John Justin (24 November 1917 – 29 November 2002) was a British stage and film actor.

Early life

John Justinian de Ledesma was born in Knightsbridge, London, England, the son of a well-off Argentine rancher. Though he grew up on his father's ranch, he was educated at Bryanston School in Bryanston,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. He developed an interest in flying and became a qualified pilot at the age of 12, though he was not allowed to fly solo at the time because of his age.

Acting career

He became interested in acting at a young age. By the age of 16, he had joined the

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

Repertory. In 1937, he briefly trained with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but did not like it and soon joined the repertory company of John Gielgud. Among the plays he appeared in was ''

Dear Octopus ''Dear Octopus'' is a comedy by the playwright and novelist Dodie Smith. It opened at the Queen's Theatre, London on 14 September 1938. On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 the run was halted after 373 performances; after a ...

''.

''The Thief of Bagdad''

In 1938, he auditioned for and was cast the role for which he is perhaps best remembered, Ahmad in the 1940 version of '' The Thief of Bagdad'', opposite Sabu. To do so, he had to sign a seven-year contract with Alexander Korda.

Second World War

The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

broke out during the film's production. After completing the picture, Justin joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, serving as a test pilot and flying instructor. He was injured in a crash. He was given leave to work on two films, '' The Gentle Sex'' (1943) with Leslie Howard, and '' Journey Together'' (1944), an RAF feature film with a cast led by Richard Attenborough, Jack Watling, David Tomlinson, and

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

. Bessie Love, whose career began in the silent era, also appeared in the cast.

Post-war

With the war's end, Justin returned to acting. In 1948, he did a stint at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon, appearing in ''King John'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', ''The Winter's Tale'', ''Othello'', ''Hamlet'', and ''Troilus and Cressida''. He also made the film '' Call of the Blood'' (1948). In 1949, he appeared on stage in ''Peter Pan'' and was in ''Antigone'' on the BBC. Justin was in ''

Return to Tyassi ''Return to Tyassi'' is a 1950 play by the British writer Benn Levy. The plot concerns a woman with a shady past who attempts to redeem herself. Levy directed the play, which featured his wife Constance Cummings in the lead role. It premiered at ...

'' (1950) on the West End and appeared in '' The Angel with the Trumpet'' (1950). Justin appeared in the film '' The Sound Barrier'' (1952) and played the lead in ''

Hot Ice Sodium acetate, CH3COONa, also abbreviated Na O Ac, is the sodium salt of acetic acid. This colorless deliquescent salt has a wide range of uses. Applications Biotechnological Sodium acetate is used as the carbon source for culturing bacter ...

'' (1952). After appearing in ''Uncle Vanya'' (1952) on stage, he focused on film work. He was in '' The Village'' (1953), a Swiss film; '' Melba'' (1953), a biopic; ''

King of the Khyber Rifles ''King of the Khyber Rifles'' is a novel by British writer Talbot Mundy. Captain Athelstan King is a secret agent for the British Raj at the beginning of the First World War. Heavily influenced both by Mundy's own unsuccessful career in India ...

'' (1954), a Hollywood film with

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

; '' Seagulls Over Sorrento'' (1954) with Gene Kelly; ''

The Teckman Mystery ''The Teckman Mystery'' is a 1954 British mystery film directed by Wendy Toye and starring Margaret Leighton, John Justin, Roland Culver and Michael Medwin. It was shot at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director William Kellne ...

'' (1954) with Margaret Leighton; ''

The Man Who Loved Redheads ''The Man Who Loved Redheads'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Moira Shearer, John Justin and Roland Culver. The film is based on the play '' Who is Sylvia?'' (1950) by Terence Rattigan, which is reputedly a ...

'' (1955) with

Moira Shearer Moira Shearer King, Lady Kennedy (17 January 1926 – 31 January 2006), was an internationally renowned Scottish ballet dancer and actress. She was famous for her performances in Powell and Pressburger's '' The Red Shoes'' (1948) and '' The Ta ...

. Fox called him back for '' Untamed'' (1955) and Warwick Films used him in '' Safari'' (1956) with

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...

. Justin had a good role in Fox's '' Island in the Sun'' (1957), romancing Dorothy Dandridge. In 1957, he appeared on stage in ''Dinner with the Family''. In 1959 he joined the Old Vic, where his plays included ''The Double Dealer'', ''As You Like It'', and ''The Importance of Being Earnest''. He made his Broadway debut in 1960 in the play ''Little Moon of Alban'' and was in '' The Spider's Web'' (1960). He was later in stage productions of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1963), ''Death of a Salesman'' (1965), and ''As You Like It'' (1965). Between 1963 and 1970 he made no film appearances. In 1968 he played Thorin Oakenshield in the BBC Radio adaptation of '' The Hobbit''.

