| John Abbott | |
| Birth Name: | John Albert Chamberlain Kefford |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1905 |
| Birth Place: | Stepney, London, England |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1936 - 1984 |
John Albert Chamberlain Kefford[1] (5 June 1905 - 24 May 1996) was an English 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". He also played Sesmar in an episode of Lost in Space, "The Dream Monster", in 1966. Abbott was known as a Shakespearean actor.
Abbott was born in the district of Stepney in London on 5 June 1905.[2] He had two siblings - a sister, Ivy Skeates of Cambridge, and a brother, Harold Kefford.
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 go by way of the United States. While in the U.S., he was offered a part in Hollywood in 1941[3] 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 (lead character Edward Vanderman in S5E20’s The Tragedian” - 1960), 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.[4] 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.[5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Conquest of the Air | Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier | |
| 1937 | Mademoiselle Docteur | Armand | Uncredited |
| Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel | Flower Seller | Uncredited | |
| The Importance of Being Earnest | John Worthing | BBC Television (live) | |
| Under Secret Orders | Armand | ||
| 1938 | This Man Is News | Hood with Foreign Accent | Uncredited |
| Richard of Bordeaux | Simon Burley | BBC Television (live) | |
| 1939 | The Tempest | Prospero | BBC Television (live) |
| The Saint in London | Count Stephen Duni | ||
| The Great Commandment | Starving Beggar | Uncredited | |
| 1940 | Ten Days in Paris | André | |
| 1941 | The Shanghai Gesture | Poppy's Escort | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Joan of Paris | English Spy | |
| This Above All | Joe | Uncredited | |
| Mrs. Miniver | Fred | ||
| Rubber Racketeers | Dumbo | ||
| Get Hep to Love | Professor Radowsky | ||
| Nightmare | Karl / Charles | ||
| 1943 | The Gorilla Man | Dr. Ferris | |
| London Blackout Murders | Jack Rawlings | ||
| They Got Me Covered | Gregory Vanescu | ||
| Hangmen Also Die! | Hostage | (scenes deleted) | |
| Mission to Moscow | Grinko | Uncredited | |
| Dangerous Blondes | Roland X. Smith | Uncredited | |
| The Cross of Lorraine | Baked | Uncredited | |
| Jane Eyre | Mason | Uncredited | |
| 1944 | Once Upon a Time | Reporter | Uncredited |
| The Mask of Dimitrios | Mr. Pappas | ||
| Summer Storm | Lunin, Public Prosecutor | ||
| Abroad with Two Yanks | Salesman | ||
| U-Boat Prisoner | Alfonse Lamont | ||
| Secrets of Scotland Yard | Mortimer Cope | ||
| Cry of the Werewolf | Peter Althius | ||
| End of the Road | Chris Martin | ||
| The Falcon in Hollywood | Martin S. Dwyer | ||
| 1945 | The Power of the Whistler | Kaspar Andropolous | |
| Honeymoon Ahead | Welles | ||
| The Vampire's Ghost | Webb Fallon | ||
| A Thousand and One Nights | Ali | ||
| Crime Doctor's Warning | Jimmy Gordon | ||
| Pursuit to Algiers | Jodri | ||
| Saratoga Trunk | Roscoe Bean | ||
| 1946 | The Notorious Lone Wolf | Lal Bara | |
| The Bandit of Sherwood Forest | Will Scarlet | ||
| One More Tomorrow | Joseph Baronova | ||
| Anna and the King of Siam | Phya Phrom | Uncredited | |
| Deception | Bertram Gribble | ||
| Humoresque | Rozner | ||
| 1947 | Time Out of Mind | Max Leiberman | |
| The Web | Charles Murdock | ||
| Adventure Island | Huish | ||
| If Winter Comes | Mr. Twyning | ||
| 1948 | The Woman in White | Frederick Fairlie | |
| Dream Girl | (scenes deleted) | ||
| 1949 | Addio Mimí! | Orchestra Conductor | |
| Madame Bovary | Mayor Tuvache | ||
| 1950 | Sideshow | Pierre | |
| 1951 | Navy Bound | Pappa Cerrano | |
| Thunder on the Hill | Abel Harmer | ||
| Crosswinds | Algernon 'Mousey' Sykes | ||
| 1952 | The Merry Widow | Marshovian Ambassador | |
| Thunder in the East | Nitra Puta | ||
| 1953 | Rogue's March | Herbert Bielensen | |
| Sombrero | Don Daniel | ||
| Cavalcade of America | Colonel Barton | Season 2 Episode 2: "The Stolen General" | |
| The Steel Lady | Mustafa el Melik | ||
| 1955 | Front Row Center | Businessman | Season 1 Episode 8: "Outward Bound" |
| Front Row Center | Dr. Franz Gregorovious | Season 1 Episode 10: "Tender is the Night" | |
| Crusader | Igor Borovin | Season 1 Episode 9: "The Way Out" | |
