John Stone (born John Hailstone; 26 May 1924 – 2007) was a Welsh actor.

Early life

Born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, Wales, Stone was educated at

Brighton College Brighton College is a fee-charging, co-educational, boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton and Hove, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton Co ...

. He served in 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 ...

and began his career as a journalist.

Career

Stone soon switched to acting and only appeared on the stage until 1945, when he joined the BBC Repertory Company. He made his first West End appearance in ''One Wild Oat'' by Vernon Sylvaine, 1948. Subsequent appearances include the London premiere of Arthur Miller's ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with '' A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, ...

'', Comedy Theatre, 1956; ''And Suddenly it's Spring'', Duke of York's Theatre, 1959; ''Signpost to Murder'', Cambridge Theatre, 1962; and the role of Crestwell, the laconic butler, in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''Relative Values'', Westminster Theatre, 1973. Stone was under contract to

Rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

as one of the

Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co- ...

Company of Youth ("Charm School") in the late 1940s. Film credits include '' The Weaker Sex'' (dir. Roy Baker), 1948; '' The Frightened City'', 1961; ''

Masque of the Red Death "The Masque of the Red Death" (originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous pande ...

'' (dir.

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

), 1964; ''

Deadlier Than the Male ''Deadlier Than the Male'' is a 1967 British crime and mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Johnson and Elke Sommer. It is one of the many take-offs of James Bond produced during the 1960s, but is based on an already est ...

'' (1967); and '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967). Stone was a familiar face on British television from the 1950s-1980s, and featured as Captain John Dillon in ''

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 ...

'' (1955). In 1957, he starred as special agent, Mike Anson, in an early ITV thriller series, ''Destination Downing Street'' (Associated Rediffusion), which ran for 26 weeks. His 1964 appearance in '' The Avengers'' was followed in 1967 when he appeared in the series' episode entitled "the Joker" as Major John Fancy. From 1971 to 1974 Stone played Dr Ian Moody in the Yorkshire Television series, ''

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

'', opposite

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was a British actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), '' Night Train to Munich ...

, his offscreen partner of seventeen years. Subsequently, he appeared in the BBC series, ''Flesh and Blood'' (1980–82) and ''Strike it Rich'' (1986/87). Under his birth name of John Hailstone, Stone wrote ''A Present for the Past'', a play premiered at the

Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...

, Edinburgh, as part of the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

of 1966.Review, The Times, 5 September 1966 It starred

Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', describ ...

, Renee Asherson, and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, and was produced by Michael Codron.

Personal life

Stone married the actress Lian-Shin Yang in 1958. She died in 1970.

Filmography

References

External links

* * Th
John Stone Collection
is held by the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

Theatre and Performance Department. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, John 1924 births 2007 deaths Date of death missing Place of death missing Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Welsh male film actors Welsh male stage actors Male actors from Cardiff