Hugh Ernest Leo Williams (15 April 1903 – 5 May 1983), known professionally as John Williams, was an English stage, film and television actor. He is remembered for his role as Chief Inspector Hubbard in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's '' Dial M for Murder'', as the chauffeur in

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

's '' Sabrina'' (both 1954), as Mr. Brogan-Moore in '' Witness for the Prosecution'' (1957) and as the second "Mr. French" on TV's '' Family Affair'' in its first season (1967).

Life and work

Born in

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, we ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England, in 1903, Williams was educated at

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

. He began his acting career on the English stage in 1916, appearing in

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's '' Peter Pan,'' Frances Nordstrom's ''The Ruined Lady'', and Frederick Lonsdale's '' The Fake.'' In 1924 Williams moved to New York, where he was cast in a series of successful Broadway productions. He would appear in over 30 Broadway plays over the next four decades, performing on stage with performers such as

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...

in Clifford Grey's ''A Kiss in the Taxi'' in 1925,

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

in J. M. Barrie's ''Alice Sit-by-the-Fire'' and Gertrude Lawrence in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's '' Pygmalion'' in 1946. In 1953, Williams won a Tony Award for Actor, Supporting or Featured (Dramatic) for his role as Chief Inspector Hubbard in Frederick Knott's ''Dial M for Murder'' on Broadway. Soon afterwards, when

adapted the play to a film version released in 1954, he cast Williams in the same role. Dial M for Murder Hallmark Hall of Fame 1958

Williams' first appearance in a Hollywood film was in director

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

's short ''The Chumps'' (1930). He ultimately appeared in more than 40 films, including two other Hitchcock films: '' The Paradine Case'' (1947) starring

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

, in which Williams held a minor role as a barrister, and '' To Catch a Thief'' (1955) with

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

and Grace Kelly, in which Williams portrayed a major character—a

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

insurance representative. In the 1960 thriller ''

Midnight Lace ''Midnight Lace'' is a 1960 American psychological thriller film directed by David Miller (director), David Miller and starring Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, and Roddy McDowall. The plot centers on a woman threatened by an anon ...

'', starring Doris Day, Williams played a London police inspector much like his character in ''Dial M for Murder''. He also made more than 40 guest appearances on television shows. He played in several episodes of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' including: "The Long Shot" (1955), "Back for Christmas" (1956), "Whodunit" (1956), "Wet Saturday" (1956), "The Rose Garden" (1956), the three-part episode "I Killed the Count" (1957), "The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater" (1957), and "Banquo's Chair" (1959). Three of these episodes, "Back for Christmas", "Wet Saturday", and "Banquo's Chair", were directed by Hitchcock himself. Williams played

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

in ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' episode "

The Bard A bard is a minstrel in medieval Scottish, Irish, and Welsh societies; and later re-used by romantic writers. For its wider definition including similar roles in other societies, see List of oral repositories. Bard, BARD, Bård or similar terms m ...

" (1963) and guest-starred on the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'' (also 1963), portraying a stuffy, very precise English butler. In the latter role he was clean shaven, not sporting his customary mustache.Episod
"Bub's Butler"
''My Three Sons''. originally broadcast 4 April 1963. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

''. Retrieved 4 August 2017. Later, he was briefly part of the regular cast of the family comedy '' Family Affair'' (1967). He appeared as well on ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...

'' in the series' episode "The Doll" (1971). One of Williams' last performances was in 1979, playing alongside fellow actor

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, singer, and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Adama in ...

in a two-part episode of ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

'' titled "War of the Gods". Williams gained notice too as the star of a frequently telecast commercial for ''120 Music Masterpieces'', a four- LP set of classical music excerpts from

Columbia House Columbia House was an umbrella brand for Columbia Records' mail-order music clubs, the primary iteration of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by Columbia Records ...

. This became the longest-running nationally seen commercial in U.S. television history, for 13 years from 1971 to 1984. The commercial began with a brief selection of orchestral music being played. Williams then began the sales promotion with the following: In addition to his longstanding association with Hitchcock, Williams appeared in three

films over the course of his career: '' Sabrina'' (1954), '' Witness for the Prosecution'' (1957), and '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970). In ''Holmes'', however, his scenes were among the 60 to 75 minutes cut by the studio prior to the film's release, when the studio decided not to release it in its intended roadshow format. Williams' scenes, along with the majority of the cut material, have not been recovered.

Death

Williams died at the age of 80 on 5 May 1983, in La Jolla, San Diego, California. It was reported at the time of his death that he had been suffering from a heart condition. He was cremated, and there was no funeral.

Selected filmography

Television

Burt Reynolds John Williams The Bard Twilight Zone 1963

* ''

'' ** " The Long Shot" (Season 1 Episode 9) (1955) – Walker Hendricks ** " Back for Christmas" (Season 1 Episode 23) (1956) – Herbert Carpenter ** "

Whodunit A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal ...

" (Season 1 Episode 26) (1956) – Alexander Penn Arlington ** " Wet Saturday" (Season 2 Episode 1) (1956) – Captain Smollet ** " The Rose Garden" (Season 2 Episode 12) (1956) – Alexander Vinton ** " I Killed the Count" (Season 2 Episodes 25, 26, 27) (3-part episode, 1957) – Inspector Davidson ** " The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater" (Season 2 Episode 30) (1957) – Ernest Findlater ** " Banquo's Chair" (Season 4 Episode 29) (1959) – Inspector Brent * ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

'', " Dial M for Murder" (1958) – Chief Inspector Hubbard * '' The Investigators'', "The Oracle" (1961) – Joseph Lombard * ''

'', "

" (1963) –

* ''

'', "Bub's Butler" (1963) - Charles Augustus Caesar Bevins. * ''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...

'', " Lucy and the Great Bank Robbery" (1964) – Gordon Bentley * '' Combat!'', " The Furlough" (1966) – Edmund Tinsley * '' Family Affair'' (9 episodes, 1967) – Nigel "Niles" French (Replaced Sebastian Cabot while he was recovering from an injury to his wrist) * '' The Wild Wild West'', " The Night of the Bleak Island" (1969) – Sir Nigel Scott * '' Mission: Impossible'', " Lover's Knot" (1970) – Lord Richard Weston * ''

'', " The Doll" (1971) – Colonel Hymber Masters * ''

'', " The Caterpillar" (1972) – Doctor * ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'' " Dagger of the Mind" (1972) – Sir Roger Haversham * ''

'', " War of the Gods" (2-part episode, 1979) – Council Member

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Later (1980s) version of ''120 Music Masterpieces'' / ''30 Piano Masterpieces'' ad campaign, originally produced in 1971
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John 1903 births 1983 deaths Donaldson Award winners English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English expatriate male actors in the United States People educated at Lancing College Tony Award winners People from Chalfont St Giles 20th-century English male actors Male actors from Buckinghamshire Actors from Chiltern District