Biography
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.
Filmography
all 124
Movies 82
TV Shows 42
self 2
Voice 1
The Commissioner (1998)
A Hazard of Hearts (1987)
Quest (1984)
Smorgasbord (1983)
Slapstick of Another Kind (1982)
Outside Chance (1978)
Edward and Mrs Simpson (1978)
The Cat Creature (1973)
Cool Million (1972)
Medical Center (1969)
The Epic That Never Was (1969)
2000 Years Later (1969)
Three Guns for Texas (1968)
Land of the Giants (1968)
The Jungle Book (1967)
Gambit (1966)
Star Trek (1966)
Lost in Space (1965)
Profiles in Courage (1964)
The Rogues (1964)
Who's Minding the Store? (1963)
Burke's Law (1963)
The Beverly Hillbillies (1962)
The Islanders (1960)
Thriller (1960)
The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1959)
Gigi (1958)
Perry Mason (1957)
Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957)
The Miracle on 34th Street (1955)
Gunsmoke (1955)
The Steel Lady (1953)
Sombrero (1953)
Rogue's March (1953)
General Electric Theater (1953)
Thunder in the East (1952)
Cavalcade of America (1952)
The Merry Widow (1952)
Thunder on the Hill (1951)
Crosswinds (1951)
Navy Bound (1951)
Sideshow (1950)
The Eternal Melody (1949)
Madame Bovary (1949)
Studio One (1948)
The Woman in White (1948)
If Winter Comes (1947)
The Web (1947)
Time Out of Mind (1947)
Humoresque (1947)
Deception (1946)
Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
One More Tomorrow (1946)
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946)
Saratoga Trunk (1945)
The Crime Doctor's Warning (1945)
The Power of the Whistler (1945)
The Vampire's Ghost (1945)
The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)
End of the Road (1944)
Cry of the Werewolf (1944)
Secrets of Scotland Yard (1944)
U-Boat Prisoner (1944)
Summer Storm (1944)
Once Upon a Time (1944)
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
Dangerous Blondes (1943)
Mission to Moscow (1943)
Hangmen Also Die! (1943)
They Got Me Covered (1943)
The Gorilla Man (1943)
London Blackout Murders (1943)
Nightmare (1942)
Get Hep to Love (1942)
Joan of Paris (1942)
The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
The Great Commandment (1939)
The Saint in London (1939)
This Man Is News (1938)
Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937)
The Conquest of the Air (1936)
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Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1905-06-05
Deathday1996-05-24 (90 years old)
Birth PlaceLondon, United Kingdom
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom
Also Known AsJohn Lloyd Abbott, John Albert Chamberlain Kefford
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