John Albert Chamberlain Kefford (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.
Biography Abbott was born in the district of Stepney in London on 5 June 1905. He had two siblings - a sister, Ivy Skeates of Cambridge, and a brother, Harold Kefford.
In 1933, 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 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.Abbott had no idea why he was blacklisted until around 1990, when he was watching a documentary on Dalton Trumbo, discovered that the author had used Abbott's name as an alias. In his last years, Abbott taught acting to students free of charge. Death Abbott died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from natural causes on 24 May 1996 at the age of 90.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1936Conquest of the AirJean-François Pilâtre de Rozier 1937Mademoiselle DocteurArmandUncreditedReturn of the Scarlet PimpernelFlower SellerUncreditedThe Importance of Being EarnestJohn WorthingBBC Television (live)Under Secret OrdersArmand1938This Man Is NewsHood with Foreign AccentUncreditedRichard of BordeauxSimon BurleyBBC Television (live)1939The TempestProsperoBBC Television (live)The Saint in LondonCount Stephen DuniThe Great CommandmentStarving BeggarUncredited1940Ten Days in ParisAndré 1941The Shanghai GesturePoppy's EscortUncredited1942Joan of ParisEnglish SpyThis Above AllJoeUncreditedMrs. MiniverFredRubber RacketeersDumboGet Hep to LoveProfessor RadowskyNightmareKarl / Charles1943The Gorilla ManDr. FerrisLondon Blackout MurdersJack RawlingsThey Got Me CoveredGregory VanescuHangmen Also Die!Hostage(scenes deleted)Mission to MoscowGrinkoUncreditedDangerous BlondesRoland X. SmithUncreditedThe Cross of LorraineBakedUncreditedJane EyreMasonUncredited1944Once Upon a TimeReporterUncreditedThe Mask of DimitriosMr. PappasSummer StormLunin, Public ProsecutorAbroad with Two YanksSalesmanU-Boat PrisonerAlfonse LamontSecrets of Scotland YardMortimer CopeCry of the WerewolfPeter AlthiusEnd of the RoadChris MartinThe Falcon in HollywoodMartin S. Dwyer1945The Power of the WhistlerKaspar AndropolousHoneymoon AheadWellesThe Vampire's GhostWebb FallonA Thousand and One NightsAliCrime Doctor's WarningJimmy GordonPursuit to AlgiersJodriSaratoga TrunkRoscoe Bean1946The Notorious Lone WolfLal BaraThe Bandit of Sherwood ForestWill ScarletOne More TomorrowJoseph BaronovaAnna and the King of SiamPhya PhromUncreditedDeceptionBertram GribbleHumoresqueRozner1947Time Out of MindMax LeibermanThe WebCharles MurdockAdventure IslandHuishIf Winter ComesMr. Twyning1948The Woman in WhiteFrederick FairlieDream Girl(scenes deleted)1949Addio Mimí!Orchestra ConductorMadame BovaryMayor Tuvache1950SideshowPierre1951Navy BoundPappa CerranoThunder on the HillAbel HarmerCrosswindsAlgernon 'Mousey' Sykes1952The Merry WidowMarshovian AmbassadorThunder in the EastNitra Puta1953Rogue's MarchHerbert BielensenSombreroDon DanielCavalcade of AmericaColonel BartonSeason 2 Episode 2: "The Stolen General"The Steel LadyMustafa el Melik 1955Front Row CenterBusinessmanSeason 1 Episode 8: "Outward Bound"Front Row CenterDr. Franz GregoroviousSeason 1 Episode 10: "Tender is the Night"CrusaderIgor Borovin Season 1 Episode 9: "The Way Out"Science Fiction TheatreJohn BowersSeason 1 Episode 13: "100 Years Young"1956CrusaderGustave Season 1 Episode 26: "The Optimist"Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside