Wissenswertes

During WWII, he escaped the Emslandlager labor camp near Papenburg by disguising himself as a German officer after he managed to grab a uniform from the audience cloakroom.

Fluent in Dutch, English, French, German and Italian.

Played Capt. Von Trapp in the first national tour of "The Sound of Music" opposite Jeannie Carson and later Barbara Meister. He was considered composer Richard Rodgers' first choice to play the movie role that eventually went to Christopher Plummer.

Was invited by Laurence Olivier to co-star in his 1950 production of "Daphne Laureola". He changed his name from Jacques van Drielen Gimberg to John Van Dreelen. Following a tour of England, the play landed briefly in New York. Restrictive immigration laws made it impossible for him to stay in the US and he went back to Europe. He returned years later and made his US film debut in Zeit zu leben und Zeit zu sterben (1958). Director Douglas Sirk was reportedly instrumental in helping Van Dreelen and his wife emigrate to the US.

Played Audrey Hepburn's husband in both the English and French versions of the little-seen Monte Carlo Baby (1953).

Son of Dutch actor Louis Gimberg and Josine Elise Labouchere, an heiress to the French dynasty of bankers who supervised the Louisiana Purchase.

Almost always traveled with his dogs, which for the most part hindered him from accepting roles in England due to quarantine laws.

He frequently portrayed French and German characters in Hollywood, while playing an American in Germany and France.

Columnist Barbara Bladen called him "The Dutch James Bond".

He was the first Dutch actor to appear on US television. He starred in the live television drama Shadow of a Man (1950) on November 27, 1950 on CBS. His co-star was Ilona Massey.

In the spring of 2021, his biography "Baron Jack", written by award-winning writer Ruud Den Dryver, was published.