Cast

John Abbott

Acting

Cast

John Abbott

Known for

Acting

Born

1905-06-05

From

Stepney, London, England, UK

Died

1996-05-24

Also known as John Lloyd Abbott, John Albert Chamberlain Kefford

Biography

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

John Abbott

Biography

The Jungle Book

Jane Eyre

The Mask of Dimitrios

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Gigi

Mrs. Miniver

Anna and the King of Siam

Quest

Gambit

Who's Minding the Store?

Hangmen Also Die!

The Cross of Lorraine

Slapstick of Another Kind

A Hazard of Hearts

This Above All

The Merry Widow

The Steel Lady

Madame Bovary

Pursuit to Algiers

A Thousand and One Nights

Thunder on the Hill

Once Upon a Time

The Shanghai Gesture

The Commissioner

The Cat Creature

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest

They Got Me Covered

Saratoga Trunk

Three Guns for Texas

The Notorious Lone Wolf

Dangerous Blondes

Mission to Moscow

Humoresque

The Crime Doctor's Warning

The Web

The Saint in London

The Black Bird

Sherlock Holmes in New York

2000 Years Later

Rogue's March

Rubber Racketeers

One More Tomorrow

Summer Storm

Crosswinds

Sideshow

Omar Khayyam

The Vampire's Ghost

Sombrero

Street of Shadows

The Woman in White

The Conquest of the Air

Get Hep to Love

Smorgasbord

Deception

The Power of the Whistler

End of the Road

The Miracle on 34th Street

Adventure Island

Joan of Paris

U-Boat Prisoner

London Blackout Murders

If Winter Comes

The Gorilla Man

Abroad with Two Yanks

Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel

Thunder in the East

Outside Chance

Time Out of Mind

Cry of the Werewolf

Secrets of Scotland Yard

Public Pigeon No. 1

Nightmare

Blunt Instrument

Navy Bound

The Epic That Never Was

This Man Is News

Under Secret Orders