Jon James Lamont Whiteley (19 February 1945 – 16 May 2020) was a Scottish child film actor and in adult life a distinguished art historian.

Life and career

The

Monymusk Monymusk ( gd, Monadh Musga) is a planned village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History Malcolm Canmore first established Celtic foundation on the site in 1078 The Culdees of Munimusc are recorded as inhabiting the site in 117 ...

-born Whiteley appeared in five films during his brief acting career, and it was for the second of these, ''

The Kidnappers ''The Kidnappers'' (US: ''The Little Kidnappers'') is a 1953 British film, directed by Philip Leacock and written by Neil Paterson. Plot In the early 1900s, two young orphaned brothers, eight-year-old Harry (Jon Whiteley) and five-year-old ...

'' (US: ''The Little Kidnappers'', 1953), that he, along with co-star

Vincent Winter Vincent Winter (29 December 1947 – 2 November 1998) was a Scottish child film actor who, as an adult, continued to work in the film industry as a production manager and in other capacities. Career Winter was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and ...

, was awarded an

Academy Juvenile Award The Academy Juvenile Award, also known informally as the Juvenile Oscar, was a Special Honorary Academy Award bestowed at the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to specifically recogni ...

. He appeared in only three more films, including '' The Spanish Gardener'' (1956), before his film acting career was effectively put on hold when his mother insisted on him passing the

Eleven plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

. After appearing twice more for TV credits, his acting career ended. Whiteley was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford, whereafter he became a respected art historian at the Ashmolean Museum in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He wrote his doctorate on the revival in painting of themes inspired by antiquity in mid-nineteenth-century France. He catalogued all the French Drawings in the Ashmolean, and authored and co-authored several books on artists including Ingres,

Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Bea ...

and Claude Lorrain. He published a book on the Ashmolean's Stringed Instruments in 2009, and was working on a catalogue of the later French paintings in the Museum. His wife was art historian Linda Whiteley; the couple had two children. He was made a chevalier (knight) of the French

Order of Arts and Letters The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

in May 2009. The cause of his death was

Glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ...

(also known as glioblastoma multiforme or GBM). This is the most aggressive type of cancerous brain tumour in adults. The date or location of his funeral is not known. He is buried in Botley cemetery, Oxford.

Filmography

Works

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteley, Jon 1945 births 2020 deaths Scottish male film actors Scottish male child actors British art historians Academy Juvenile Award winners Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres People associated with the Ashmolean Museum 20th-century British historians 20th-century British male writers 21st-century British historians 21st-century British male writers