychiatrist in Al Adamson's "Nurse Sherri," and a redneck hunter in "The Capture of Bigfoot."
Goff's extensive filmography also includes appearances in John Carpenter's spooky "The Fog," a sleazy lawyer in "Maniac Cop," a sarcastic police psychiatrist in "Relentless," and a weary rancher dad in "Skeeter." Notably, Goff has sizable supporting roles in the first two "Ilsa" pictures, playing a Nazi prison camp guard in the original and an oil sheik in the second installment.
In addition to his acting credits, Goff has also made guest appearances on TV shows such as "L.A. Law," "The Dukes of Hazzard," and "The Big Valley." He has collaborated with his longtime best friend George "Buck" Flower on numerous projects, often playing brothers in films like "Berserker" and "The Devil and Leroy Bassett." Goff and Flower have co-written several scripts, including "Death Falls," "In Search of A Golden Sky," "Joyride to Nowhere," "Drive-In Massacre," and "Teenage Seductress."
Goff has also co-written screenplays for Matt Cimber's features "Fake-Out," "Butterfly," "A Time to Die," "Hundra," and the recent "Miriam." He frequently appears in Cimber's films, both as an actor and as a grip. Goff has also worked as a second unit director on "My Boys Are Good Boys" and "Bad Georgia Road," solidifying his versatility within the film industry.
