John Merivale

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John Herman Merivale (born December 1, 1917 in Toronto , Ontario , Canada , † February 6, 1990 in London ) was a Canadian stage and character actor in film, television and theater. He was best known for his roles in films such as Caltiki, Rätsel des Horens , Die Totenliste , they called him King or Arabesque .

life and career

John Herman Merivale was born into a theater-loving family in Toronto in 1917 as the son of the actors and actresses Philip Merivale and Viva Birkett. When his mother died in 1934, his father remarried and Gladys Cooper became his stepmother. Merivale was sent to England and trained at New College, Oxford . At the age of 15 he gained his first experience in the film business in James Whale's horror classic The Invisible (1933) in the small role of a newsboy, although his real love was the theater all his life.

During World War II, he served as a pilot in the British Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force . As a theater actor, John Merivale was then considered one of the last "matinee idols" of the post-war era and enjoyed great success on the stage in England and the USA for almost three decades. He appeared on Broadway in Lady Windermere's Fan in 1946 and in Anne of a Thousand Days alongside Rex Harrison in 1948 .

From 1950 he started a parallel career in American television with roles in television series such as Actor's Studio or Somerset Maugham TV Theater , before making his film debut in 1956 in the British war drama Panzerschiff Graf Spee by the two directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger . Two years later, Merivale starred in Roy Ward Baker's drama The Last Night of the Titanic and in 1959 the role of archaeologist Dr. John Fielding in Riccardo Freda's horror film Caltiki, Riddle of Horror .

In the 1960s he was seen in John Huston's prominent thriller The Dead List in the role of Adrian Messenger alongside actors like George C. Scott and Kirk Douglas . In 1965 he was cast by director Bryan Forbes for his war drama They called him King . In 1966 he played his last and by then perhaps best-known role on the screen as Major Sylvester Pennington Sloane in Stanley Donen's espionage classic Arabesque alongside Gregory Peck , Sophia Loren and Alan Badel .

He then withdrew from the film business to take care of his seriously ill life partner, the actress Vivien Leigh , with whom he lived in Eaton Square. Leigh died of tuberculosis in 1967.

John Merivale was married to the actress Jan Sterling from 1941 to 1947 . In 1970, doctors himself diagnosed John Merivale with hereditary kidney disease from which his father had died. His second wife, actress Dinah Sheridan , whom he married in 1986, was with him until his death. When John Merivale died of pneumonia in London in 1990 at the age of 72 at Charing Cross Hospital, he had appeared in over 20 film and television productions.

Filmography (selection)

movie theater

watch TV

  • 1950: Actor's Studio (TV series)
  • 1950: Somerset Maugham TV Theater (TV series)
  • 1952: Celanese Theater (TV series)
  • 1952: Robert Montgomery Presents (TV series)
  • 1955: ITV Play of the Week (TV series)
  • 1957: The Vise (TV series)
  • 1957: Hour of Mystery (TV series)
  • 1959: ITV Television Playhouse (TV series)
  • 1961: Theater 70 (TV series)
  • 1961: Kraft Mystery Theater (TV series)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Merivale in: Theatreland: A Journey Through the Heart of London's Theater , by Paul Ibell, International Publishing Group, 2009, p. 105
  2. ^ Biographical data of John Merivale in: Raymond Burr: A Film, Radio and Television Biography , by Ona L. Hill - 1999, p. 14
  3. ^ John Merivale in: The Complete HP Lovecraft Filmography , by Charles P. Mitchell, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, 43
  4. ↑ John Merivale in: Variety movie guide , by Derek Elley, Variety, 25
  5. ^ Obituary for John Merivale in: The New York Times
personal data
SURNAME Merivale, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Merivale, John Herman (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 1, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Toronto , Ontario , Canada
DATE OF DEATH February 6, 1990
Place of death London , England