John Abbott
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John Albert Chamberlain Kefford was an English character 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". as well as a Shakespearean actor. 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. 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 by way of the United States. While in the U.S., he was offered a part in Hollywood in 1941 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, Matinee Theatre, Bonanza, Thriller, Star Trek, Mannix, Iron Horse, and Bewitched. 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.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.
Known for
Credits
The Jungle Book (1967)
as Akela (voice)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
as Aben
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
as Fred
Jane Eyre (1943)
as Mason
Gigi (1958)
as Manuel
Madame Bovary (1949)
as Mayor Tuvache
Gambit (1966)
as Emile
Rubber Racketeers (1942)
as Dumbo
Hangmen Also Die! (1943)
as Hostage (scenes deleted)
Who's Minding the Store? (1963)
as Mr. Orlandos
A Thousand and One Nights (1945)
as Ali
A Hazard of Hearts (1987)
as 2nd Gambler
Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
as Phya Phrom
Quest (1984)
Actor
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
as Mr. Pappas
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946)
as Will Scarlet
Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976)
as Heller
Once Upon a Time (1944)
as Reporter (uncredited)
The Merry Widow (1952)
as Marshovian Ambassador
Thunder on the Hill (1951)
as Abel Harmer
The Crime Doctor's Warning (1945)
as Jimmy Gordon
Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957)
as Dipso Dale Rutherford
Slapstick of Another Kind (1982)
as Dr. Frankenstein
Summer Storm (1944)
as Lunin
Thunder in the East (1952)
as Nitra Puta
The Conquest of the Air (1931)
as Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
Cry of the Werewolf (1944)
as Peter Althius
The Power of the Whistler (1945)
as Kaspar Andropolous
The Cross of Lorraine (1943)
as Baker (uncredited)
The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)
as Martin S. Dwyer
The Saint in London (1939)
as Count Stephen Duni
If Winter Comes (1947)
as Mr. Twyning
The Cat Creature (1973)
as Dr. Reinhart
The Miracle on 34th Street (1955)
as Dr. Sawyer
Abroad with Two Yanks (1944)
as Salesman
They Got Me Covered (1943)
as Gregory Vanesou
The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946)
as Lal Bara
The Woman in White (1948)
as Frederick Fairlie
Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937)
as Flower Seller
Time Out of Mind (1947)
as Max Leiberman
The Vampire's Ghost (1945)
as Webb Fallon
Pursuit to Algiers (1945)
as Jodri
London Blackout Murders (1943)
as Jack Rawlings
End of the Road (1944)
as Chris Martin
Saratoga Trunk (1945)
as Roscoe Bean
Humoresque (1947)
as Rozner
Ten Days in Paris (1940)
as André
Get Hep to Love (1942)
as Professor Radowsky
Smorgasbord (1983)
as Surgeon
This Above All (1942)
as Joe
The Epic That Never Was (1969)
as Ms. Robson's Host (uncredited)
The Web (1947)
as Charles Murdock
The Steel Lady (1953)
as Mustafa el Melik
Three Guns for Texas (1968)
as Banker Irwing
The Commissioner (1998)
as Commissioner's Laywer
Joan of Paris (1942)
as English Spy
Mission to Moscow (1943)
as Grinko (uncredited)
Deception (1946)
as Bertram Gribble
Rogue's March (1953)
as Herbert Bielensen
The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
as Poppy's Escort
Secrets of Scotland Yard (1944)
as Mortimer Cope
Omar Khayyam (1957)
as Yusuf
This Man Is News (1938)
as Hood with Foreign Accent
Dangerous Blondes (1943)
as Roland X. Smith (uncredited)
Street of Shadows (1937)
Actor
2000 Years Later (1969)
as Gregorius
Sombrero (1953)
as Don Daniel
U-Boat Prisoner (1944)
as Alfonse Lamont
The Black Bird (1975)
as Duquai
Navy Bound (1951)
as Pappa Cerrano
One More Tomorrow (1946)
as Joseph Baronova
Nightmare (1942)
as Carl aka Charles
Crosswinds (1951)
as Sykes
The Great Commandment (1939)
as Starving Beggar
Outside Chance (1978)
as Coroner
Sideshow (1950)
as Pierre
The Gorilla Man (1943)
as Dr. Ferris
Honeymoon Ahead (1945)
as Welles
Adventure Island (1947)
as Huish
Blunt Instrument (1981)
as Dr. Durrant
Under Secret Orders (1937)
as Armand