Laurence Naismith (born Lawrence Johnson; 14 December 1908 – 5 June 1992) was an English actor. He made numerous film and television appearances, including starring roles in the musical films '' Scrooge'' (1970) and the children's ghost film '' The Amazing Mr. Blunden'' (1972). He also had memorable roles as Captain Edward Smith of the RMS ''Titanic'' in '' A Night to Remember'' (1958), the First Sea Lord in '' Sink the Bismarck!'' (1960), and Argus in '' Jason and the Argonauts'' (1963).

Early life and career

Naismith was born as Lawrence Johnson on 14 December 1908 in Thames Ditton, Surrey. He attended All Saints Choir School, Margaret Street, London, and was a chorus member for a 1927 production of the

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

musical '' Oh, Kay!.'' He later worked in

repertory theatre A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

and ran a repertory company of his own.Laurence Naismith profile
Masterworksbroadway.com; retrieved 2 January 2016. Naismith served in the

British Merchant Navy The British Merchant Navy is the collective name given to British civilian ships and their associated crews, including officers and ratings. In the UK, it is simply referred to as the Merchant Navy or MN. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensi ...

and at the outbreak of 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 joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

where he became an officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Film

His film roles included '' Carrington V.C.'' (1954), ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' (1955), ''

The Man Who Never Was ''The Man Who Never Was'' is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is b ...

'' (1956), '' A Night to Remember'' (1958), '' Sink the Bismarck!'' (1960), '' The World of Suzie Wong'' (1960) and '' Jason and the Argonauts'' (1963). He played the non-singing role of

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

in the 1967 film version of the musical ''

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

'' and appeared in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971) as the chairman of the diamond trading syndicate.

Television

In 1965, Naismith played the title role of the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

statesman

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

documentary series, '' Profiles in Courage''. William Bakewell played George Wythe in the episode, and Arthur Franz was cast as

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. In 1965, Naismith guest-starred as barber Gilly Bright in episode 25, "The Threat" of the ABC military drama, '' 12 O'Clock High'' and Dr. McCallister in the ABC action drama, '' The Fugitive'', starring

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer; March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen a ...

. In 1969 he played Don Q Hought in an episode of ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

''. He played Judge Fulton in the television series ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is a British action comedy television series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the c ...

'' (1971), with

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

and

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 portrayed Emperor of Austria

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

in the BBC production ''

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 ...

'' (1974). Naismith played the ''Prince of Verona'' in the

BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to ...

version of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''. He also appeared in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom '' Oh, Father!'' (1972) and played in '' The Invaders'' (1967–68) with Roy Thinnes.

Stage

In 1934, he appeared alongside Jack Buchanan in the musical '' Mr. Whittington'' in London's West End. In 1952 he appeared at the Vaudeville Theatre in '' Sweet Madness'' by Peter Jones. On Broadway he performed in the

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flautist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 1 ...

musical '' Here's Love'' in 1963, with Janis Paige.Taubman, Howard. "Theater: Musical by Meredith Willson: 'Here's Love' Based on 'Miracle on 34th St.'" New York Times, 4 October 1963, 28.

Filmography

* '' A Piece of Cake'' (1948) as Merlin Mound * '' Trouble in the Air'' (1948) as Tom Hunt * '' Badger's Green'' (1949) as Mr. Butler * ''

Kind Hearts and Coronets ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime film, crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays eight characters. The plot is loosely based ...

'' (1949) as Warder in Jail (uncredited) * '' Train of Events'' (1949) as Joe Hunt (segment "The Actor") * '' The Chiltern Hundreds'' (1949) as Reporter (uncredited) * '' Room to Let'' (1950) as Editor * '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'' (1950) as Dr. Collet * ''

Pool of London The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse. Part of the Tideway of the Thames, the Pool was navigable by tall-masted vessels bringing coastal and later overseas goods—the wharves there were t ...

'' (1951) as Commissionaire (uncredited) * '' Hell is Sold Out'' (1951) as Dr. Monceau * '' There Is Another Sun'' (1951) as Riley * '' Chelsea Story'' (1951) as Sergeant Matthews * '' Calling Bulldog Drummond'' (1951) as Hardcastle, Card Player (uncredited) * ''

High Treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

'' (1951) as Reginald Gordon-Wells * ''

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

'' (1952) as First Soldier * '' Whispering Smith Hits London'' (1952) as Parker * '' The Happy Family'' (1952) as Councillor * '' I Believe in You'' (1952) as Sergeant Braxton * '' Mother Riley Meets the Vampire'' (1952) as Police Sergeant at Desk (uncredited) * '' Penny Princess'' (1952) as Louis the Jailkeeper (uncredited) * ''

A Killer Walks ''A Killer Walks'' is a 1952 British film noir directed and written by Ronald Drake and starring Laurence Harvey, Trader Faulkner and Susan Shaw. Plot Two brothers, Ned and Frankie, live on a farm with their elderly grandmother. Ned despises ...

'' (1952) as Doctor James * '' The Long Memory'' (1952) as Hasbury * '' Cosh Boy'' (1953) as Inspector Donaldson * ''

Time Bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a ...

