Acting · Stepney, London, England, UK · Born June 5, 1905
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.
MovieThe Commissioner
1998
as Commissioner's Laywer
MovieA Hazard of Hearts
1987
as 2nd Gambler
MovieQuest
1984
MovieSmorgasbord
1983
as Surgeon
MovieSlapstick of Another Kind
1982
as Dr. Frankenstein
Blunt Instrument
1981
as Dr. Durrant
Outside Chance
1978
as Coroner
TVEdward and Mrs Simpson
1978
as Mouth Organist
MovieSherlock Holmes in New York
1976
as Heller
MovieThe Black Bird
1975
as Duquai
MovieThe Cat Creature
1973
as Dr. Reinhart
TVCool Million
1972
as Sir Godwin Phipps-Cheston
The Partners
1971
TVTimeslip
1970
TVPaul Temple
1969
as Floor Manager
TVMedical Center
1969
as Professor MacIntyre
MovieThe Epic That Never Was
1969
as Ms. Robson's Host (uncredited)
Movie2000 Years Later
1969
as Gregorius
MovieThree Guns for Texas
1968
as Banker Irwing
TVLand of the Giants
1968
as Prof. Gorak
MovieThe Jungle Book
1967
as Akela (voice)
TVMannix
1967
TVGarrison's Gorillas
1967
TVRango
1967
MovieGambit
1966
as Emile
TVStar Trek
1966
as Ayleborn
TVGet Smart
1965
as Mondo
TVLaredo
1965
TVLost in Space
1965
as Sesmar
MovieThe Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
as Aben
Profiles in Courage
1964
as Senator Wigfall
TVThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964
as Dr. Ellias Swan
TVFlipper
1964
TVBewitched
1964
TVWendy and Me
1964
TVThe Rogues
1964
as Sir Egbert
MovieWho's Minding the Store?
1963
as Mr. Orlandos
TVBurke's Law
1963
as Conrad Jaeger
TVThe Beverly Hillbillies
1962
TVIchabod and Me
1961
TVThe Islanders
1960
as Harwood Gones
TVOutlaws
1960
TVThriller
1960
as Kriss Milo ('The Mask of Medusa')
TVThe Detectives
1959
TVAdventures in Paradise
1959
as Murdock
TVThe Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
1959
TVThe DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
as Professor Brent
TV77 Sunset Strip
1958
as Dr. Felstrand
TVThe Rifleman
1958
TVThe Further Adventures of Ellery Queen
1958
as The Cat
TVPeter Gunn
1958
MovieGigi
1958
as Manuel
TVPerry Mason
1957
as Prof. Carlos Muntz
TVHave Gun, Will Travel
1957
as Winston Ainslee
MovieOmar Khayyam
1957
as Yusuf
MoviePublic Pigeon No. 1
1957
as Dipso Dale Rutherford
TVTelephone Time
1956
as Jutchenko
MovieThe Miracle on 34th Street
1955
as Dr. Sawyer
TVMatinee Theater
1955
TVThe 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
as Dr. Albert Sawyer
TVAlfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Mr. Munro
TVGunsmoke
1955
as Professor Lute Bone
MovieThe Steel Lady
1953
as Mustafa el Melik
MovieSombrero
1953
as Don Daniel
MovieRogue's March
1953
as Herbert Bielensen
TVGeneral Electric Theater
1953
as Professsor Meyerdal
MovieThunder in the East
1952
as Nitra Puta
TVCavalcade of America
1952
as Col. Barton
MovieThe Merry Widow
1952
as Marshovian Ambassador
TVHallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Chang
MovieThunder on the Hill
1951
as Abel Harmer
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
MovieCrosswinds
1951
as Sykes
MovieNavy Bound
1951
as Pappa Cerrano
MovieSideshow
1950
as Pierre
MovieMadame Bovary
1949
as Mayor Tuvache
TVStudio One
1948
as Travers
MovieThe Woman in White
1948
as Frederick Fairlie
MovieIf Winter Comes
1947
as Mr. Twyning
MovieAdventure Island
1947
as Huish
MovieThe Web
1947
as Charles Murdock
MovieTime Out of Mind
1947
as Max Leiberman
MovieHumoresque
1947
as Rozner
MovieDeception
1946
as Bertram Gribble
MovieAnna and the King of Siam
1946
as Phya Phrom
MovieOne More Tomorrow
1946
as Joseph Baronova
MovieThe Bandit of Sherwood Forest
1946
as Will Scarlet
MovieThe Notorious Lone Wolf
1946
as Lal Bara
MovieSaratoga Trunk
1945
as Roscoe Bean
MoviePursuit to Algiers
1945
as Jodri
MovieThe Crime Doctor's Warning
1945
as Jimmy Gordon
MovieA Thousand and One Nights
1945
as Ali
MovieHoneymoon Ahead
1945
as Welles
MovieThe Power of the Whistler
1945
as Kaspar Andropolous
MovieThe Vampire's Ghost
1945
as Webb Fallon
MovieThe Falcon in Hollywood
1944
as Martin S. Dwyer
MovieEnd of the Road
1944
as Chris Martin
MovieCry of the Werewolf
1944
as Peter Althius
MovieAbroad with Two Yanks
1944
as Salesman
MovieSecrets of Scotland Yard
1944
as Mortimer Cope
MovieU-Boat Prisoner
1944
as Alfonse Lamont
MovieSummer Storm
1944
as Lunin
MovieOnce Upon a Time
1944
as Reporter (uncredited)
MovieThe Mask of Dimitrios
1944
as Mr. Pappas
MovieJane Eyre
1943
as Mason
MovieThe Cross of Lorraine
1943
as Baker (uncredited)
MovieDangerous Blondes
1943
as Roland X. Smith (uncredited)
MovieMission to Moscow
1943
as Grinko (uncredited)
MovieHangmen Also Die!
1943
as Hostage (scenes deleted)
MovieThey Got Me Covered
1943
as Gregory Vanesou
MovieThe Gorilla Man
1943
as Dr. Ferris
MovieLondon Blackout Murders
1943
as Jack Rawlings
MovieNightmare
1942
as Carl aka Charles
MovieGet Hep to Love
1942
as Professor Radowsky
MovieMrs. Miniver
1942
as Fred
MovieRubber Racketeers
1942
as Dumbo
MovieThis Above All
1942
as Joe
MovieJoan of Paris
1942
as English Spy
MovieThe Shanghai Gesture
1941
as Poppy's Escort
MovieTen Days in Paris
1940
as André
MovieThe Great Commandment
1939
as Starving Beggar
MovieThe Saint in London
1939
as Count Stephen Duni
MovieThis Man Is News
1938
as Hood with Foreign Accent
MovieUnder Secret Orders
1937
as Armand
MovieReturn of the Scarlet Pimpernel
1937
as Flower Seller
MovieStreet of Shadows
1937
MovieThe Conquest of the Air
1931
as Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
