John Middleton Lankester Paul (20 April 1921 – 23 February 1995) was an English actor. He is best known for his television roles, particularly as Dr Spencer Quist in ''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ( ...

'' (1970–1972) and Marcus Agrippa in '' I, Claudius'' (1976), both for

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

Career

An early role for Paul was as the lead in the ITV series ''

Probation Officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probat ...

'' in the early 1960s. He appeared as ''Captain Flint'' in a BBC adaptation of

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...

's ''

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 ...

'' in 1963. He had guest roles in episodes of popular television series such as ''

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction and horror anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were dramatisations of s ...

'', '' Doctor Finlay's Casebook'', '' The Avengers'', ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'', '' The Saint'', '' Marked Personal'' and '' The New Avengers'', mostly during the 1960s and 1970s. One of his final TV appearances was in '' Selling Hitler'', based on the real-life attempts to sell fake diaries attributed to Adolf Hitler. During his career Paul also appeared in feature films such as '' Yangtse Incident'' (1957), '' The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb'' (1964), ''

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

'' (1970), '' Eye of the Needle'' (1981), and ''

Cry Freedom ''Cry Freedom'' is a 1987 epic biographical drama film directed and produced by Richard Attenborough, set in late-1970s apartheid-era South Africa. The screenplay was written by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods. ...

'' (1987).

Partial filmography

* '' The Long Arm'' (1956) - Police Radio Operator (uncredited) * '' The Girl in the Picture'' (1957) - Det. Sgt. Nixon * '' Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst'' (1957) - Staff Officer Operations * '' The Steel Bayonet'' (1957) - Lt. Col. Derry * '' The Flesh Is Weak'' (1957) - Sergeant Franks * ''

Time Lock A time lock (also timelock) is a part of a locking mechanism commonly found in bank vaults and other high-security containers. The time lock is a timer designed to prevent the opening of the safe or vault until it reaches the preset time, ev ...

'' (1957) - Foreman (uncredited) * '' The Man Who Wouldn't Talk'' (1958) - John Castle * '' Law and Disorder'' (1958) - Customs Officer * '' Violent Moment'' (1959) - Sgt. Ranson * '' Breakout'' (1959) - Arkwright * '' Deadly Record'' (1959) - Phil Gamage * ''

'' (1963) - Captain Flint * ''Take Me Over'' (1963) - Campbell Carter * ''

The Beauty Jungle ''The Beauty Jungle'' (also known as ''Contest Girl'') is a 1964 British film directed by Val Guest and starring Ian Hendry, Janette Scott, Ronald Fraser and Edmund Purdom. It was written by Guest and Robert Muller. Plot Shirley lives in Br ...

'' (1964) - Advertising Agent (uncredited) * '' The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb'' (1964) - Inspector Mackenzie * ''

A Countess from Hong Kong ''A Countess from Hong Kong'' is a 1967 British romantic comedy film scored, written, and directed by Charlie Chaplin, and the final film directed, written, produced and scored by him. It was based on the life of a former Russian aristocrat, as ...

'' (1967) - The Captain * ''

The Blood Beast Terror ''The Blood Beast Terror'' (U.S. title: ''The Vampire-Beast Craves Blood''; also known as ''Blood Beast From Hell'' and ''Deathshead Vampire'') is a 1968 British horror film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Peter Cushing, Robert Flemyng a ...

'' (1968) - Mr. Warrender * '' The Strange Affair'' (1968) - Pub Group * ''

Some Girls Do ''Some Girls Do'' is a 1969 British comedy spy film directed by Ralph Thomas. It was the second of the revamped Bulldog Drummond films (following 1967's ''Deadlier Than the Male'') starring Richard Johnson as Drummond, made following the succes ...

'' (1969) - Test Pilot (uncredited) * '' The Desperados'' (1969) - Sheriff Lacey * ''

'' (1970) - General Digby * ''

'' (1972) - Dr. Spencer Quist * '' The Bunker'' (1981) - Gen. Wilhelm Keitel * '' Eye of the Needle'' (1981) - Home Guard Captain * ''

'' (1987) - Wendy's stepfather

References

External links

* 1921 births 1995 deaths English male television actors English male film actors 20th-century English male actors {{England-actor-stub