John Julian Somers (12 November 1903 – 11 November 1976), known as Julian Somers, was a prolific

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

stage and screen actor.

Career

By 1934, Somers was appearing in

rep Rep, REP, or a variant may refer to: As a word * Rep (fabric), a ribbed woven fabric made from various materials * ''Rep'' (TV series), a 1982 British comedy series * '' The Rep'', an entertainment guide published by the ''Arizona Republic'' 1997 ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. In 1937, he was on stage in

Jeffrey Dell John Edward Flowers "Jeffrey" Dell (7 May 1899 – 24 February 1985) was a British writer, screenwriter, and film director. He is also remembered for his 1939 novel '' Nobody Ordered Wolves'', a satire on the British film industry. His other nov ...

's play '' Night Alone'' at the Embassy Theatre with

Alexander Archdale Alexander Mervyn Archdale (26 November 190513 May 1986) was a British actor, manager and theatre producer. He had a very long career in both the theatre and in film, stretching from the 1930s to the 1980s. He spent the latter part of his life an ...

. In 1944, he appeared as the

White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! ...

in a stage production of ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''. Early film roles came in ''

The Peterville Diamond ''The Peterville Diamond'' is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Anne Crawford, Donald Stewart and Renee Houston. It is also known by the alternative title ''Jewel Robbery''. - from the 1931 play of the same title; ...

'' (1942) and '' Caravan'' (1946). Outside his developing screen career as a

supporting actor A supporting actor is an actor who performs a role in a play or film below that of the leading actor(s), and above that of a bit part. In recognition of important nature of this work, the theater and film industries give separate awards to the ...

, Somers continued to be heard in

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

productions and to appear in

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

plays and reviews.

Private life

In October 1939, Somers was living with his mother, Ethel M. Somers, at Wolnoth, Park Lane,

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

, and was registered as an actor. In the summer of 1950, he married Betty Margaret Newcombe at

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

. They had three sons and a daughter.

Death

Somers died in London in 1976, aged 72. At the time of his death, he was living at 33, Wharton Street,

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

. He was cremated at

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

Films

*''

'' (1942) as Andre *'' Caravan'' (1946) as Manoel *''

The Small Back Room ''The Small Back Room'', released in the United States as ''Hour of Glory'', is a 1949 film by the British producer-writer-director team of Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring David Farrar (actor), David Farrar ...

'' (1949) as Dr Bryan *'' Diamond City'' (1949) as van Niekerk *'' Hunted'' (1952) as Jack Lloyd *''

The Gambler and the Lady ''The Gambler and the Lady'' is a 1952 British crime film directed by Patrick Jenkins and Sam Newfield and starring Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron and Naomi Chance. It was made by Hammer Films. Plot An American gambler, Forster (Clark), aspires to ...

'' (1952) as Licasi *''

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men ''The Story of Robin Hood'' is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO- Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawrence Edward Watkin and ...

'' (1952) as Posse leader * ''

Three Steps to the Gallows ''Three Steps to the Gallows'', released in the United States as ''White Fire'', is a 1953 British crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Scott Brady, Mary Castle and Gabrielle Brune. The film, essentially a British second feature, is ...

'' (1953) as John Durante *''

The Long Memory ''The Long Memory'' is a black-and-white 1953 British crime film directed by Robert Hamer and based on the 1951 novel of the same title by Howard Clewes. Filmed at locations such as London Waterloo railway station, the North Kent Marshes on ...

'' (1953) as Delaney *''Fatal Journey'' (1954) as Goff * ''

The Battle of the River Plate The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, command ...

'' (1956) as Quartermaster of '' Graf Spee'' *''

The Moonraker ''The Moonraker'' is a British swashbuckler film made in 1957 and released in 1958 and set in the English Civil War. It was directed by David MacDonald and starred George Baker, Sylvia Syms, Marius Goring, Gary Raymond, Peter Arne, John Le M ...

'' (1957) as Captain Foster * '' The One That Got Away'' (1957) as ClerkNik Havert, ''The Golden Age of Disaster Cinema: A Guide to the Films, 1950-1979'' (McFarland, 2019)
p. 31
/ref> *''

Time Without Pity ''Time Without Pity'' is a 1957 British film noir thriller film about a father trying to save his son from execution for murder. The film was directed by expatriate American Joseph Losey after he was blacklisted in the U.S. during the ( McCar ...

'' (1957) as First Warder *'' Battle of the V-1'' (1957) as Reichsfuehrer * ''

Miracle in Soho ''Miracle in Soho'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by Julian Amyes and starring John Gregson, Belinda Lee and Cyril Cusack. The film depicts the lives of the inhabitants of a small street in Soho and the romance between a local road-b ...

'' (1957) as Potter * '' A Night to Remember'' (1958) as Bull * '' Another Time, Another Place'' (1958) as Hotel Manager *'' Room at the Top'' (1959) as St Clair *''

The Giant Behemoth ''The Giant Behemoth'' is a 1959 British-American science fiction giant monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with special effects by Willis H. O'Brien, Pete Peterson, Irving Block, Jack Rabin, and Louis de Witt. The film stars Gene Evans ...

'' (1959) as Rear Admiral Summers *''

Sink the Bismarck! ''Sink the Bismarck!'' is a 1960 black-and-white CinemaScope British war film based on the 1959 book ''The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck'' by C. S. Forester. It stars Kenneth More and Dana Wynter and was directed by Lewis Gilbert.Weiler, A.H ...

'' (1960) as Civilian on HMS ''Prince of Wales'' * ''Reluctant Bandit'' (1965) * ''

Far from the Madding Crowd ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1874) is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and his first major literary success. It originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in ''Cornhill Magazine'', where it gained a wide readership. The novel is set in ...

'' (1967) as Jan CogganPaul J. Niemeyer, ''Seeing Hardy: Film and Television Adaptations of the Fiction of Thomas Hardy'' (McFarland, 2015)
p. 256
/ref> * '' The Snow Goose'' (1971) as Jim

Television

* ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de H ...

'': “The Crusaders” (1958) as Sir Paul *''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...

'': “Blind Justice” (1959) as Simmons *'' The Avengers'', episode "

Man in the Mirror "Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackson' ...

" (1963), as Mike Brown *''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' (1963) as Ministry of Pensions Supervisor * ''

Gideon's Way ''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. J. Marric'). The series was made at Elstree Studios in twin production with '' ...

'': “The Great Plane Robbery” (1965) as Cameron *

ITV Play of the Week ''Play of the Week'' is a 90-minute British television anthology series produced by a variety of companies including Granada Television, Associated-Rediffusion, ATV and Anglia Television. Synopsis From 1955 to 1967 approximately 500 episodes a ...

: '' The Winds of Green Monday'' (1965) as Bosun Brien *''

Thursday Theatre ''Thursday Theatre'' is a UK television anthology series produced by and airing on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) from 1964–1965. There were twenty-three episodes which included adaptations of the play, ''The Cocktail Party'', ...

'': “Celebration” (1965) as Arthur Broadbent *''

Churchill's People ''Churchill's People'' is a series of 26 historical dramas produced by the BBC, based on Winston Churchill's ''A History of the English-Speaking Peoples''. They were first broadcast on BBC1 in 1974 and 1975. It was produced to mark the centen ...

'': “A Wilderness of Roses” (1975) as John Mauteby

Notes

External links

*
Julian Somers
aveleyman.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Somers Julian 1903 births 1976 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors People from Clerkenwell