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.
127 acting credits
Acting · 127
Perry Mason
1957
Mannix
1967
Star Trek
1966
Bewitched
1964
The Rifleman
1958
Get Smart
1965
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962
Medical Center
1969
Burke's Law
1963
Matinee Theater
1955
Studio One
1948
Lost in Space
1965
Thriller
1960
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Gunsmoke
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Peter Gunn
1958
Adventures in Paradise
1959
Land of the Giants
1968
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
1959
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964
The Detectives
1959
Laredo
1965
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
Cavalcade of America
1952
Telephone Time
1956
Outlaws
1960
The Rogues
1964
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
Flipper
1964
Garrison's Gorillas
1967
The Jungle Book
1967
The Islanders
1960
Profiles in Courage
1964
Wendy and Me
1964
The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen
1958
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
Paul Temple
1969
The Partners
1971
Rango
1967
Cool Million
1972
Edward and Mrs Simpson
1978
General Electric Theater
1953
The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
Gigi
1958
Jane Eyre
1943
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Mrs. Miniver
1942
Timeslip
1970
Gambit
1966
Madame Bovary
1949
Ichabod and Me
1961
A Hazard of Hearts
1987
Sherlock Holmes in New York
1976
Mission to Moscow
1943
Once Upon a Time
1944
Deception
1946
Hangmen Also Die!
1943
This Above All
1942
A Thousand and One Nights
1945
The Merry Widow
1952
Anna and the King of Siam
1946
The Mask of Dimitrios
1944
Dangerous Blondes
1943
Humoresque
1947
Thunder in the East
1952
Smorgasbord
1983
Saratoga Trunk
1945
The Web
1947
The Shanghai Gesture
1941
Cry of the Werewolf
1944
The Miracle on 34th Street
1955
Summer Storm
1944
Who's Minding the Store?
1963
Slapstick of Another Kind
1982
Pursuit to Algiers
1945
Sombrero
1953
Crosswinds
1951
The Woman in White
1948
The Commissioner
1998
They Got Me Covered
1943
Abroad with Two Yanks
1944
The Black Bird
1975
The Falcon in Hollywood
1944
Public Pigeon No. 1
1957
Three Guns for Texas
1968
Quest
1984
Outside Chance
1978
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest
1946
Joan of Paris
1942
Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel
1937
The Vampire's Ghost
1945
Adventure Island
1947
The Crime Doctor's Warning
1945
The Power of the Whistler
1945
Rubber Racketeers
1942
Ten Days in Paris
1940
The Notorious Lone Wolf
1946
The Steel Lady
1953
Sideshow
1950
Omar Khayyam
1957
The Cross of Lorraine
1943
Thunder on the Hill
1951
Time Out of Mind
1947
Street of Shadows
1937
Nightmare
1942
If Winter Comes
1947
Honeymoon Ahead
1945
The Conquest of the Air
1931
U-Boat Prisoner
1944
The Cat Creature
1973
London Blackout Murders
1943
The Saint in London
1939
Under Secret Orders
1937
Rogue's March
1953
2000 Years Later
1969
Navy Bound
1951
Secrets of Scotland Yard
1944
The Great Commandment
1939
The Epic That Never Was
1969
The Gorilla Man
1943
End of the Road
1944
Get Hep to Love
1942
One More Tomorrow
1946
Blunt Instrument
1981
This Man Is News
1938