Jack Gwillim

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Jack William Frederick Gwillim (born December 15, 1909 in Canterbury , Kent , † July 2, 2001 in Los Angeles , California ) was a British film and stage actor .

Life

Jack Gwillim joined the Royal Navy in 1926 at the age of 17 and spent the next two decades at sea. At the outbreak of World War II he was promoted to Commander and stationed in Hong Kong . At that time Gwillim did a lot of sports, played rugby and became a heavyweight boxing champion . After he got health problems - among other things he suffered from arthritis - he was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946.

Gwillim then focused on another passion - acting. After a few minor theater roles, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford in the 1950s and apprenticed for three years with Anthony Quayle , an actor who was already established at the time. Another three years later, Gwillim joined the Old Vic Company . He also appeared in front of the camera for the first time in 1953 in the short-lived British sitcom Life with Father .

Already accepted as a stage actor in England, Gwillim emigrated to the United States in 1969, where he appeared on stage in plays with several actors who are still known today ( Rex Harrison , John Gielgud , James Earl Jones , Richard Burton ...). Among the most famous were Romeo and Juliet , The Merchant of Venice and Richard II .

Gwillim's filmmaking included appearances in television series as well as in feature films that are still known today. In 1959 he stood in front of the camera in the Bible adaptation Solomon and the Queen of Sheba , followed by a small appearance in the classic Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Later in his career, Gwillim was in Patton - Rebel in Uniform in 1970 in front of the camera and in the fantasy film Clash of the Titans from 1981. However, he was always denied a major film role.

Private life

With his first wife Peggy Bollard, with whom he was married until 1959, he had two children, Sarah-Jane Gwillim (formerly an actress and now a university professor at the University of Michigan ) and the actor David Gwillim . In 1969 Gwillim married again. With his second wife Olivia Selby he had another child, son Jaxon Duff Gwillim , who also became an actor.

Jack Gwillim died a natural death in 2001 at the age of 91.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gwillim, Jack
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gwillim, Jack William Frederick (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British film and stage actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 15, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Canterbury , Kent, England, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH July 2, 2001
Place of death Los Angeles , California, United States