John Abbott

DOB: 1905-06-05

DOD: 1996-05-24

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.

Starred In

1937
Movie

Street of Shadows

1946
Movie

Deception

1967
Movie

The Jungle Book

1947
Movie

Humoresque

1942
Movie

Mrs. Miniver

1966
Movie

Gambit

1947
Movie

The Web

1978
Movie

Outside Chance

1948
Movie

The Woman in White

1944
Movie

End of the Road

1949
Movie

Madame Bovary

1942
Movie

Joan of Paris

1951
Movie

Crosswinds

1958
Movie

Gigi

1987
Movie

A Hazard of Hearts

1945
Movie

Pursuit to Algiers

1944
Movie

Summer Storm

1943
Movie

The Gorilla Man

1951
Movie

Navy Bound

1950
Movie

Sideshow

1969
Movie

2000 Years Later

1947
Movie

If Winter Comes

1952
Movie

The Merry Widow

1947
Movie

Adventure Island

1957
Movie

Omar Khayyam

1953
Movie

Rogue's March

1945
Movie

Honeymoon Ahead

1947
Movie

Time Out of Mind

1940
Movie

Ten Days in Paris

1944
Movie

U-Boat Prisoner

1942
Movie

Rubber Racketeers

1983
Movie

Smorgasbord

1945
Movie

Saratoga Trunk

1943
Movie

Hangmen Also Die!

1953
Movie

The Steel Lady

1946
Movie

One More Tomorrow

1973
Movie

The Cat Creature

1943
Movie

Mission to Moscow

1975
Movie

The Black Bird

1942
Movie

This Above All

1942
Movie

Nightmare

1943
Movie

Jane Eyre

1938
Movie

This Man Is News

1953
Movie

Sombrero

1943
Movie

Dangerous Blondes

1942
Movie

Get Hep to Love

1944
Movie

Once Upon a Time

1984
Movie

Quest

1998
Movie

The Commissioner

1981
Movie

Blunt Instrument

1966
Tv

Star Trek

1963
Tv

Burke's Law

1967
Tv

Mannix

1964
Tv

Flipper

1965
Tv

Lost in Space

1955
Tv

Gunsmoke

1957
Tv

Perry Mason

1948
Tv

Studio One

1964
Tv

Bewitched

1960
Tv

The Islanders

1965
Tv

Get Smart

1965
Tv

Laredo

1960
Tv

Outlaws

1971
Tv

The Partners

1960
Tv

Thriller

1958
Tv

Peter Gunn

1964
Tv

Wendy and Me

1970
Tv

Timeslip

1958
Tv

The Rifleman

1964
Tv

The Rogues

1967
Tv

Rango

1955
Tv

Gunsmoke

1957
Tv

Perry Mason

1972
Tv

Cool Million