| Science Fiction Theatre | John Bowers | Season 1 Episode 13: "100 Years Young" | |
| 1956 | Crusader | Gustave | Season 1 Episode 26: "The Optimist" |
| Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre | Barrett | Season 1 Episode 35: "The Hidden People" | |
| Telephone Time | Schliemann's Russian assistant | Season 1 Episode 9: "The Man Who Believed in Fairy Tales" | |
| Studio 57 | Season 2 Episode 39: "The Brown Leather Case" | ||
| The Adventures of Hiram Holliday | Thief | Season 1 Episode 2: "Lapidary Wheel" | |
| General Electric Theater | Ballet Director | Season 4 Episode 14: "Portrait of a Ballerina" | |
| General Electric Theater | Professor Meyerdal | Season 5 Episode 2: "The Glorious Gift of Molly Malloy" | |
| Gunsmoke | Professor Lute Bone | Season 1 Episode 14: "Professor Lute Bone" | |
| 1957 | Public Pigeon No. One | Dipso Dave Rutherford | |
| Omar Khayyam | Yusuf | Uncredited | |
| 1955–1958 | Matinee Theatre | Jasper Purdy | 5 Episodes |
| 1958 | Gigi | Manuel | |
| Studio One | Travers | Season 10 Episode 44: "Bellingham" | |
| The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen | Season 1 Episode 6: "Cat of Many Tails" | ||
| 1959 | The Ann Sothern Show | Carter | Season 1 Episode 14: "Johnny Moves Up" |
| Peter Gunn | Blankenship | Season 1 Episode 28: "Pay Now, Kill Later" | |
| Goodyear Theatre | Stefan | Season 3 Episode 1: "Story Without a Moral" | |
| Have Gun - Will Travel | Winston Ainslee | Season 3 Episode 5: "Shot by Request" | |
| General Electric Theater | Nathan | Season 8 Episode 12: "Absalom, My Son" | |
| 1960 | Gunsmoke | Eddie | Season 5 Episode 20: "The Tragedian" |
| Tightrope | Gideon | Season 1 Episode 19: "Cold Ice" | |
| The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | Professor Dobkin | Season 1 Episode 20: "The Power of Positive Thinking" | |
| The Rifleman | Dr. Henniken | Season 2 Episode 26: "The Vision" | |
| Shangri-La | Chang | TV movie | |
| Shirley Temple's Storybook | Uncle Venner | Season 2 Episode 12: "The House of the Seven Gables" | |
| 1961 | The Islanders | Harwood Gones | Season 1 Episode 16: "Escape from Kaledau" |
| The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Professor Brent | Season 2 Episode 20: "A Great Day for a Scoundrel" | |
| Hong Kong | Alec Borg | Season 1 Episode 20: "The Hunted" | |
| Thriller | Kriss Milo | Season 1 Episode 25: "Trio for Terror" | |
| Adventures in Paradise | Murdock | Season 2 Episode 25: "A Touch of Genius" | |
| Great Ghost Tales | Mr. Arcularis | Season 1 Episode 7: "Mr. Arcularis" | |
| Ichabod and Me | Jeremy Lockhart | Season 1 Episode 6: "The Purple Cow" | |
| Bonanza | Zachariah Wickham | Season 3 Episode 14: "Gabrielle" | |
| 1962 | Perry Mason | Professor Carlos Muntz | Season 6 Episode 1: "The Case of the Bogus Books" |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Mr. Abner Munro | Season 7 Episode 36: "First Class Honeymoon" | |
| 1963 | Who's Minding the Store? | Mr. Orlandos | |
| 1964 | Flipper | "Professor" Marvello | Season 1 Episode 9: "Mr. Marvello" |
| The Beverly Hillbillies | Sir Trevor Gielgud Burton-Guinness | Season 3 Episode 1: "Jed Becomes a Movie Mogul" | |
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Aben | |
| 1965 | Perry Mason | Professor Durwood Tobey | Season 9 Episode 1: "The Case of the Laughing Lady" |
| 1966 | Gambit | Emile | |
| Get Smart | Mondo | Season 1 Episode 17: "Kisses for KAOS" | |
| Lost in Space | Sesmar | Season 2 Episode 14: "The Dream Monster" | |
| The Munsters | Dr. Victor Frankenstein IV | Season 2 Episode 26: "A Visit from Johann" | |
| 1967 | Star Trek | Ayelborne | Season 1 Episode 26: "Errand of Mercy" |
| Bewitched | Leonardo da Vinci | Season 4 Episode 17: "Samantha's da Vinci Dilemma" | |
| The Jungle Book | Akela, the Wolf | Voice | |
| 1968 | Three Guns for Texas | Banker Irwing | |
| Land of the Giants | Professor Gorak | Season 1 Episode 4: "Underground" | |
| 1969 | 2000 Years Later | Gregorius | |
| 1972 | Cool Million | Sir Godwyn Phipps-Cheston | Season 1 Episode 3: "Assault on Gavaloni" |
| 1975 | The Black Bird | DuQuai | |
| 1976 | Sherlock Holmes in New York | Heller | TV movie |
| Holmes & Yo-Yo | Montecito | Season 1 Episode 11: "Connection, Connection II" | |
| 1978 | Outside Chance | Coroner | TV movie |
| 1982 | Slapstick of Another Kind | Dr. Frankenstein | |
| 1983 | Cracking Up | Surgeon | |