Rosamund John (19 October 1913 – 27 October 1998), born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress.

Early life

She was born and brought up in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, the daughter of Frederick Henry Jones, a wine merchant's clerk, and his wife, Edith Elizabeth (née Elliott). She was educated at Tottenham high school before studying for the theatre at the Embassy School of Acting.

Career

At the age of nineteen, John was introduced to actor–director

Milton Rosmer Milton Rosmer (4 November 1881 – 7 December 1971) was a British actor, film director and screenwriter. He made his screen debut in '' The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'' (1915) and continued to act in theatre, film and television until 1956. I ...

, who cast her in several minor stage roles before casting her in his film '' The Secret of the Loch'' (1934). Following several more years of stage work she was cast opposite

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Vanity Fair'' and was one o ...

in ''

The First of the Few ''The First of the Few'' (US title ''Spitfire'') is a 1942 British black-and-white biographical film produced and directed by Leslie Howard, who stars as R. J. Mitchell, the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft. David Niven co ...

'' (1942).McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 399; This led to her being cast in Howard's next film as a director, ''

The Gentle Sex ''The Gentle Sex'' is a 1943 British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed and narrated by Leslie Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films, and Derrick de Marney. ''The Gentle Sex'' was Howard's l ...

'' (1943).McFarlane, Brian (1997). ''An Autobiography of British Cinema''. London: Methuen. p. 329; Howard cast John in her next film ''

The Lamp Still Burns ''The Lamp Still Burns'' is a 1943 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Rosamund John, Stewart Granger and Godfrey Tearle. Its plot concerns a woman architect who changes careers to become a nurse. It was based on the 1942 n ...

'' (1943), which he produced, but he was killed during the film's production when his plane was shot down returning from Lisbon. John became one of Britain's most popular screen stars, second only to

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, Order of the British Empire, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes (1938 ...

as Britain's favourite female star in 1944, and credited her career ascendance to Howard. She next starred in the rural wartime comedy '' Tawny Pipit'' (1944), made by

Two Cities Films Two Cities Films was a British film production company. Formed in 1937, it was originally envisaged as a production company operating in the two cities of London and Rome which gave the company its name. The driving forces behind the company were ...

, which, according to John, went on to be popular with American audiences as "it was everything the Americans thought of as being English." John co-starred in

Anthony Asquith Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among oth ...

's wartime drama ''

The Way to the Stars ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1945), following which she appeared in the medical wartime thriller '' Green for Danger'' (1946). 1947 saw her star with James Mason in ''

The Upturned Glass ''The Upturned Glass'' is a 1947 British film noir psychological thriller directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring James Mason, Rosamund John and Pamela Kellino. The screenplay concerns a leading brain surgeon who murders a woman he belie ...

'' (1947), with ''

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

'' in the

Boulting Brothers John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...

' political drama '' Fame is the Spur'' (1947) and with

Patricia Roc Patricia Roc (born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold; 7 June 1915 – 30 December 2003) was an English film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'' (1945) and '' The Wicked Lady'' (1945), though she only ...

in the drama '' When the Bough Breaks'' (1947).

Personal life

John was twice married, first to film editor Russell Lloyd, from 1943 to 1949, with whom she had a son named John, and then to politician

John Silkin John Ernest Silkin (18 March 1923 – 26 April 1987) was a British left-wing Labour politician and solicitor. Early life He was the third son of Lewis Silkin, 1st Baron Silkin, and a younger brother of Samuel Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwic ...

from 1950 to 1987, with whom she had her second son, Rory."Rosamund John (Silkin): Transcript"
'' The History Project''. Retrieved 31 July 2021. She died at a nursing home in Clapham, London in 1998, aged 85.

Filmography

Sources

*Halliwell, Leslie and John Walker. ''Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies''. Harper Resource, 2001. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Rosamund 1913 births 1998 deaths English film actresses English stage actresses Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses People from Tottenham