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 Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

rancher. Though he grew up on his father's estancia, he was educated at Bryanston School in Bryanston,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. 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

Justin 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 Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Repertory. In 1937, he briefly trained with the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 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 London ...

, but did not like it and soon joined the repertory company of John Gielgud. Among the plays he appeared in was '' Dear Octopus''.

''The Thief of Bagdad''

In 1938, he auditioned for and was cast in 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 Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

Second World War

The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, 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 Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

, Jack Watling, David Tomlinson, and Edward G. Robinson. 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 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 ...

. Justin was in '' Return to Tyassi'' (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'' (1952). After appearing in ''Uncle Vanya'' (1952) on stage, he focused on film work. He was in '' The Village'' (1953), a

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film; '' Melba'' (1953), a biopic; '' King of the Khyber Rifles'' (1954), a Hollywood film with Tyrone Power for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

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

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

. He then had two leading roles, in '' The Teckman Mystery'' (1954) with Margaret Leighton and '' The Man Who Loved Redheads'' (1955) with Moira Shearer. Fox called him back for '' Untamed'' (1955) and Warwick Films used him in ''

Safari A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...

'' (1956) with Victor Mature. 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 BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

adaptation of '' The Hobbit''.

Later career

On stage he was in ''Lulu'' (1971), toured

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in ''Who Killed Santa Claus?'' (1971), and appeared in ''Old Fruit'' (1974), and ''A Man And His Wife'' (1974). His later films include

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...

's '' Savage Messiah'' (1972), '' Lisztomania'' (1975) and '' Valentino'' (1977). In 1979, he played the ghoulish lover in the BBC's Christmas ghost story '' Schalcken the Painter'', based on the 1839 story ''Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter'' by Sheridan Le Fanu. 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. His second marriage, to actress Barbara Murray, 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 *'' Hot Ice'' (1952) - Jim Henderson *'' The Village'' (1953) - Alan Manning *'' Melba'' (1953) - Eric Walton *'' King of the Khyber Rifles'' (1953) - Lt. Geoffrey Heath *''Sacrifice to the Wind'' (1954, live TV drama) - Ulysses *'' Seagulls Over Sorrento'' (1954) - Lt. Roger Wharton *'' The Teckman Mystery'' (1954) - Philip Chance *'' The Man Who Loved Redheads'' (1955) - Mark St. Neots, Lord Binfield *'' Untamed'' (1955) - Shawn Kildare *'' Guilty?'' (1956) - Nap Rumbold *''

'' (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'' (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 Actors educated at Bryanston School Actors from the City of Westminster Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English people of Argentine descent British people of Argentine descent English male stage actors English male film actors English test pilots Male actors from London People from Knightsbridge Royal Air Force pilots of World War II