John Abbott (actor)

John Albert Chamberlain Kefford (5 June 1905 – 24 May 1996) was an English character actor professionally known as John Abbott. His memorable roles include the invalid Frederick Fairlie in the 1948 film The Woman in White and the pacifist Ayelborne in the Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy". He also played Sesmar on an episode of Lost in Space, "The Dream Monster" (1966). Abbott was known as a Shakespearean actor.

He was born in Stepney, London on 5 June 1905. He had a sister, Ivy Skeates of Cambridge and a brother, Harold Kefford.

In 1934 he began his long career in show business when he made his professional stage debut in a revival of Dryden's Aureng-zebe with Sybil Thorndike. He then joined the Old Vic Company and appeared in Shakespearean roles, including Claudius in a production of "Hamlet" at Elsinore Castle in Denmark with Laurence Olivier, Vivian Leigh and Alec Guinness. His first Broadway role was that of Count Mancini in "He Who Gets Slapped" in 1946. He also appeared on Broadway in "Monserrat" and "The Waltz of the Toreadors." He made his film debut in "Mademoiselle Docteur" (1937) and went on to act in scores of films in the next 30 years. Among his film credits are "Mission to Moscow," "Jane Eyre," "A Thousand and One Nights," "Humoresque" and "The Greatest Story Ever Told." His television appearances in that time were even more numerous, beginning with pioneering broadcasts by the BBC before the Second World War.

In the early days of the Second World War, Abbott worked at the British Embassy in Moscow. When the time came to leave, he had to go by way of the United States. While in the U.S., he was offered a part in Hollywood in 1941 and ended up living there for the rest of his life.

On American television during the 1950s, '60s and '70s, he had roles in a wide variety of shows, from "Gunsmoke" to "Washington Square" to "Tender Is the Night" to "Star Trek." Although he was blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s, eventually, a producer, after wanting to hire him, was able to get his listing removed. In his final years, Abbott taught acting students for free.

Abbott died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from natural causes on 24 May 1996 at the age of 90.