Later career

On stage he was in ''Lulu'' (1971), toured South Africa in ''Who Killed Santa Claus?'' (1971), was in ''Old Fruit'' (1974), ''A Man And His Wife'' (1974) Later films included Ken Russell's '' Savage Messiah'' (1972), '' Lisztomania'' (1975) and '' Valentino'' (1977). In 1979, he played the ghoulish lover in the BBC's dramatisation of Sheridan Le Fanu's '' Strange Incident in the Life of Schalcken the Painter'', one of its Christmas ghost stories. His love was for the stage. He called his film career "a mistake".

Personal life

Justin was married three times, first to dancer and choreographer

Pola Nirenska Pola Nirenska (28 July 1910 — 25 July 1992), born Pola Nirensztajn, was a Polish performer of modern dance. She had a critically acclaimed if brief career in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Poland in the 1930s before fleeing the continent in 1935 ...

. His second marriage, to actress

Barbara Murray Barbara Ann Murray (27 September 1929 – 20 May 2014) was an English actress. Murray was most active in the 1940s and 1950s as a fresh-faced leading lady in many British films such as ''Passport to Pimlico'' (1949) and ''Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (19 ...

, lasted from 1952 to 1964; they had three daughters. From 1970 to his death in 2002, he was married to Alison McMurdo.

Complete filmography

*'' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940) - Ahmad *'' The Gentle Sex'' (1943) - Flying Officer David Sheridan *'' Journey Together'' (1945) - Flying Instructor, Flying Grading School *''No Alibi'' (1947, Short) - Pilot *''Ridgeway's Late Joys'' (1947, TV) *'' Call of the Blood'' (1949) - David Erskine *''Antigone'' (1949, live TV drama) - Haemon *'' The Angel with the Trumpet'' (1950) - Paul Alt *''The World of Light'' (1950, live TV drama) - Bill Hamblin *''Rush Job'' (1951, live TV drama) - Tom Stevenson *'' The Sound Barrier'' (1952) - Philip Peel *''

'' (1952) - Jim Henderson *'' The Village'' (1953) - Alan Manning *'' Melba'' (1953) - Eric Walton *''

'' (1953) - Lt. Geoffrey Heath *''Sacrifice to the Wind'' (1954, live TV drama) - Ulysses *'' Seagulls Over Sorrento'' (1954) - Lt. Roger Wharton *''

'' (1954) - Philip Chance *''

'' (1955) - Mark St. Neots, Lord Binfield *'' Untamed'' (1955) - Shawn Kildare *''Guilty?'' (1956) - Nap Rumbold *'' Safari'' (1956) - Brian Sinden *'' Island in the Sun'' (1957) - Denis Archer * '' The Widow of Bath'' (1959, TV series) - Hugh Everton *'' The Spider's Web'' (1960) - Henry Hailsham-Brown *'' Les hommes veulent vivre'' (''Man Wants to Live'') (1961) - Carter *''Candidate for Murder'' (1962) - Robert Vaughan *''La Salamandre d'or'' (1962) - Vandoeuvre *'' Savage Messiah'' (1972) - Lionel Shaw *''La redada'' (''Barcelona Kill'') (1973) - Comisario Mendoza *'' Lisztomania'' (1975) - Count d'Agoult *'' Valentino'' (1977) - Sidney Olcott *'' The Big Sleep'' (1978) - Arthur Geiger *''Schalcken the Painter'' (1979, TV Movie) - Vanderhausen *''Very Like a Whale'' (1980, TV Movie) - Party Guest *''Timon of Athens'' (1981, TV Movie) - Second Senator *''

Trenchcoat A trench coat or trenchcoat is a variety of coat made of waterproof heavy-duty fabric, originally developed for British Army officers before the First World War, and becoming popular while used in the trenches. Originally made from gabardine, ...

'' (1983) - Marquis De Pena *''Good at Art'' (1983, TV Movie) - Mr. Jones (final film role) *''Sabu: The Elephant Boy'' (1993, documentary) - Himself

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Justin, John 1917 births 2002 deaths 20th-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English people of Argentine descent British actors of Latin American descent British people of Argentine descent English male stage actors English male film actors English test pilots Male actors from London People educated at Bryanston School Royal Air Force pilots of World War II