Of Irish descent, John Francis Kearney grew up in Yorkshire, and emigrated to Northern California in 1965. He spent the next 15 years writing articles for the Daily Independent Journal of San Rafael, volunteering with the San Francisco International Film Festival, and acting on-stage in local theater productions. His first film role was at the age of 48 when he co-starred in "Dr. Jekyll's Dungeon of Death" (1979), a very low-budget, San Francisco-shot martial arts horror movie that's gone on to develop a reputation as one of the worst films ever made. Kearney relocated to Hollywood soon thereafter, and subsequently appeared in films by such directors as Gary Graver, William Sachs, Blake Edwards, and Francis Ford Coppola.