TheatreBarrettSeason 1 Episode 35: "The Hidden People"Telephone TimeSchliemann's Russian assistant Season 1 Episode 9: "The Man Who Believed in Fairy Tales"Studio 57Season 2 Episode 39: "The Brown Leather Case"The Adventures of Hiram HollidayThiefSeason 1 Episode 2: "Lapidary Wheel"General Electric TheaterBallet Director Season 4 Episode 14: "Portrait of a Ballerina"General Electric TheaterProfessor Meyerdal Season 5 Episode 2: "The Glorious Gift of Molly Malloy"GunsmokeProfessor Lute Bone Season 1 Episode 14: "Professor Lute Bone"1957Public Pigeon No. OneDipso Dave RutherfordOmar KhayyamYusufUncredited1955–1958Matinee TheatreJasper Purdy5 Episodes1958GigiManuelStudio OneTraversSeason 10 Episode 44: "Bellingham"The Further Adventures of Ellery QueenSeason 1 Episode 6: "Cat of Many Tails"1959The Ann Sothern ShowCarterSeason 1 Episode 14: "Johnny Moves Up"Peter GunnBlankenshipSeason 1 Episode 28: "Pay Now, Kill Later"Goodyear TheatreStefanSeason 3 Episode 1: "Story Without a Moral"Have Gun - Will TravelWinston AinsleeSeason 3 Episode 5: "Shot by Request"General Electric TheaterNathan Season 8 Episode 12: "Absalom, My Son"1960GunsmokeEddie Season 5 Episode 20: "The Tragedian"TightropeGideonSeason 1 Episode 19: "Cold Ice"The Many Loves of Dobie GillisProfessor DobkinSeason 1 Episode 20: "The Power of Positive Thinking"The RiflemanDr. HennikenSeason 2 Episode 26: "The Vision"Shangri-LaChangTV movieShirley Temple's StorybookUncle VennerSeason 2 Episode 12: "The House of the Seven Gables"1961The IslandersHarwood GonesSeason 1 Episode 16: "Escape from Kaledau"The DuPont Show with June AllysonProfessor BrentSeason 2 Episode 20: "A Great Day for a Scoundrel"Hong KongAlec BorgSeason 1 Episode 20: "The Hunted"ThrillerKriss MiloSeason 1 Episode 25: "Trio for Terror"Adventures in ParadiseMurdockSeason 2 Episode 25: "A Touch of Genius"Great Ghost TalesMr. ArcularisSeason 1 Episode 7: "Mr. Arcularis"Ichabod and MeJeremy LockhartSeason 1 Episode 6: "The Purple Cow"BonanzaZachariah WickhamSeason 3 Episode 14: "Gabrielle"1962Perry MasonProfessor Carlos MuntzSeason 6 Episode 1: "The Case of the Bogus Books"Alfred Hitchcock PresentsMr. Abner MunroSeason 7 Episode 36: "First Class Honeymoon"1963Who's Minding the Store?Mr. Orlandos1964Flipper"Professor" MarvelloSeason 1 Episode 9: "Mr. Marvello"The Beverly HillbilliesSir Trevor Gielgud Burton-GuinnessSeason 3 Episode 1: "Jed Becomes a Movie Mogul"1965The Greatest Story Ever ToldAben1965Perry MasonProfessor Durwood TobeySeason 9 Episode 1: "The Case of the Laughing Lady"1966GambitEmileGet SmartMondoSeason 1 Episode 17: "Kisses for KAOS"Lost in SpaceSesmarSeason 2 Episode 14: "The Dream Monster"The MunstersDr. Victor Frankenstein IVSeason 2 Episode 26: "A Visit from Johann"1967Star TrekAyelborneSeason 1 Episode 26: "Errand of Mercy"BewitchedLeonardo da VinciSeason 4 Episode 17: "Samantha's da Vinci Dilemma"The Jungle BookAkela, the WolfVoice1968Three Guns for TexasBanker IrwingLand of the GiantsProfessor GorakSeason 1 Episode 4: "Underground"19692000 Years LaterGregorius1972Cool MillionSir Godwyn Phipps-ChestonSeason 1 Episode 3: "Assault on Gavaloni"1975The Black BirdDuQuai1976Sherlock Holmes in New YorkHellerTV movieHolmes & Yo-YoMontecitoSeason 1 Episode 11: "Connection, Connection II"1978Outside ChanceCoronerTV movie1982Slapstick of Another KindDr. Frankenstein1983Cracking UpSurgeon
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