John Abbott
Acting
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.
The Commissioner
Commissioner's Laywer
A Hazard of Hearts
2nd Gambler
Quest
Smorgasbord
Surgeon
Slapstick of Another Kind
Dr. Frankenstein
Blunt Instrument
Dr. Durrant
Outside Chance
Coroner
Sherlock Holmes in New York
Heller
The Black Bird
Duquai
The Cat Creature
Dr. Reinhart
The Epic That Never Was
Himself – Ms. Robson's Host (uncredited)
2000 Years Later
Gregorius
Three Guns for Texas
Banker Irwing
The Jungle Book
Akela (voice)
Gambit
Emile
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Aben
Who's Minding the Store?
Mr. Orlandos
Gigi
Manuel
Omar Khayyam
Yusuf
Public Pigeon No. 1
Dipso Dale Rutherford
The Miracle on 34th Street
Dr. Sawyer
The Steel Lady
Mustafa el Melik
Sombrero
Don Daniel
Rogue's March
Herbert Bielensen
Thunder in the East
Nitra Puta
The Merry Widow
Marshovian Ambassador
Thunder on the Hill
Abel Harmer
Crosswinds
Sykes
Navy Bound
Pappa Cerrano
Sideshow
Pierre
Madame Bovary
Mayor Tuvache
The Woman in White
Frederick Fairlie
If Winter Comes
Mr. Twyning
Adventure Island
Huish
The Web
Charles Murdock
Time Out of Mind
Max Leiberman
Humoresque
Rozner
Deception
Bertram Gribble
Anna and the King of Siam
Phya Phrom
One More Tomorrow
Joseph Baronova
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest
Will Scarlet
The Notorious Lone Wolf
Lal Bara
Saratoga Trunk
Roscoe Bean
Pursuit to Algiers
Jodri
The Crime Doctor's Warning
Jimmy Gordon
A Thousand and One Nights
Ali
Honeymoon Ahead
Welles
The Power of the Whistler
Kaspar Andropolous
The Vampire's Ghost
Webb Fallon
The Falcon in Hollywood
Martin S. Dwyer
End of the Road
Chris Martin
Cry of the Werewolf
Peter Althius
Abroad with Two Yanks
Salesman
Secrets of Scotland Yard
Mortimer Cope
U-Boat Prisoner
Alfonse Lamont
Summer Storm
Lunin
Once Upon a Time
Reporter (uncredited)
The Mask of Dimitrios
Mr. Pappas
Jane Eyre
Mason
The Cross of Lorraine
Baker (uncredited)
Dangerous Blondes
Roland X. Smith (uncredited)
Mission to Moscow
Grinko (uncredited)
Hangmen Also Die!
Hostage (scenes deleted)
They Got Me Covered
Gregory Vanesou
The Gorilla Man
Dr. Ferris
London Blackout Murders
Jack Rawlings
Nightmare
Carl aka Charles
Get Hep to Love
Professor Radowsky
Mrs. Miniver
Fred
Rubber Racketeers
Dumbo
This Above All
Joe
Joan of Paris
English Spy
The Shanghai Gesture
Poppy's Escort
Ten Days in Paris
André
The Great Commandment
Starving Begger (uncredited)
The Great Commandment
Starving Beggar
The Saint in London
Count Stephen Duni
This Man Is News
Hood with Foreign Accent
Under Secret Orders
Armand
Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel
Flower Seller
Street of Shadows
The Conquest of the Air
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier