John Williams

Hugh Ernest Leo Williams (15 April 1903 – 5 May 1983), known professionally as John Williams, was an English stage, film and television actor. He is remembered for his role as Chief Inspector Hubbard in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder, as the chauffeur in Billy Wilder's Sabrina (both 1954), as Mr. Brogan-Moore in Witness for the Prosecution and as the second "Mr. French" on TV's Family Affair in its first season (1967).

Life and work Born in Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1903, Williams was educated at Lancing College. He began his acting career on the English stage in 1916, appearing in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Frances Nordstrom's The Ruined Lady, and Frederick Lonsdale's The Fake. "Whodunit" (1956), "Wet Saturday" (1956), "The Rose Garden" (1956), the three-part episode "I Killed the Count" (1957), "The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater" (1957), and "Banquo's Chair" (1959). Three of these episodes, "Back for Christmas", "Wet Saturday", and "Banquo's Chair", were directed by Hitchcock himself.

Williams played William Shakespeare in The Twilight Zone episode "The Bard" (1963) and guest-starred on the sitcom My Three Sons (also 1963), portraying a stuffy, very precise English butler. In the latter role he was clean shaven, not sporting his customary mustache. Later, he was briefly part of the regular cast of the family comedy Family Affair (1967). He appeared as well on Night Gallery in the series' episode "The Doll" (1971). One of Williams' last performances was in 1979, playing alongside fellow actor Lorne Greene in a two-part episode of Battlestar Galactica titled "War of the Gods".

Williams gained notice too as the star of a frequently telecast commercial for 120 Music Masterpieces, a four-LP set of classical music excerpts from Columbia House. This became the longest-running nationally seen commercial in U.S. television history, for 13 years from 1971 to 1984. The commercial began with a brief selection of orchestral music being played. Williams then began the sales promotion with the following: quote| I'm sure you recognise this lovely melody as 'Stranger in Paradise'. But did you know that the original theme is from the Polovtsian Dance No. 2 by Borodin? So many of the tunes of our well-known popular songs were actually written by the great masters—like these familiar themes...

Selected filmography Year Film Role Notes 1936 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (uncredited) (?) 1942 The Big Blockade Voice over (uncredited) 1942 The Next of Kin General Cooper (uncredited) 1942 The Foreman Went to France 'English' Army Captain 1942 The Goose Steps Out Major Bishop 1947 The Paradine Case Barrister Collins (uncredited) 1948 A Woman's Vengeance Prosecuting Counsel 1951 Kind Lady Mr. Foster 1951 Dick Turpin's Ride Archbald Puffin 1951 Thunder in the East General Sir Henry Harrison 1954 Dial M for Murder Chief Inspector Hubbard 1954 The Student Prince Lutz 1954 Sabrina Thomas Fairchild 1955 To Catch a Thief H. H. Hughson 1956 D-Day the Sixth of June Brigadier Russell 1956 The Solid Gold Cadillac John T. "Jack" Blessington 1957 Island in the Sun Colonel Whittingham 1957 Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Irving La Salle Jr. 1957 Witness for the Prosecution Mr. Brogan-Moore, Sir Wilfrid's junior counsel in the trial 1959 The Young Philadelphians Gilbert Dickinson 1960 Visit to a Small Planet Delton 1960 Midnight Lace Inspector Byrnes 1965 Dear Brigitte Peregrine Upjohn 1965 Harlow Jonathan Martin 1966 The Last of the Secret Agents? J. Fredrick Duval 1967 Double Trouble Gerald Waverly 1968 The Secret War of Harry Frigg General Francis Mayhew 1968 A Flea in Her Ear Dr. Finache 1970The Private Life of Sherlock HolmesHavelock-SmithScene deleted 1972 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Frankland 1974 Lost in the Stars Judge 1976 No Deposit, No Return Jameson 1978 Hot Lead and Cold Feet Mansfield

Television

Alfred Hitchcock Presents "The Long Shot" (Season 1 Episode 9) (1955) – Walker Hendricks "Back for Christmas" (Season 1 Episode 23) (1956) – Herbert Carpenter "Whodunit" (Season 1 Episode 26) (1956) – Alexander Penn Arlington "Wet Saturday" (Season 2 Episode 1) (1956) – Captain Smollet "The Rose Garden" (Season 2 Episode 12) (1956) – Alexander Vinton "I Killed the Count" (Season 2 Episodes 25, 26, 27) (3-part episode, 1957) – Inspector Davidson "The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater" (Season 2 Episode 30) (1957) – Ernest Findlater "Banquo's Chair" (Season 4 Episode 29) (1959) – Inspector Brent Hallmark Hall of Fame, "Dial M for Murder" (1958) – Chief Inspector Hubbard The Investigators, "The Oracle" (1961) – Joseph Lombard The Twilight Zone, "The Bard" (1963) – William Shakespeare My Three Sons, "Bub's Butler" (1963) - Charles Augustus Caesar Bevins. The Lucy Show, "Lucy and the Great Bank Robbery" (1964) – Gordon Bentley Combat!, "The Furlough" (1966) – Edmund Tinsley Family Affair (9 episodes, 1967) – Nigel "Niles" French (Replaced Sebastian Cabot while he was recovering from an injury to his wrist) The Wild Wild West, "The Night of the Bleak Island" (1969) – Sir Nigel Scott Mission: Impossible, "Lover's Knot" (1970) – Lord Richard Weston Night Gallery, "The Doll" (1971) – Colonel Hymber Masters Night Gallery, "The Caterpillar" (1972) – Doctor Columbo "Dagger of the Mind" (1972) – Sir Roger Haversham Battlestar Galactica, "War of the Gods" (2-part episode, 1979) – Council Member