Mervyn Johns

David Mervyn Johns (18 February 1899 – 6 September 1992) was a Welsh film and television character actor who became a star of British films during World War II. In the postwar era, he worked frequently at Ealing Studios.

Mervyn Johns
Born	David Mervyn Johns 18 February 1899 Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Died	6 September 1992 (aged 93) Northwood, London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1934–1979
Spouse(s)	Alice Maud Steele Wareham ​ ​ (m. 1922; died 1970)​ Diana Churchill ​ ​ (m. 1976)​
Children	Glynis Johns

Mervyn Johns started his career in the theatre in the 1920s, and then made his first film in 1935. Among his dozens of film roles were the church warden in Went the Day Well? (1942), the fearful architect Walter Craig in the mystery film Dead of Night (1945) and Bob Cratchit in Scrooge (1951) with Alastair Sim. Johns also made many television appearances, in series such as The Avengers, The Saint, Danger Man and Dixon of Dock Green. He was known for his "mostly mild-mannered, lugubrious, amusing, sometimes moving 'little men'" in over 100 film and television series.[1]

Johns was twice married. His first wife was the concert pianist Alys Steele. They had one daughter, the actress Glynis Johns, born in South Africa, with whom he appeared in The Halfway House (1944) and The Sundowners (1960). After Alys's death in 1970 he married the actress Diana Churchill in 1976.

Filmography

• Lady in Danger (1934) as Reporter (film debut)
• The Guv'nor (1935) as Bank Director (uncredited)
• Foreign Affaires (1935) as Courtroom interpreter
• Pot Luck (1936) as Night Watchman (uncredited)
• In the Soup (1936) as Meakin (uncredited)
• Everything Is Thunder (1936) as Karl - Waiter (uncredited)
• Dishonour Bright (1936) as French Postcard Seller (uncredited)
• Song of the Forge (1937) (uncredited)
• Storm in a Teacup (1937) as Court Bailiff (uncredited)
• Night Ride (1937) as Trapped Miner (uncredited)
• The Last Curtain (1937) as Hemp
• Pride and Prejudice (1938, TV Movie) as Sir Wilfred Lucas
• Almost a Gentleman (1938) as Percival Clicker
• Jamaica Inn (1939) as Thomas - Sir Humphrey's Gang
• The Midas Touch (1940) (uncredited)
• Convoy (1940) as His Mate
• Girl in the News (1940) as James Fetherwood
• Saloon Bar (1940) as Wickers
• The Next of Kin (1942) as No 23: Mr Davis
• The Foreman Went to France (1942) as Passport Official (uncredited)
• Went the Day Well? (1942) as Charlie Sims
• The Bells Go Down (1943) as Sam
• My Learned Friend (1943) as Grimshaw
• San Demetrio London (1943) as Greaser John Boyle
• The Halfway House (1944) as Rhys
• Twilight Hour (1945) as Major John Roberts
• Dead of Night (1945) as Walter Craig
• Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945) as Mr. Sutton
• They Knew Mr. Knight (1946) as Tom Blake
• The Captive Heart (1946) as Pte. Evans
• Captain Boycott (1947) as Watty Connell
• Easy Money (1948) as Herbert Atkins
• Counterblast (1948) as Dr. Bruckner the Beast of Ravensbruck
• Quartet (1948) as Samuel Sunbury (segment "The Kite")
• Edward, My Son (1949) as Harry Sempkin
• Helter Skelter (1949) as Ernest Bennett
• Diamond City (1949) as Hart
• Tony Draws a Horse (1950) as Alfred Parsons
• Scrooge (1951) as Bob Cratchit
• The Magic Box (1951) as Goitz
• The Tall Headlines (1952) as Uncle Ted
• The Oracle (1953) as Tom Mitchum
• Valley of Song (1953) as Minister Griffiths
• The Master of Ballantrae (1953) as MacKellar
• Romeo and Juliet (1954) as Friar Laurence
• The Blue Peter (1955) as Captain Snow
• 1984 (1956) as Jones
• The Intimate Stranger (1956) as Ernest Chaple
• Moby Dick (1956) as Peleg
• Find the Lady (1956) as Hurst
• The Counterfeit Plan (1957) as Louie Bernard
• Doctor at Large (1957) as Smith
• A Tale of Two Cities (1957, TV Movie) as Mr. Jarvis Lorry
• The Vicious Circle (1957) as Dr. George Kimber
• The Surgeon's Knife (1957) as Mr. Waring
• The Gypsy and the Gentleman (1958) as Brook
• The Devil's Disciple (1959) as Rev. Maindeck Parshotter
• Danger List (1959) as Mr. Ellis
• Once More, with Feeling! (1960) as Mr. Wilbur Jr.
• Never Let Go (1960) as Alfie Barnes
• The Sundowners (1960) as Jack Patchogue, mayor of Cawndilla
• No Love for Johnnie (1961) as Charlie Young
• The Rebel (1961) as Manager of Art Gallery, London
• Francis of Assisi (1961) as Brother Juniper
• The Keep (1962, TV Movie) as Ben Morton
• The Day of the Triffids (1963) as Mr. Coker
• 55 Days at Peking (1963) as Clergyman
• 80,000 Suspects (1963) as Buckridge
• The Old Dark House (1963) as Potiphar Femm
• The Victors (1963) as Dennis
• A Jolly Bad Fellow (1964) as Willie Pugh-Smith
• The Heroes of Telemark (1965) as Col. Wilkinson
• Who Killed the Cat? (1966) as Henry Fawcett
• The National Health (1973) as Rees
• Thinking Man As Hero (1973) as Lord Beale
• House of Mortal Sin (1976) as Father Duggan (final film)

References

1. "Obituary: Mervyn Johns". Independent.co.uk. 12 September 1992. Retrieved 23 December 2017.

External links

• Mervyn Johns at IMDb