John Abbott

Acting

Born Jun 05, 1905

From Stepney, London, England, UK

Died May 24, 1996

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.

John Abbott

Known For

The Jungle Book

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Mrs. Miniver

Jane Eyre

Gigi

A Hazard of Hearts

Gambit

Deception

Madame Bovary

Hangmen Also Die!

Filmography — Acting

The Jungle Book

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Mrs. Miniver

Jane Eyre

Gigi

A Hazard of Hearts

Gambit

Deception

Madame Bovary

Hangmen Also Die!

Who's Minding the Store?

Humoresque

The Commissioner

The Web

Mission to Moscow

Joan of Paris

Summer Storm

Pursuit to Algiers

The Shanghai Gesture

Sombrero

Anna and the King of Siam

The Merry Widow

Smorgasbord

The Mask of Dimitrios

Thunder on the Hill

Adventure Island

The Miracle on 34th Street

Sherlock Holmes in New York

The Notorious Lone Wolf

Once Upon a Time

If Winter Comes

Cry of the Werewolf

Thunder in the East

The Falcon in Hollywood

A Thousand and One Nights

Saratoga Trunk

2000 Years Later

Omar Khayyam

Time Out of Mind

The Black Bird

The Woman in White

Slapstick of Another Kind

One More Tomorrow

The Power of the Whistler

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest

The Vampire's Ghost

The Steel Lady

This Above All

Sideshow

U-Boat Prisoner

Navy Bound

Abroad with Two Yanks

Dangerous Blondes

The Conquest of the Air

Rubber Racketeers

Outside Chance

They Got Me Covered

The Crime Doctor's Warning

The Cat Creature

The Epic That Never Was

Nightmare

Quest

Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel

End of the Road

The Cross of Lorraine

The Saint in London

Crosswinds