'' (1953) as Ambulance Man (uncredited) * '' Rough Shoot'' (1953) as Blossom * '' The Beggar's Opera'' (1953) as Matt of the Mint * ''

Mogambo ''Mogambo'' is a 1953 Technicolor adventure/ romantic drama film directed by John Ford and starring Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly, and featuring Donald Sinden. Shot on location in colonial British East Africa, Tanganyika, Uganda P ...

'' (1953) as Skipper * '' Love in Pawn'' (1953) as Uncle Ramos * ''

The Million Pound Note ''The Million Pound Note'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gregory Peck, Ronald Squire, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Jane Griffiths (actress), Jane Griffiths. It is based on the 1893 Mark Twain short story "The Mi ...

'' (1954) as Walter Craddock (uncredited) * '' The Black Knight'' (1954) as Major Domo * '' Carrington V.C.'' (1954) as Major Panton * '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) as Farmer * ''

Josephine and Men ''Josephine and Men'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden and Peter Finch. It was written by Nigel Balchin, Frank Harvey and Boulting. Produced by the Boulting ...

'' (1955) as Porter * ''

'' (1955) as The Lord Stanley * ''

'' (1956) as Adm. Cross * '' The Weapon'' (1956) as Jamison * '' Lust for Life'' (1956) as Dr. Bosman * '' Tiger in the Smoke'' (1956) as Canon Avril * '' The Extra Day'' (1956) as Kurt Von * '' The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' (1957) as Dr. Chambers * '' Seven Waves Away'' (1957) as Captain Paul Darrow * '' Boy on a Dolphin'' (1957) as Dr. Hawkins * '' Robbery Under Arms'' (1957) as Ben Marston * '' The Gypsy and the Gentleman'' (1958) as Dr. Forrester * '' I Accuse!'' (1958) as Judge, Esterhazy Trial * '' Gideon's Day'' (1958) as Arthur Sayer * '' A Night to Remember'' (1958) as Capt. Edward John Smith * '' The Two-Headed Spy'' (1958) as Gen. Hauser * '' Tempest'' (1958) as Maj. Zurin * '' Solomon and Sheba'' (1959) as Hezrai * '' Third Man on the Mountain'' (1959) as Teo Zurbriggen * '' Sink the Bismarck!'' (1960) as First Sea Lord * '' The Angry Silence'' (1960) as Martindale * ''

The Trials of Oscar Wilde ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde'', also known as ''The Man with the Green Carnation'' and ''The Green Carnation'', is a 1960 British drama film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. I ...

'' (1960) as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

* '' Village of the Damned'' (1960) as Doctor Willers * '' The Criminal'' (1960) as Mr. Town * '' The World of Suzie Wong'' (1960) as O'Neill * '' The Singer Not the Song'' (1961) as Old Uncle * '' Greyfriars Bobby'' (1961) as Mr. Traill * '' The Valiant'' (1962) as Admiral * '' I Thank a Fool'' (1962) as O'Grady * ''

The 300 Spartans ''The 300 Spartans'' is a 1962 CinemaScope epic historical drama film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. It was directed by Rudolph Maté and stars Richard Egan, Ralph Richardson, David Farrar, Diane Baker, and Barry Coe. Produced with ...

'' (1962) as First Delegate * '' We Joined the Navy'' (1962) as Admiral Blake * ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

'' (1963) as Arachesilaus (uncredited) * '' Jason and the Argonauts'' (1963) as Argus * '' The Three Lives of Thomasina'' (1963) as Reverend Angus Peddie * '' Sky West and Crooked'' (1965) as Edwin Dacres * ''

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) as Sir John Bledlow * ''

'' (1967) as Merlyn * '' The Scorpio Letters'' (1967) as Burr * '' The Long Duel'' (1967) as McDougal * '' Fitzwilly'' (1967) as Mr. Cotty (uncredited) * '' Eye of the Cat'' (1969) as Dr. Mills * '' The Valley of Gwangi'' (1969) as Professor Bromley * '' The Bushbaby'' (1969) as Prof. 'Cranky' Crankshaw * '' Run a Crooked Mile'' (1969) as Lord Dunnsfield * '' Scrooge'' (1970) as Mr. Fezziwig * '' Quest for Love'' (1971) as Sir Henry Larnstein * '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971) as Sir Donald Munger * '' Young Winston'' (1972) as Lord

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

* '' The Amazing Mr Blunden'' (1972) as Mr. Blunden

Television

* ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...

'' (1956) as Sir William de Courcier * ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'' (1960) as Spooner * ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot conce ...

'' (1962) as Earl of Hertford * '' Profiles in Courage'' (1965) as

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

* '' The Fugitive'' (1965-1967) as Major Fielding/Dr. Andrew Emmett McAllister/John Mallory * '' The Invaders'' (1967) as Professor Curtis Lindstrom/Cyrus Stone * ''

'' (1969) as Don Q. Hought * ''

'' (1971) as Judge Fulton * ''

'' (1974) as Franz Joseph I of Austria, Emperor Franz Josef * ''BBC Television Shakespeare#Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet'' (1978) as Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Prince Escalus, Prince Escalus * ''I Remember Nelson'' (1982) as Edmund Nelson (priest), Rev. Edmund Nelson

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Naismith, Laurence 1908 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century English male actors British Army personnel of World War II English expatriate male actors in the United States British Merchant Navy personnel English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Los Angeles People from Thames Ditton Actors from Queensland Royal Artillery officers Military personnel from Surrey