John Stone (actor) explained

John Stone
Birth Name:John Hailstone
Occupation:Actor

John Stone (born John Hailstone; 26 May 1924 – 2007) was a Welsh actor.

Career

Born in Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, Stone was educated at Brighton College. He served in the R.A.F. and began his career as a journalist. Soon he switched to acting and only appeared on the stage until 1945 when he joined the B.B.C. Repertory Company. He made his first West End appearance in One Wild Oat by Vernon Sylvaine, 1948.[1] Subsequent appearances include the London premiere of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, Comedy Theatre, 1956;[2] And Suddenly it's Spring, Duke of York's Theatre, 1959;[3] Signpost to Murder, Cambridge Theatre, 1962; and the role of Crestwell, the laconic butler, in Noël Coward's Relative Values, Westminster Theatre, 1973.

Under contract to Rank, as one of the Sydney Box Company of Youth ("Charm School") in the late 1940s.[4] Film credits include The Weaker Sex (dir. Roy Baker), 1948; The Frightened City, 1961; Masque of the Red Death (dir. Roger Corman), 1964; Deadlier Than the Male (1967); and You Only Live Twice (1967).[5]

Stone was a familiar face on British television from the 1950s-1980s, and featured as Captain John Dillon in Quatermass II (1955). In 1957, he starred as special agent, Mike Anson, in an early ITV thriller series, Destination Downing Street (Associated Rediffusion),[6] which ran for 26 weeks. His 1964 appearance in The Avengers was followed in 1967 when he appeared in the series' episode entitled "the Joker" as Major John Fancy. From 1971 to 1974 Stone played Dr Ian Moody in the Yorkshire Television series, Justice, opposite Margaret Lockwood, his offscreen partner of seventeen years.[7] Subsequently, he appeared in the BBC series, Flesh and Blood (1980–82) and Strike it Rich (1986/87).

Under his birth name of John Hailstone, he wrote A Present for the Past,[8] a play premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival of 1966.[9] It starred Wendy Hiller, Renee Asherson, and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, and was produced by Michael Codron.

Personal life

He married the actress Lian-Shin Yang in 1958. She died in 1970.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1945Johnny Frenchman Sam Harvey
1946Night Boat to Dublin Young Newlywed Uncredited
1947The Upturned Glass Male Student Uncredited
1947Holiday Camp Detective #2
1948My Brother's Keeper Wainwright's Assistant Uncredited
1948Colonel Bogey Wilfred Barriteau
1948The Weaker Sex Sgt. Roddy McIntyre
1948The Blind Goddess Sir John's Junior
1949The Bad Lord Byron Lord Clark
1956Reach for the Sky Limping Officer Uncredited
1956X the Unknown Jerry Uncredited
1957Operation Murder Inspector Price
1958Moment of Indiscretion Eric
1961The Frightened City Hood
1964Masque of the Red Death Guard Uncredited
1967Deadlier Than the Male Wyngarde
1967You Only Live Twice Submarine Captain
1968A Testing Job (Educational Short Film) Driving Instructor Uncredited
1969Doppelgänger London Delegate
1971Assault Fire Chief
1993Merlin Mordred

External links

Notes and References

  1. Cast list, One Wild Oat (Acting Edition), Samuel French Ltd., 1951
  2. Review, The Stage, 18 October 1956
  3. Review, The Stage, 12 November 1959
  4. British Film Yearbook 1947-48 (Ed. Peter Noble), pg. 356
  5. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0831959/ Entry ay IMDb
  6. Web site: FTVDB entry . 19 January 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121017232003/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/29844?view=credit&page=1 . 17 October 2012 . dead .
  7. "Once a Wicked Lady", Hilton Tims, 1989
  8. http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsH/HailstoneJohn.htm Profile of John Hailstone
  9. Review, The Times, 5 September 1966