John Robinson (11 November 1908 – 6 March 1979) was an English actor, who was particularly active in the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

.Pixley, p. 18. Mostly cast in minor and supporting roles in

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, he is best remembered for being the second actor to play the famous television science-fiction role of Professor Bernard Quatermass, in the 1955

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 ...

serial ''

Quatermass II ''Quatermass II'' is a British science fiction serial, originally broadcast by BBC Television in the autumn of 1955. It is the second in the '' Quatermass'' series by writer Nigel Kneale, and the oldest of those serials to survive in its entir ...

''.

Biography

Robinson was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. His first professional appearance came in his home city in 1929, at the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actre ...

. He appeared in a variety of stage productions 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 ...

throughout the 1930s. These included ''Black Limelight'' by Gordon Sherry at the

Q Theatre The Q Theatre was a British theatre located near Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios. The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, wa ...

in 1937, where his role as Peter Charrington was described by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' newspaper's critic as "a skilful, reticent sketch". In 1939, he played

Fortinbras Fortinbras is a minor fictional character from William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. A Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, he delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future for the monarchy of Denmark and i ...

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

's production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', the final play to be performed at the Lyceum Theatre before its closure. He made his film debut in 1936 in '' The Scarab Murder Case'', and during the 1930s he also began appearing on

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and in the newer medium of

. In 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 ...

he took part in the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in 1944, as a member of the

Reconnaissance Corps The Reconnaissance Corps, or simply Recce Corps, was a service branch of the British Army, formed during the World War II, Second World War, whose units provided reconnaissance for infantry Division (military), divisions. It was formed from infan ...

. He returned to acting in 1949, as John Beresford in the TV production of '' Elizabeth of Ladymead'', appearing in several films and increasingly on television again. One of his best film roles (with higher billing than usual) was as the villain with redeeming qualities in ''

Hammer the Toff ''Hammer the Toff'' is a 1952 British B movie, second feature crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley (actor), John Bentley and Patricia Dainton. The film was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the ...

'' (1952). In August 1955, the actor

Reginald Tate Reginald Tate (13 December 1896 – 23 August 1955) was an English actor and a veteran of many roles on stage, in films and on television. He is remembered best as the first actor to play the television science-fiction character Professor ...

died the month before he was due to start work on ''Quatermass II'', having played the part of the Professor in the first instalment of the series, ''

The Quatermass Experiment ''The Quatermass Experiment'' is a British science fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television during the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells th ...

''.Murray, p. 50. With only a short amount of time to cast a replacement, director

Rudolph Cartier Rudolph Cartier (born Rudolph Kacser, renamed himself in Germany to Rudolph Katscher; 17 April 1904 – 7 June 1994) was an Austrian television director, filmmaker, screenwriter and producer who worked predominantly in British television, excl ...

offered Robinson the role, as the only suitable actor available. Robinson had some difficulty with the technical dialogue he was required to learn, and was also uneasy about taking over a role that had been established by Tate. Robinson was not available to reprise the part for the third serial, '' Quatermass and the Pit'', in 1958, and

André Morell Cecil André Mesritz (20 August 1909 – 28 November 1978), known professionally as André Morell, was an English actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s. His best known screen roles were as ...

took over the role.Murray, p. 67. In the 1960s, Robinson starred in another science-fiction series, '' R3'', which had some similarities to ''Quatermass''. Robinson compiled 56 film and television credits. His film appearances were usually minor parts, including uncredited roles in '' Lawrence of Arabia'' and '' The Longest Day'' (both 1962). Notable television appearances include starring roles on '' The Broken Horseshoe'' (1952) and '' The Small House at Allington'' (1960) and two guest appearances on '' The Saint'' opposite

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

. He was also a regular performer on both the BBC's ''

Sunday Night Theatre ''Sunday Night Theatre'' was a long-running series of televised live television plays screened by BBC Television from early 1950 until 1959. The productions for the first five years or so of the run were re-staged live the following Thursday, ...

'' from 1951 to 1959, and ITV's ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...

'' from 1956 to 1965. His final screen role was in the television series ''

Fall of Eagles Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere ...

'' in 1974. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in London in March 1979, aged 70.

Partial filmography

* '' The Heirloom Mystery'' (1936) - Dick Marriott * '' The Scarab Murder Case'' (1936) (lost) - Donald Scarlett * '' All That Glitters'' (1936) - Taylor * '' Farewell to Cinderella'' (1937) - Stephen Moreley * ''

Q Planes ''Q Planes'' (known as ''Clouds Over Europe'' in the United States) is a 1939 British comedy film, comedy spy film starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. Olivier and Richardson were a decade into their fifty-year friends ...

'' (1939) - Pilot (uncredited) * ''

The Lion Has Wings ''The Lion Has Wings'' is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda film, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film ...

'' (1939) - Unnamed Character * ''

Under Your Hat ''Under Your Hat'' is a 1940 British musical comedy spy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge and Austin Trevor. It was written by Rodney Ackland, Anthony Kimmins, Arthur Macrae, Geoffrey Kerr and Hulbert. ...

'' (1940) - Performer * '' Uneasy Terms'' (1948) - Brighton Detective Inspector * '' The Story of Shirley Yorke'' (1948) - Dr. Bruce Napier * ''

'' (1952) - Linnett * ''

Emergency Call An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and ...

'' (1952) - Dr. Braithwaite * ''

Ghost Ship A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a ship, vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional ghostly vessel, such as the ''Flying Dutchman'', or a physical Flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict, derelict found adrift with its cre ...

'' (1952) - Prof. Mansel Martineau * '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953) - Small Role (uncredited) * '' The Constant Husband'' (1955) - Secretary * '' Fortune Is a Woman'' (1957) - Berkeley Reckitt * '' The Safecracker'' (1958) - Assistant Chief of Staff * '' The Doctor's Dilemma'' (1958) - Sir Colenso Ridgeon * '' And the Same to You'' (1960) - Archdeacon Humphrey Pomphret * '' The Longest Day'' (1962) - Admiral Sir

Bertram Ramsay Admiral Sir Bertram Home Ramsay, KCB, KBE, MVO (20 January 1883 – 2 January 1945) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded the destroyer during the First World War. In the Second World War, he was responsible for the Dunkirk evacuation in 1 ...

(uncredited) * '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962) - Infantry General at Field Briefing (uncredited) * '' Nothing but the Night'' (1973) - Lord Fawnlee

References

Sources

* *

External links

*
John Robinson's Aveleyman page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, John 1908 births 1979 deaths Male actors from Liverpool English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors 20th-century English male actors British Army personnel of World War II Reconnaissance Corps officers Deaths from cancer in England Military personnel from Liverpool