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John Abbott (actor)

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John Abbott
Abbott in The Woman in White (1948)
Born
John Albert Chamberlain Kefford

(1905-06-05)5 June 1905
Stepney, London, England
Died24 May 1996(1996-05-24) (aged 90)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1936–1984

John Albert Chamberlain Kefford[1] (5 June 1905 – 24 May 1996) was an English actor professionally known as John Abbott. His memorable roles include the invalid Frederick Fairlie in the 1948 film The Woman in White and the pacifist Ayelborne in the Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy". He also played Sesmar in an episode of Lost in Space, "The Dream Monster", in 1966.[2] Abbott was known as a Shakespearean actor.

Biography

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Abbott was born in the district of Stepney in London on 5 June 1905.[3] He had two siblings - a sister, Ivy Skeates of Cambridge, and a brother, Harold Kefford.[2]

In 1934, he began his career in show business when he made his professional stage debut in a revival of Dryden's Aureng-zebe with Sybil Thorndike. He then joined the Old Vic Company and appeared in Shakespearean roles, including Claudius in a production of Hamlet at Elsinore Castle in Denmark with Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Alec Guinness. His first Broadway role was that of Count Mancini in He Who Gets Slapped in 1946. He also appeared on Broadway in Monserrat and The Waltz of the Toreadors. He made his film debut in Mademoiselle Docteur in 1937, and went on to act in scores of films in the next 30 years. Among his film credits are Mission to Moscow, Jane Eyre, A Thousand and One Nights, Humoresque, and The Greatest Story Ever Told. His television appearances in that time were even more numerous, beginning with pioneering broadcasts by the BBC before the Second World War.[2]

In the early days of the Second World War, Abbott worked at the British Embassy in Stockholm. When the time came to leave, he had to go by way of the United States. While in the U.S., he was offered a part in Hollywood in 1941[4] and ended up living there for the rest of his life.

On American television between the 1950s and 1970s, Abbott had roles on a wide variety of series such as Kraft Television Theatre, Studio 57, Gunsmoke (lead character Edward Vanderman in S5E20’s The Tragedian” - 1960), Matinee Theatre, Bonanza, Thriller, Star Trek, Mannix, Iron Horse, and Bewitched.[citation needed] Although he was blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s, a producer who wanted to hire him eventually succeeded in getting the actor removed from the list.[5] In his final years, Abbott taught acting to students free of charge.

