John Abbott (actor)

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John Abbott (b. John Kefford, June 5, 1905, in London, England; d. May 24, 1996) was a British character actor who specialized in eccentric roles in Hollywood films. His memorable roles include the invalid Frederick Fairlie in the 1948 movie The Woman in White and the pacifist Ayelborne in the Star Trek episode, "Errand of Mercy (TOS episode)."

John did not plan to become an actor, but circumstances brought him into the field where he quickly became known as an actor by divine right. He performed with some of England's most famous actors and was well-known as a Shakespearean actor. It is interesting to note that John never auditioned for a part, but was always asked to play a role.

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

He found continuing work, although he was by mistake blacklisted for a time, until a producer, wanting to hire him, was able to get his listing removed. John had no idea why he was blacklisted until around 1990 while in the company of this writer, when he was watching a documentary on [Dalton Trumbo][1],discovered that the author had used John's name as an alias.

In his final years, John taught acting students for free and inspired some of Hollywood's most famous young actors of that time.