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