John Abbott
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
- 1998 · The Commissioner as Commissioner's Laywer
- 1987 · A Hazard of Hearts as 2nd Gambler
- 1984 · Quest as
- 1983 · Smorgasbord as Surgeon
- 1982 · Slapstick of Another Kind as Dr. Frankenstein
- 1978 · Outside Chance as Coroner
- 1978 · Edward and Mrs Simpson as Mouth Organist
- 1976 · Sherlock Holmes in New York as Heller
- 1975 · The Black Bird as Duquai
- 1973 · The Cat Creature as Dr. Reinhart
- 1972 · Cool Million as Sir Godwin Phipps-Cheston
- 1971 · The Partners as
- 1970 · Timeslip as
- 1969 · Medical Center as Professor MacIntyre
- 1969 · The Epic That Never Was as Himself - Ms. Robson's Host
- 1969 · 2000 Years Later as Gregorius
- 1968 · Three Guns for Texas as Banker Irwing
- 1968 · Land of the Giants as Prof. Gorak
- 1967 · The Jungle Book as Akela (voice)
- 1967 · Mannix as
- 1967 · Garrison's Gorillas as
- 1967 · Rango as
- 1966 · Gambit as Emile
- 1966 · Star Trek as Ayleborn
- 1965 · Get Smart as
- 1965 · Laredo as
- 1965 · Lost in Space as Sesmar
- 1965 · The Greatest Story Ever Told as Aben
- 1964 · Profiles in Courage as Senator Wigfall
- 1964 · Flipper as
- 1964 · Bewitched as
- 1964 · Wendy and Me as
- 1964 · The Rogues as Sir Egbert
- 1963 · Who's Minding the Store? as Mr. Orlandos
- 1963 · Burke's Law as Conrad Jaeger
- 1962 · The Beverly Hillbillies as
- 1962 · The Beverly Hillbillies as Sir Trevor Gielgud Burton-Guiness
- 1961 · Ichabod and Me as
- 1960 · The Islanders as Harwood Gones
- 1960 · Outlaws as
- 1960 · Thriller as Kriss Milo ('The Mask of Medusa')
- 1959 · The Detectives as
- 1959 · Adventures in Paradise as Murdock
- 1959 · The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis as
- 1959 · The DuPont Show with June Allyson as Professor Brent
- 1958 · The Rifleman as
- 1958 · The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen as The Cat
- 1958 · Peter Gunn as
- 1958 · Gigi as Manuel
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Prof. Carlos Muntz
- 1957 · Perry Mason as Dr. Durwood Tobey
- 1957 · Have Gun, Will Travel as
- 1957 · Omar Khayyam as Yusuf
- 1957 · Public Pigeon No. 1 as Dipso Dale Rutherford
- 1956 · Telephone Time as
- 1955 · The Miracle on 34th Street as Dr. Sawyer
- 1955 · Matinee Theater as
- 1955 · The 20th Century Fox Hour as
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Mr. Munro
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Professor Lute Bone
- 1955 · Gunsmoke as Eddie
- 1953 · The Steel Lady as Mustafa el Melik
- 1953 · Sombrero as Don Daniel
- 1953 · Rogue's March as Herbert Bielensen
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Professsor Meyerdal
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Nathan
- 1952 · Thunder in the East as Nitra Puta
- 1952 · Cavalcade of America as Col. Barton
- 1952 · The Merry Widow as Marshovian Ambassador
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Chang
- 1951 · Thunder on the Hill as Abel Harmer
- 1951 · Crosswinds as Sykes
- 1951 · Navy Bound as Pappa Cerrano
- 1950 · Sideshow as Pierre
- 1949 · Madame Bovary as Mayor Tuvache
- 1948 · Studio One as Travers
- 1948 · The Woman in White as Frederick Fairlie
- 1947 · If Winter Comes as Mr. Twyning
- 1947 · Adventure Island as Huish
- 1947 · The Web as Charles Murdock
- 1947 · Time Out of Mind as Max Leiberman
- 1947 · Humoresque as Rozner
- 1946 · Deception as Bertram Gribble
- 1946 · Anna and the King of Siam as Phya Phrom
- 1946 · One More Tomorrow as Joseph Baronova
- 1946 · The Bandit of Sherwood Forest as Will Scarlet
- 1946 · The Notorious Lone Wolf as Lal Bara
- 1945 · Saratoga Trunk as Roscoe Bean
- 1945 · Pursuit to Algiers as Jodri
- 1945 · The Crime Doctor's Warning as Jimmy Gordon
- 1945 · A Thousand and One Nights as Ali
- 1945 · Honeymoon Ahead as Welles
- 1945 · The Power of the Whistler as Kaspar Andropolous
- 1945 · The Vampire's Ghost as Webb Fallon
- 1944 · The Falcon in Hollywood as Martin S. Dwyer
- 1944 · End of the Road as Chris Martin
- 1944 · Cry of the Werewolf as Peter Althius (uncredited)
- 1944 · Abroad with Two Yanks as Salesman
- 1944 · Secrets of Scotland Yard as Mortimer Cope
- 1944 · U-Boat Prisoner as Alfonse Lamont
- 1944 · Summer Storm as Lunin
- 1944 · Once Upon a Time as Reporter (uncredited)
- 1944 · The Mask of Dimitrios as Mr. Pappas
- 1943 · Jane Eyre as Mason
- 1943 · The Cross of Lorraine as Baker
- 1943 · Dangerous Blondes as Roland X. Smith (uncredited)
- 1943 · Mission to Moscow as Grinko (uncredited)
- 1943 · Hangmen Also Die! as Hostage (scenes deleted)
- 1943 · They Got Me Covered as Gregory Vanesou
- 1943 · The Gorilla Man as Dr. Ferris
- 1943 · London Blackout Murders as Jack Rawlings
- 1942 · Nightmare as Carl aka Charles
- 1942 · Get Hep to Love as Professor Radowsky
- 1942 · Mrs. Miniver as Fred
- 1942 · Rubber Racketeers as Dumbo
- 1942 · This Above All as Joe
- 1942 · Joan of Paris as English Spy
- 1941 · The Shanghai Gesture as Poppy's Escort
- 1940 · Ten Days in Paris as André
- 1939 · The Great Commandment as Starving Beggar
- 1939 · The Saint in London as Count Stephen Duni
- 1938 · This Man Is News as Hood with Foreign Accent
- 1937 · Under Secret Orders as Armand
- 1937 · Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel as Flower Seller
- 1937 · Street of Shadows as
- 1936 · The Conquest of the Air as Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier