Sir John Selby Clements, CBE (25 April 1910 – 6 April 1988) was a British actor and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

who worked in theatre, television and film.

Biography

Theatre career

Clements attended St Paul's School and St John's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

. He made his first professional appearance on the stage in 1930, then worked with Nigel Playfair and afterwards spent a few years in Ben Greet's Shakespearean Company. In 1935 Clements founded the

Intimate Theatre The Intimate Theatre was a repertory theatre in Palmers Green, London from 1937 to 1987, and is the name commonly used for St. Monica's Church Hall. History St. Monica's Church Hall was built in 1931, and the actor John Clements turned the bui ...

, a combined repertory and try-out venue, at Palmers Green. He appeared in almost 200 plays and also presented a number of plays in the West End as actor-manager-producer. Clements married the actress Kay Hammond and together they had a critical success with their West End revival of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...

's play '' Private Lives'' in 1945. In 1952 they both appeared in Clements's own play ''The Happy Marriage'', an adaptation of Jean Bernard-Luc's '. Clements starred as Edward Moulton Barrett in the musical '' Robert and Elizabeth'', a successful adaptation of '' The Barretts of Wimpole Street''. In December 1951 Clements directed '' Man and Superman'' in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

, and played the role of John Tanner alongside Allan Cuthbertson. Clements was the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the Chichester Festival Theatre from 1966 to 1973. The actor John Standing is his stepson.

Film career

As a film actor John Clements played bit parts of increasing size for

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Robert Donat Friedrich Robert Donat (18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939), winning for the latter the Academy Award for ...

and

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

in '' Knight Without Armour'' as Poushkoff, a sensitive, conflicted young commissar who saves their lives during the Russian Revolution. He came to further prominence when film director Victor Saville chose him to star opposite

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He w ...

in '' South Riding'' (1938). The two actors were reunited in the very successful '' The Four Feathers'' (1939). After that Clements's film career was somewhat intermittent, although he made a series of British war films for

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

and British Aviation Pictures, such as ''

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be use ...

'' (1940), '' Ships with Wings'' (1942), '' Tomorrow We Live'' (1943) and as Yugoslav guerrilla leader Milosh Petrovitch in '' Undercover'' (1943). He had a cameo role (as Advocate General) in '' Gandhi'' (1982).

Honours and death

Clements was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in 1956 and was knighted in 1968. He died in Brighton, East Sussex, in 1988.

Filmography

* ''

The Divine Spark ''The Divine Spark'' is a 1935 British musical film directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Marta Eggerth, Phillips Holmes, Benita Hume and Donald Calthrop. An Italian-language version '' Casta Diva'' was shot simultaneously. Both films we ...

'' (1935) as Florino * '' Once in a New Moon'' (1935) as Edward Teale * ''

Ticket of Leave A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland. Jurisdictions ...

'' (1936) as Lucky Fisher * '' Things to Come'' (1936) as The Airman (uncredited) * ''

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally co ...

'' (1936) as Govaert Flinck * '' Knight Without Armour'' (1937) as Poushkoff * ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the R ...

'' (1937) as Valente * '' South Riding'' (1938) as Joe Astell * '' Housemaster'' (1938) as Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

Star of the Circus ''Star of the Circus'' is a 1938 British drama film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Otto Kruger, Gertrude Michael and John Clements. It is a remake of the 1937 German circus film ''Truxa'', itself based on a novel by Heinrich Seil ...

'' (1938) as Paul Houston * '' The Four Feathers'' (1939) as Harry Faversham * ''

'' (1940) as Lieutenant Cranford * '' This England'' (1941) as John Rookeby * '' Ships with Wings'' (1941) as Lieutenant Dick Stacey * '' Tomorrow We Live'' (1943) as Jean Baptiste * '' Undercover'' (1943) as Milosh Petrovitch * '' They Came to a City'' (1944) as Joe Dinmore * '' Call of the Blood'' (1949) as Julius Ikon * '' Train of Events'' (1949) as Raymond Hillary (segment "The Composer") * '' The Silent Enemy'' (1958) as The Admiral * '' The Mind Benders'' (1963) as Major Hall * '' Oh! What a Lovely War'' (1969) as General Helmut von Moltke * '' Gandhi'' (1982) as Advocate General * '' Top Secret!'' (1984) as East German Dignitary (uncredited) (final film role)

Selected theatre credits

* '' The Venetian'' (1931) * ''

Edward, My Son ''Edward, My Son'' is a 1949 British drama film directed by George Cukor for MGM-British Studios that stars Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on the 1947 play of the same title by Noel Langley a ...

'' (1949) * ''

And This Was Odd ''And This Was Odd'' is a 1951 comedy play by the British writer Kenneth Horne. It was a reworking of an earlier play ''Wasn't It Odd'' that had first been staged at the Intimate Theatre in Palmers Green in 1940. It involves an elderly lady who u ...

'' (1951)

References

External links

*
John Clements archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clements, John Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English male film actors English male stage actors English theatre managers and producers Knights Bachelor Actors awarded knighthoods People from Hendon People educated at St Paul's School, London 1910 births 1988 deaths 20th-century English male actors Standing family 20th-century English businesspeople