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 or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

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

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

, he is best remembered for being the second actor to play the famous

television science-fiction Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imagin ...

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 1927. It produced t ...

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 entire ...

''.

Biography

Robinson was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

, 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 and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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, ...

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

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

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

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 Briti ...

's production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

'', 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 signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

and in the newer medium of

. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he took part in the

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

in 1944, as a member of the Reconnaissance Corps. 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 crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley and Patricia Dainton. The film was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the 17th in the series featuring upper-class sleu ...

'' (1952). In August 1955, the actor Reginald Tate 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 t ...

''.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 ''Quatermass and the Pit'' is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's ''Quatermass'' serials, although the chief character, Profe ...

'', in 1958, and André Morell 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 Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–19 ...

'' and '' The Longest Day'' (both 1962). Notable television appearances include starring roles on '' The Broken Horseshoe'' (1952) and ''

The Small House at Allington ''The Small House at Allington'' is a novel by English novelist Anthony Trollope. It first appeared as a serial in the 1862 July to December edition of the ''Cornhill Magazine'', and ended its run in the July to December edition of the following ...

'' (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 third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

. 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, pa ...

'' from 1951-1959, 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 Canad ...

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

Fall of Eagles ''Fall of Eagles'' is a 13-part British television drama aired by the BBC in 1974. The series was created by John Elliot and produced by Stuart Burge. The series portrays historical events from 1848 to 1918, dealing with the ruling dynasties of ...

'' in 1974. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

in London in March 1979, aged 70.

Partial filmography

* ''

The Heirloom Mystery ''The Heirloom Mystery'' is a 1936 British drama film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Edward Rigby, Mary Glynne and Gus McNaughton. After being secretly commissioned by a man to create a replica piece of furniture so he can sell the valu ...

'' (1936) - Dick Marriott * '' The Scarab Murder Case'' (1936) (lost) - Donald Scarlett * ''

Farewell to Cinderella ''Farewell to Cinderella'' is a 1937 British romance film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Anne Pichon, John Robinson and Glennis Lorimer. The film was made at the Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames as a quota quickie for release by t ...

'' (1937) - Stephen Moreley * '' All That Glitters'' (1936) - Taylor * '' Q Planes'' (1939) - Pilot (uncredited) * '' The Lion Has Wings'' (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. Production The film was an independent production made at Isleworth Studios. It was based o ...

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

'' (1952) - Linnett * '' Emergency Call'' (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 ''And the Same to You'' is a 1960 British boxing-themed comedy film directed by George Pollock and starring Brian Rix and William Hartnell. It is based on a stage farce by A.P. Dearsley. Premise Stuck with the nickname "Dreadnought", Dickie March ...

'' (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 ...

(uncredited) * ''

'' (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