John Franklyn-Robbins (14 December 1924 – 21 March 2009) was an English character and voice actor. A prolific Shakespearean actor, he trained at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

and proceeded to work at the Manchester Library Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic early in his career. He played a diverse number of roles ranging from Ariel in ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' to Macduff in ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. His prestigious stage career included stints in both the West End and Broadway. He also worked for both the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and ITV in their early formative years and went on to appear in such classic television series as '' The Avengers'', '' The Baron'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'', ''Special Branch'', '' Callan'', '' I, Claudius'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. He was one of only ten actors to appear in the latter two series. Films include '' Asylum'' (1972), ''

Overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or ...

'' (1975), '' Mrs. Dalloway'' (1997) and '' The Golden Compass'' (2007).He played the role of Giuseppe Garibaldi in Series 1, episode 10 of The Onedin Line (1972).

Filmography

Film

*'' The Pumpkin Eater'' (1964) - Parson *'' Running Scared'' (1972) - Dean *'' Dracula A.D. 1972'' (1972) - Minister (uncredited) *'' Asylum'' (1972) - Stebbins (segment: "The Weird Tailor") *'' Take Me High'' (1973) - Alderman *''

Swallows and Amazons ''Swallows and Amazons'' is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, Sus ...

'' (1974) - Young Billy *''

'' (1975) - Dad *''The Brute'' (1977) - Solicitor *'' Memoirs of a Survivor'' (1981) - Prof. White *'' From a Far Country'' (1981) - Curate *'' The Plague Dogs'' (1982) - Williamson (voice) *'' The Jigsaw Man'' (1983) - English doctor *'' Lionheart'' (1987) - The Abbot *'' Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde'' (1995) - Prof. Manning *''The Adventures of Toad'' (1996) - Additional Voices (voice) *'' Emma'' (1996) - Mr Cole *''

Mrs Dalloway ''Mrs Dalloway'' is a novel by Virginia Woolf published on 14 May 1925. It details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional upper-class woman in post-First World War England. The working title of ''Mrs Dalloway'' was ''The Hours ...

'' (1997) - Lionel, Clarissa's Father *''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

'' (1997) - (uncredited) *''Santa's First Christmas'' (1999) - Santa Claus (voice) *''The Discovery of Heaven'' (2001) - Onno's father *'' Don't Tempt Me'' (2001) *'' Bright Young Things'' (2003) - Judge *'' Vanity Fair'' (2004) - Mr. Sedley *''Sergeant Pepper'' (2004) - Gregor von Gordenthal *'' The Golden Compass'' (2007) - Librarian (final film role)

Television

* ''

Jude the Obscure ''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). The protagonist, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man; he i ...

'' (1971) as Phillotson * '' Budgie'', as Marcus Lake (1971) episode Could Do Better *''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'', as Giuseppe Garibaldi (1971-1978) *'' The Shadow of the Tower'' (1972) - Sir William Stanley *''

'' serial, ''

Genesis of the Daleks ''Genesis of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts fr ...

'' (1975) - Time Lord *'' I, Claudius'' (1976) - Atticus *''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' (1980) -

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

*'' The Woman in Black'' (1989) - Reverend Greet *'' The Dreamstone'' (1990) - The Dream Maker (voice) *'' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode, ''

Preemptive Strike A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. I ...

'' (1994) - Macias *''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' (1999) - Mister Crump (Undertaker) *'' Terry Pratchett's Hogfather'' (2006) - Dean

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Times''
1924 births 2009 deaths English male film actors English male television actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art {{UK-tv-bio-stub