John Lund was one of six children born to an immigrant Norwegian glassblower. He had a rather unsettled childhood, dropping out of school at the age of 14. Lund then tried various part-time jobs, but never stayed long, and devised entrepreneurial ways to generate an income, including a quit-smoking program and a mail order manual on mind-reading.
He eventually got a small part in a local Rochester production of Clifford Odets' play "Waiting for Lefty", and went on to work in summer stock, before making his way to New York and securing another small theatrical role while working at the 1939 World's Fair. For the next two years, Lund alternated jobs in advertising with acting and writing for radio.
In October 1941, he landed a plum role on Broadway in "As You Like It", and the following year penned both book and lyrics for the successful musical revue "New Faces of 1943". A much-acclaimed leading role in the Bretaigne Windust production of "The Hasty Heart" followed in January 1945, and led to a six-year contract with Paramount.
Lund's career as a Hollywood leading man began, and he was at his best playing dual roles, including an ill-fated World War I flying ace romancing Olivia de Havilland, and her grown-up illegitimate son in "To Each His Own" (1946). He was also effectively cast as the romantic interest for both Marlene Dietrich and Jean Arthur in "A Foreign Affair" (1948).
There were further good roles to come: Lund showed unexpected comedic flair in the madcap farce "Miss Tatlock's Millions" (1948) as a Hollywood stunt man posing as an eccentric relative to help beleaguered heiress Wanda Hendrix against predatory gold-diggers. He gave reliable support to Barbara Stanwyck in the underrated melodrama "No Man of Her Own" (1950) and co-starred with Gene Tierney as one of newlyweds facing class barriers in "The Mating Season" (1951).
By the end of 1951, Lund's star was in decline, and he was relegated to appearing primarily in routine westerns. His final major appearance was as George Kittredge, the stuffy fiancé who doesn't get the girl - this being Grace Kelly in her acting swansong "High Society" (1956).
Lund persisted for several more years on CBS radio as the titular insurance investigator of "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar", a role he made his own between November 1952 and September 1954. He appeared in largely forgettable films thereafter and retired from acting altogether by 1963. In the end, he seems to have succeeded in setting up a moderately successful business and spent his remaining years at his house in Coldwater Canyon (Hollywood Hills) where he died in May 1992.
