Jack Merrill.
Greg Doherty/Getty ImagesActor Jack Merrill has some thoughts on why he survived a harrowing encounter with a serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
In his one-man show The backupof which a performance took place in the presence of Us every week On Friday, January 17, Merrill, 65, said he was “kidnapped and raped by John Wayne Gacy” in Chicago when he was 19 years old. The show explores why the infamous serial killer finally let him go free.
“The only reason I do The backup is about connecting with people in a very different way than most expect from someone who’s been through what I’ve been through,” Merrill said exclusively. We following his performance on Friday. Merrill’s on-screen credits include minor roles in shows like Law and Order, Hannah Montana, Grey’s Anatomy And Sex and the city.
Between 1972 and 1978, Gacy kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed at least 33 young men until he was finally arrested. In 1980, he was convicted of 33 counts of murder and sentenced to death. His execution took place 14 years later, in 1994.
According to Merrill, he was one of the lucky ones despite his horrific kidnapping and difficult childhood.
Quiet on Set previously revealed a shocking connection between Brian Peck and John Wayne Gacy before the dialogue coach was arrested for sexually abusing Drake Bell. During the documentary series Investigation Discovery, former All That cast member Kyle Sullivan recalled Peck’s friendly demeanor, saying, “Everyone loved Brian. He was charming and intelligent. He was everywhere […]
Growing up, Merrill said both of his parents were emotionally, physically and verbally abusive to him and his sisters, describing his childhood home as an “unhappy and disturbing place.” He attributes his life in Gacy’s house to his life spent enduring his mother’s “tantrums.”
John Wayne Gacy.
Getty Images“My mother and having to keep a low profile during tantrums were the same thing,” he explained on the show, adding: “My family gave me some serious tools that I was able to use to defend myself.”
Merrill explained that Gacy loved and trusted him. He told Merrill he wasn’t “like the rest.” He even took Merrill’s handcuffs off so they could sit together at the bar at Gacy’s house, have a few beers, smoke and talk, but only if Merrill promised he would be “good.”
“I could tell he didn’t like other people,” the playwright explained. “He wanted to differentiate me. I knew that if I listened to him, he wouldn’t hurt me. I had to accept that this was normal. There was no other choice.
Bureau of Prisons/Getty Images Peacock’s Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy is the latest scripted series centered on a prolific serial killer. According to the show’s synopsis, the limited television series “brings out the twisted layers of John Wayne Gacy’s life while incorporating the heartbreaking stories of his mostly gay victims.” Devil in disguise […]
Gacy’s trust in him didn’t save Merrill from danger – the killer sexually assaulted him anyway. “That’s how I lost the last part of my innocence,” Merrill said, adding that at the time of the attack, he “said I was going to get through this, that I I was going to get through this.”
In an October 2024 interview with PeopleMerrill said of the event: “I knew if I fought him I didn’t have much of a chance. I never panicked or screamed.
The next morning, Gacy let Merrill go free, saying, “You’re a good boy.” I like you. Maybe we can meet again someday. He gave Merrill his phone number on a small piece of paper, which the actor says he immediately flushed down the toilet.
A month or two later, he saw Gacy’s face on a newspaper with the headline “Bodies Found at Suburban Site.” Merrill, however, never reported his story to police. “I decided that if the police ever needed me, I would show up,” he said. “But they never needed me.”
Getty Images (3); MEGA From the murder of JonBenét Ramsey to convicted killer Ed Gein, several scripted true crime shows are coming soon. Paramount+ recently announced a limited series that will cover the Ramsey family before and after JonBenet’s murder in 1996. The anonymous JonBenét Ramsey series focuses specifically on parents John and […]
Merrill says that for a while he kept what happened to him a secret. However, he decided to come forward after the death of both his parents. He says he is happy that his parents died without ever knowing what happened to their son.
“I wanted to tell people at some point. It happened and it’s part of me, and I wanted them to know that,” he explained. “Everyone I’ve talked to about it has walked away from me, trying to figure this out, I don’t blame them.”
Merrill shared that in order to move on with his life, he inevitably had to forgive Gacy. “Actually, not just with Gacy but also with my family,” he said. “I have lived a good life. I didn’t let them take away my opportunities.
He said: “Forty-six years later, I’m still here. Happy, grateful and proud. I didn’t leave my sanity in this house near the airport. I am not a victim. It was one night. Something that happened. It’s my life.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Reporting by Sienna Leone
