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