John Willoughby Gray

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(5 November 1916 – 13 February 1993) was an English actor of stage and screen.

Early life

Willoughby Gray was born in London to his mother, Mary Henderson; his father, John Gray, was killed in action in

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soon after his birth. In 1918 Mary remarried and Willoughby became the stepson of Lieutenant General Henry Pownall.

Second World War

Gray served with distinction during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with

GHQ Liaison Regiment GHQ Liaison Regiment (known as Phantom) was a special reconnaissance unit of the British Army first formed in 1939 during the early stages of World War II. The regiment's headquarters were at The Richmond Hill Hotel in Richmond, Surrey (now in Lo ...

(Phantom). For most of the campaign in Europe he commanded a reconnaissance unit with

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armou ...

. For his gallant and distinguished services in the North West Europe campaign, he was appointed MBE. His recommendation reads:

Captain Gray has commanded a divisional patrol with outstanding success throughout the campaign. The resource and initiative shown by him at all times has resulted in a great deal of vital information reaching Army and Corps HQ much more quickly than would otherwise have been the case, in addition, he has shown great enterprise and complete disregard for his own personal safety on many occasions, notably whilst carrying out reconnaissances in the
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
area during the advance through
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. The bearing of this officer under arduous conditions and his cheerfulness and willingness to do any work delegated to him unhesitatingly have been an example to those with whom he came in contact.

Acting career

He achieved popularity in the mid-1950s after making 38 appearances on the television series '' The Adventures of Robin Hood''. He also appeared in similar television shows such as ''

The Buccaneers ''The Buccaneers'' is the last novel written by Edith Wharton. The story is set in the 1870s, around the time Wharton was a young girl. It was unfinished at the time of her death in 1937 and published in that form in 1938. Wharton's manuscript ...

'' and '' The Adventures of William Tell.'' He appeared as 'Pete' in

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's '' The Birthday Party'' on its very first run in 1958, this being just one of countless stage performances he made. Though over-shadowed by his stage career, Gray made a handful of popular films, notably as a priest in

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

's film ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

'' (1955), ''

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places *Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States *Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...

'' (1959), '' Absolution'' (1978), '' The Hit'' (1984) and as the elderly and kind king in ''

The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...

'' (1987). He appeared in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' A View to a Kill'' (1985) as the retired

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

doctor and Max Zorin's (

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awar ...

) head scientist Dr. Carl Mortner/Hans Glaub. In the late 1980s, he appeared in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

drama '' Howards' Way'' as banker Sir John Stevens. In

Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (russian: Сергей Фёдорович Бондарчук, ; uk, Сергі́й Федорович Бондарчук, Serhíj Fédorovych Bondarchúk; 25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian ...

's 1970 film ''Waterloo'', he is credited as both an actor (playing Captain Ramsey) and a military consultant.. Accessed 8 February 2008.

Death

Gray died aged 76 in February 1993. His wife, who wrote as Felicity Gray, (née Margaret Andraea) was a choreographer, speaker and writer on ballet, who notably taught

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the ...

for her role in ''Never Let Me Go''.

Selected filmography

*''

The Mark of Cain The curse of Cain and the mark of Cain are phrases that originated in the story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis. In the stories, if someone harmed Cain, the damage would come back sevenfold. Some interpretations view this as a physica ...

'' (1947) – Photographer (uncredited) *''

Guilt Is My Shadow ''Guilt Is My Shadow'' is a 1950 British drama film directed by Roy Kellino and starring Elizabeth Sellars, Patrick Holt and Peter Reynolds. In the film, a woman is haunted by her conscience after she kills a man and hides the body. It is based ...

'' (1950) – Detective *'' Shadow of the Past'' (1950) – Chauffeur *'' Seven Days to Noon'' (1950) – Bit Part (uncredited) *''

The Woman with No Name ''The Woman with No Name'' is a 1950 British drama film directed by Ladislao Vajda and starring Phyllis Calvert, Edward Underdown, Helen Cherry, Richard Burton and James Hayter. In the United States it was released as ''Her Panelled Door''. Pl ...

'' (1950) – Group Captain *'' The Golden Year'' (1951) – Sir Norman Grenleigh *'' Top Secret'' (1952) – British Officer *''Phantom Caravan'' (1954) – Major Thornhill *''

Stranger from Venus ''Stranger from Venus'' (also known as ''Immediate Disaster'' and ''The Venusian'' in the United States) is a 1954 independently made UK black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Burt Balaban (who also directed), Gene Martel, and Roy Ri ...

'' (1954) – Tom Harding *''

'' (1955) – 2nd Priest *''

'' (1959) – Dr. Reilly *''

The Dirty Dozen ''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph M ...

'' (1967) – German Officer (uncredited) *'' The Man Outside'' (1967) – Detective Inspector *''

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

'' (1970) – Ramsey *'' Young Winston'' (1972) – Gladstone (uncredited) *'' Dead Cert'' (1974) – Coroner *'' Absolution'' (1978) – Brigadier Walsh *'' The Gamekeeper'' (1980) – Duke *'' The Hit'' (1984) – Judge *'' A View to a Kill'' (1985) – Dr. Carl Mortner / Hans Glaub *'' Solarbabies'' (1986) – Canis *''

'' (1987) – the King

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Willoughby 1916 births 1993 deaths Male actors from London English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century English male actors Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Members of the Order of the British Empire