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John Abbott
Known for: ActingJohn 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.
Filmography 41
Džungliraamat
as Akela (voice) 
Mrs. Miniver
as Fred 
Madame Bovary
as Mayor Tuvache 
Jane Eyre
as Mason 
Crosswinds
as Sykes 
Gigi
as Manuel 
Anna and the King of Siam
as Phya Phrom 
The Mask of Dimitrios
as Mr. Pappas 
Gambit
as Emile 
Who's Minding the Store?
as Mr. Orlandos 
If Winter Comes
as Mr. Twyning 
Thunder in the East
as Nitra Puta 
Pursuit to Algiers
as Jodri 
Summer Storm
as Lunin 
The Saint in London
as Count Stephen Duni 
The Cat Creature
as Dr. Reinhart 
Deception
as Bertram Gribble 
Once Upon a Time
as Reporter (uncredited) 
A Thousand and One Nights
as Ali 
Omar Khayyam
as Yusuf 
Humoresque
as Rozner 
Cry of the Werewolf
as Peter Althius 
Joan of Paris
as English Spy 
Smorgasbord
as Surgeon 
They Got Me Covered
as Gregory Vanesou 
Thunder on the Hill
as Abel Harmer 
The Crime Doctor's Warning
as Jimmy Gordon 
The Web
as Charles Murdock 
The Cross of Lorraine
as Baker (uncredited) 
Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel
as Flower Seller 
This Above All
as Joe 
Public Pigeon No. 1
as Dipso Dale Rutherford 
The Miracle on 34th Street
as Dr. Sawyer 
The Notorious Lone Wolf
as Lal Bara 
Slapstick of Another Kind
as Dr. Frankenstein 
Nightmare
as Carl aka Charles 
Sombrero
as Don Daniel 
Saratoga Trunk
as Roscoe Bean 
The Conquest of the Air
as Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier 
The Steel Lady
as Mustafa el Melik