John Cecil Dodsworth (17 September 1910 – 11 September 1964) was an English

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Biography and career

Born John Cecil Dodsworth in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. Dodsworth started his film career as an extra in British films of the 1930s before taking on small parts in '' The Next of Kin'' (1942), '' They Were Sisters'' and ''

The Rake's Progress ''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Prog ...

'' (both 1945). He had much larger roles in his next two films, as the romantic lead in the Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen comedy '' Here Comes the Sun'' (1946), and ''Who Killed Van Loon?'' (1948), an early film from

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

. Like a lot of British actors of the period he moved to America in the 1950s, where he was usually cast as the archetypal English officer or aristocrat. He made his Hollywood film debut in '' Up Front'' (1951), followed by supporting roles in prestige films including ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

'' (1952), '' The Snows of Kilimanjaro'' (1952) and '' Lust for Life'' (1956). Interspersed with these small parts were more substantial roles in modest scale productions, such as

William Cameron Menzies William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American filmmaker who pioneered the discipline of production design, a job title he invented. His career spanned five decades, during which time he also worked as an art director, ...

' cult classic '' The Maze'' (1953) and the Bowery Boys comedies '' Loose in London'' (1953) and ''

In the Money ''In the Money'' is a 1958 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring The Bowery Boys. The film was released on February 16, 1958, by Monogram Pictures, Allied Artists Pictures and is the 48th and final film in the series. It ...

'' (1958). He also appeared in tv shows such as '' Jungle Jim'', ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'', '' Maverick'' and ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

''. He married film production secretary Donna Hedyt in 1961. Dodsworth committed suicide in 1964 at the age of 53.https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0230314/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodsworth, John 1910 births 1964 deaths Male actors from London 1964 suicides Suicides in California