Colin Keith-Johnston

Colin Keith-Johnston MC (8 October 1896 - 3 January 1980) was a British actor.

Colin Keith-Johnston
Publicity photo, dated 1950
Born	8 October 1896 London, England
Died	3 January 1980 (aged 83) London
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1927-1959

Keith-Johnston was born in London, the son of Robert Keith-Johnston and Jessy Macfie, and was a prominent actor of the stage.[1][2] As well as film appearances, he appeared onstage as Stanhope in the first production of Journey's End in the United States.[3]

He played hero Mr. Darcy in Helen Jerome's Broadway-hit adaptation of Pride and Prejudice at the Music Box Theatre in 1935.[4] This was a notable role, the first to make Darcy a central part of the love story and to emphasize throughout the play the character's passion for and physical attraction to heroine Elizabeth Bennet.[5] Colin married Margaret Cookson (cousin of actors Marjorie Browne and Joy Launor Heyes) and their son Hugo Keith-Johnston born in 1954 was a successful child actor who appeared in Not In Front of the Children (1968) for BBC Television with Ronald Hines and Wendy Craig.[6]

He fought in World War One as an officer in the Bedfordshire Regiment and was awarded an MC in the 1917 New Year Honours. The citation said that it was awarded for: "For conspicuous gallantry in action. He rallied men of several units, led them forward, and captured many prisoners. He continued at duty until relieved, although wounded three times."

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1927	Somehow Good	Doctor
1929	Lucky in Love	Captain Brian Fitzroy
1933	Berkeley Square	Tom Pettigrew
1934	Open All Night	Henry
1937	The Price of Folly	Martin
1939	Q Planes	Tower Controller	Uncredited
1947	The Exile	Captain Bristol
1947	The Paradine Case	Clerk of the Court	Uncredited
1948	Kiss the Blood off My Hands	Judge
1948	Joan of Arc	Philip, Duke of Burgundy
1948	Enchantment	The Eye
1949	Love Happy	Actor	Uncredited
1950	Rogues of Sherwood Forest	Munster	Uncredited
1950	Fancy Pants	Twombley
1958	The Left Handed Gun	John Tunstall

Notes

1. "Colin Keith-Johnston | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
2. "Colin Keith-Johnston – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
3. Bordman, p. 381
4. "Pride and Prejudice – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB".
5. Looser, Devoney (2017). The Making of Jane Austen. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 110. ISBN 1421422824.
6. "Hugo Keith-Johnston". BFI.

References

• Bordman, Gerald Martin (1995). American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1914-1930. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-509078-0.

External links

• Colin Keith-Johnston at IMDb
• Colin Keith-Johnston at the Internet Broadway Database