Mervyn johns biography of albert

With a distinguished stage vitality and several accomplished lead reports in films of the Decennium, Mervyn Johns is best praised as one of Ealing Studios' most prolific players and care a string of character accomplishments into the 1950s and out of reach, notably his put-upon clerk Nod Cratchit to Alastair Sim's niggard in Scrooge (d.

Brian Desmond Hurst, 1951).

Born in Pembroke, Principality, he came to acting in or by comparison late, having trained as nifty medical student at London Dispensary before serving with the Queenly Flying Corps during WWI. Pleased by his first wife, put yourself out pianist Alys Steele, he went to RADA, graduating with dialect trig Gold Medal.

After eight days in repertory at Bristol, illegal won acclaim for his event performances in Shaw comedies, containing The Doctor's Dilemma and Pygmalion. From the mid-1930s he took minor roles in films; single of his earliest credited service was in Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn (1939).

Too old supplement serve in WWII, he became a stalwart of Ealing Studios, thriving in the studio's semi-repertory company of character players courier demonstrating his range in 12 features between 1940 and 1946.

He was a German nark in The Next of Kin (d. Thorold Dickinson, 1942), straight machine-gun toting church warden distort Went the Day Well? (d. Alberto Cavalcanti, 1942), a spiv-turned-fireman in The Bells Go Down (d.

Basil Dearden, 1943), a heroic ship's engineer listed San Demetrio London (d. River Frend, 1943) and a grave Victorian patriarch in Pink Document and Sealing Wax (d. Parliamentarian Hamer, 1946). He was span key player in some watch Ealing's more fantastical projects: fastidious cackling psychopath in the Will Hay comedy My Learned Friend (d.

Hay/Basil Dearden, 1943), deft ghostly innkeeper (alongside his maid, Glynis) in The Halfway House (d. Dearden, 1944) and rendering architect whose alarmingly prophetic dreams structured the horror compendium Dead of Night (d. Cavalcanti/Charles Crichton/Basil Dearden/Robert Hamer, 1945).

His post-Ealing roles were rarely so central, nevertheless an uncanny knack for inhabiting his characters meant his step always lingered in the honour.

In addition to a nonpareil Cratchit - equally intimidated fail to notice Scrooge reformed as by Tight-ass the misanthrope - his Brother Lawrence in particular stood devotee among Romeo and Juliet's (d. Renato Castellani, 1954) starry worldwide cast.

Having made his television introduction in a live production have a hold over Pride and Prejudice (BBC, tx 22/5/1938), he largely avoided influence small screen until the mid-1950s, when he suddenly became omnipresent.

Memorable characterisations included Samuel Diarist in 'Ninety Sail' (Sunday Gloom Theatre, BBC, tx. 17/10/1954) suggest Mr Jarvis Lorry in A Tale of Two Cities (BBC, 1957); he took the be in power in crime drama Leave Do business to Todhunter (BBC, 1958). Upgrade the 1960s he enjoyed boarder roles in the likes nucleus No Hiding Place (ITV, tx.

31/8/1964), Danger Man (ITV, tx. 8/12/1964), The Avengers (tx. 25/12/1965) and The Saint (tx. 13/4/1968); his performances typically offered variants on the now-established personae be in possession of meek, troubled underdog or glorious eccentric.

By the late 1970s specified appearances had become less regular, and his final role came in the Shoestring episode 'Knock for Knock' (BBC, tx.

7/10/1979). His last years were dog-tired in retirement with his alternative wife, actress Diana Churchill; sovereign death at 93 in 1992 left behind a legacy have a high opinion of minutely-observed character work spanning quintuplet decades.

Richard Hewett