Abbott died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from natural causes on 24 May 1996 at the age of 90.[2]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1936 Conquest of the Air Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
1937 Mademoiselle Docteur Armand Uncredited
Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel Flower Seller Uncredited
The Importance of Being Earnest John Worthing BBC Television (live)
Under Secret Orders Armand
1938 This Man Is News Hood with Foreign Accent Uncredited
Richard of Bordeaux Simon Burley BBC Television (live)
1939 The Tempest Prospero BBC Television (live)
The Saint in London Count Stephen Duni
The Great Commandment Starving Beggar Uncredited
1940 Ten Days in Paris André
1941 The Shanghai Gesture Poppy's Escort Uncredited
1942 Joan of Paris English Spy
This Above All Joe Uncredited
Mrs. Miniver Fred
Rubber Racketeers Dumbo
Get Hep to Love Professor Radowsky
Nightmare Karl / Charles
1943 The Gorilla Man Dr. Ferris
London Blackout Murders Jack Rawlings
They Got Me Covered Gregory Vanescu
Hangmen Also Die! Hostage (scenes deleted)
Mission to Moscow Grinko Uncredited
Dangerous Blondes Roland X. Smith Uncredited
The Cross of Lorraine Baked Uncredited
Jane Eyre Mason Uncredited
1944 Once Upon a Time Reporter Uncredited
The Mask of Dimitrios Mr. Pappas
Summer Storm Lunin, Public Prosecutor
Abroad with Two Yanks Salesman
U-Boat Prisoner Alfonse Lamont
Secrets of Scotland Yard Mortimer Cope
Cry of the Werewolf Peter Althius
End of the Road Chris Martin
The Falcon in Hollywood Martin S. Dwyer
1945 The Power of the Whistler Kaspar Andropolous
Honeymoon Ahead Welles
The Vampire's Ghost Webb Fallon
A Thousand and One Nights Ali
Crime Doctor's Warning Jimmy Gordon
Pursuit to Algiers Jodri
Saratoga Trunk Roscoe Bean
1946 The Notorious Lone Wolf Lal Bara
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest Will Scarlet
One More Tomorrow Joseph Baronova
Anna and the King of Siam Phya Phrom Uncredited
Deception Bertram Gribble
Humoresque Rozner
1947 Time Out of Mind Max Leiberman
The Web Charles Murdock
Adventure Island Huish
If Winter Comes Mr. Twyning
1948 The Woman in White Frederick Fairlie
Dream Girl (scenes deleted)
1949 Addio Mimí! Orchestra Conductor
Madame Bovary Mayor Tuvache
1950 Sideshow Pierre
1951 Navy Bound Pappa Cerrano
Thunder on the Hill Abel Harmer
Crosswinds Algernon 'Mousey' Sykes
1952 The Merry Widow Marshovian Ambassador
Thunder in the East Nitra Puta
1953 Rogue's March Herbert Bielensen
Sombrero Don Daniel
Cavalcade of America Colonel Barton Season 2 Episode 2: "The Stolen General"
The Steel Lady Mustafa el Melik
1955 Front Row Center Businessman Season 1 Episode 8: "Outward Bound"
Front Row Center Dr. Franz Gregorovious Season 1 Episode 10: "Tender is the Night"
Crusader Igor Borovin Season 1 Episode 9: "The Way Out"
Science Fiction Theatre John Bowers Season 1 Episode 13: "100 Years Young"
1956 Crusader Gustave Season 1 Episode 26: "The Optimist"
Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre Barrett Season 1 Episode 35: "The Hidden People"
Telephone Time Schliemann's Russian assistant Season 1 Episode 9: "The Man Who Believed in Fairy Tales"
Studio 57 Season 2 Episode 39: "The Brown Leather Case"
The Adventures of Hiram Holliday Thief Season 1 Episode 2: "Lapidary Wheel"
General Electric Theater Ballet Director Season 4 Episode 14: "Portrait of a Ballerina"
General Electric Theater Professor Meyerdal Season 5 Episode 2: "The Glorious Gift of Molly Malloy"
Gunsmoke Professor Lute Bone Season 1 Episode 14: "Professor Lute Bone"
1957 Public Pigeon No. One Dipso Dave Rutherford
Omar Khayyam Yusuf Uncredited
1955–1958 Matinee Theatre Jasper Purdy 5 Episodes
1958 Gigi Manuel
Studio One Travers Season 10 Episode 44: "Bellingham"
The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen Season 1 Episode 6: "Cat of Many Tails"
1959 The Ann Sothern Show Carter Season 1 Episode 14: "Johnny Moves Up"
Peter Gunn Blankenship Season 1 Episode 28: "Pay Now, Kill Later"
Goodyear Theatre Stefan Season 3 Episode 1: "Story Without a Moral"
Have Gun - Will Travel Winston Ainslee Season 3 Episode 5: "Shot by Request"
General Electric Theater Nathan Season 8 Episode 12: "Absalom, My Son"
1960 Gunsmoke Eddie Season 5 Episode 20: "The Tragedian"
Tightrope Gideon Season 1 Episode 19: "Cold Ice"
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis Professor Dobkin Season 1 Episode 20: "The Power of Positive Thinking"
The Rifleman Dr. Henniken Season 2 Episode 26: "The Vision"
Shangri-La Chang TV movie
Shirley Temple's Storybook Uncle Venner Season 2 Episode 12: "The House of the Seven Gables"
1961 The Islanders Harwood Gones Season 1 Episode 16: "Escape from Kaledau"
The DuPont Show with June Allyson Professor Brent Season 2 Episode 20: "A Great Day for a Scoundrel"
Hong Kong Alec Borg Season 1 Episode 20: "The Hunted"
Thriller Kriss Milo Season 1 Episode 25: "Trio for Terror"
Adventures in Paradise Murdock Season 2 Episode 25: "A Touch of Genius"
Great Ghost Tales Mr. Arcularis Season 1 Episode 7: "Mr. Arcularis"
Ichabod and Me Jeremy Lockhart Season 1 Episode 6: "The Purple Cow"
Bonanza Zachariah Wickham Season 3 Episode 14: "Gabrielle"
1962 Perry Mason Professor Carlos Muntz Season 6 Episode 1: "The Case of the Bogus Books"
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mr. Abner Munro Season 7 Episode 36: "First Class Honeymoon"
1963 Who's Minding the Store? Mr. Orlandos
1964 Flipper "Professor" Marvello Season 1 Episode 9: "Mr. Marvello"
The Beverly Hillbillies Sir Trevor Gielgud Burton-Guinness Season 3 Episode 1: "Jed Becomes a Movie Mogul"
1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told Aben
1965 Perry Mason Professor Durwood Tobey Season 9 Episode 1: "The Case of the Laughing Lady"
1966 Gambit Emile
Get Smart Mondo Season 1 Episode 17: "Kisses for KAOS"
Lost in Space Sesmar Season 2 Episode 14: "The Dream Monster"
The Munsters Dr. Victor Frankenstein IV Season 2 Episode 26: "A Visit from Johann"
1967 Star Trek Ayelborne Season 1 Episode 26: "Errand of Mercy"
Bewitched Leonardo da Vinci Season 4 Episode 17: "Samantha's da Vinci Dilemma"
The Jungle Book Akela, the Wolf Voice
1968 Three Guns for Texas Banker Irwing
Land of the Giants Professor Gorak Season 1 Episode 4: "Underground"
1969 2000 Years Later Gregorius
1972 Cool Million Sir Godwyn Phipps-Cheston Season 1 Episode 3: "Assault on Gavaloni"
1975 The Black Bird DuQuai
1976 Sherlock Holmes in New York Heller TV movie
Holmes & Yo-Yo Montecito Season 1 Episode 11: "Connection, Connection II"
1978 Outside Chance Coroner TV movie
1982 Slapstick of Another Kind Dr. Frankenstein
1983 Cracking Up Surgeon

References

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  1. ^ A Chronicle of Two Villages: Bassingbourn & Kneesworth 1894–1994 (PDF). Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth Local History Group. June 1994. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "John Abbott, 90. Was English Actor". The New York Times. 2 June 1996. Retrieved 2 December 2014. John Abbott, an actor in films, theatre and television, died on 24 May at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 90. Mr. Abbott, who was born in Britain, began his long career in show business in 1934, when he made his professional stage debut in a revival of Dryden's "Aureng-Zebe" with Sybil Thorndike. ...
  3. ^ "John Abbott". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  4. ^ Palmer, Scott (1981). A Who's Who of British Film Actors. Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-81081-388-5.
  5. ^ Abbott had no idea why he was blacklisted until around 1990, when he was watching a documentary on Dalton Trumbo, discovered that the author had used Abbott's name as an alias.[citation needed]
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