John Kenneth George Melford Smith (5 September 1899 – 22 October 1972) was a British

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

Biography

Melford was the younger brother of screenwriter and film director Austin Melford. On stage from the age of 12, Melford made his film debut in 1931. As well as appearing in various films and television shows, he also played

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' story ''

The Myth Makers ''The Myth Makers'' is the third serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Donald Cotton and directed by Michael Leeston-Smith, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts ...

''. His daughter Jill Melford was an actress.

Selected filmography

* '' The Sport of Kings'' (1931) - Sir Reginald Toothill * ''

Night of the Garter ''Night of the Garter'' is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Sydney Howard, Winifred Shotter and Elsie Randolph. The film was made at British and Dominion's Elstree Studios by the producer Herbert Wilcox for rel ...

'' (1933) - Kenneth Warwick * ''

Department Store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

'' (1935) - Bob Burge Goodman * ''

Look Up and Laugh ''Look Up and Laugh'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Basil Dean and starring Gracie Fields, Alfred Drayton and Douglas Wakefield. The film is notable for featuring an appearance by Vivien Leigh in an early supporting role. Plot Gracie ...

'' (1935) - Journalist * '' Honeymoon for Three'' (1935) - Raymond Dirk * '' Birds of a Feather'' (1936) - Rudolph * '' Find the Lady'' (1936) - Schemer Doyle * ''

If I Were Rich If I Were Rich may refer to: * If I Were Rich (1936 film), a British comedy film * If I Were Rich (2019 film) ''If I Were Rich'' ( es, Si yo fuera rico, links=no) is a 2019 Spanish comedy film directed by Álvaro Fernández Armero and consisting o ...

'' (1936) - Albert Mott * ''

Luck of the Turf ''Luck of the Turf'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Randall Faye and starring Jack Melford, Moira Lynd, Wally Patch and Moore Marriott. It was made at the Nettlefold Studios in Walton as a quota quickie for release by the Hollywood ...

'' (1936) - Sid Smith * ''

Radio Lover ''Radio Lover'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Paul Capon and Austin Melford and starring Wylie Watson, Ann Penn and Betty Ann Davies.Wood p.92 Cast * Wylie Watson as Joe Morrison * Ann Penn as Miss Oliphant * Betty Ann Davies as ...

'' (1936) - Reggie Clifford * ''

Jump for Glory ''Jump for Glory'' is a 1937 British romantic drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Valerie Hobson and Alan Hale. It was based on a novel by Gordon McDonnell. The film was shot at Isleworth Studios by the inde ...

'' (1937) - Thompson * ''

Let's Make a Night of It ''Let's Make a Night of It'' is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, June Clyde and Claire Luce. The screenplay concerns a husband and his wife, who acquire rival nightclubs at the sam ...

'' (1937) - Count Castelli * '' Command Performance'' (1937) - The Journalist * '' Coming of Age'' (1938) - Roger Squire * '' Scruffy'' (1938) - Jim * '' Hold My Hand'' (1938) - Pop Currie * '' It's in the Air'' (1938) - Lt. Terry - pilot * '' Many Tanks Mr. Atkins'' (1938) - Capt. Torrent * ''

Too Many Husbands ''Too Many Husbands'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''My Two Husbands'') is a 1940 American romantic comedy film about a woman who loses her husband in a boating accident and remarries, only to have her first spouse reappear—yet another var ...

'' (1938) - Stephen Brinkway * ''

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by editor Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. A 119th Spider novel manuscr ...

'' (1940) - Duke * '' The Briggs Family'' (1940) - Jerry Tulse * ''

Spare a Copper Spare or Spares may refer to: Common meanings * Spare (bowling), a term for knocking down all the pins using two bowling balls * short for spare part ** Spare tire People * Austin Osman Spare (1886–1956), English artist and occultist * Richar ...

'' (1940) - Dame (uncredited) * ''

Crook's Tour ''Crook's Tour'' is a 1941 black and white British film directed by John Baxter featuring Charters and Caldicott. It is adapted from a BBC radio serial of the same name. Plot Charters and Caldicott are touring the Middle East (Saudi Arabia) ...

'' (1941) - Desert Bus Tour Guide (uncredited) * ''

They Met in the Dark ''They Met in the Dark'' is a 1943 British comedy thriller film directed by Karel Lamač and starring James Mason, Joyce Howard and Edward Rigby. The screenplay concerns a cashiered Royal Naval officer and a young woman who join forces to solve ...

'' (1943) - Defence Lawyer at Court Martial (uncredited) * '' Theatre Royal'' (1943) - Himself * ''

The Rake's Progress ''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Prog ...

'' (1945) - Race Team Member (uncredited) * ''

The Laughing Lady ''The Laughing Lady'' is a 1946 British Technicolor musical drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Anne Ziegler, Webster Booth and Francis L. Sullivan. Based on a play by Ingram D'Abbes, its plot follows a young aristocrat who mak ...

'' (1946) - Lord Barrymore * '' The October Man'' (1947) - Wilcox * '' When You Come Home'' (1948) - Dr. Dormer Franklyn * ''

My Brother Jonathan ''My Brother Jonathan'' is a 1948 British drama film directed by Harold French and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Ronald Howard and Beatrice Campbell. It is adapted from the 1930 novel '' My Brother Jonathan'' by Francis Brett Young, ...

'' (1948) - Dr. Martock * ''

Counterblast ''Counterblast'' is a 1948 British thriller film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Robert Beatty, Mervyn Johns and Nova Pilbeam. It was made by British National Films at Elstree Studios. Plot A Nazi scientist escapes from prison, murders ...

'' (1948) - Detective (uncredited) * ''

No Room at the Inn ''No Room at the Inn'' is a 1945 play by Joan Temple that became a 1948 film directed by Daniel Birt. Both play and film are presented in flashback mode and share the same subject matter – cruelty, neglect and mental and physical abuse meted ...

'' (1948) - Councillor Wordsworth (uncredited) * ''

Warning to Wantons ''Warning to Wantons'' is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Donald Wilson and starring Harold Warrender, Anne Vernon and David Tomlinson. The screenplay, written by art historian James Laver and the director, was based upon Mary ...

'' (1949) - Maurice Lugard * '' Up for the Cup'' (1950) - Barrowboy * ''Heights of Danger'' (1953) - Mr. Croudson * ''

Background Background may refer to: Performing arts and stagecraft * Background actor * Background artist * Background light * Background music * Background story * Background vocals * ''Background'' (play), a 1950 play by Warren Chetham-Strode Reco ...

'' (1953) - Mackay * '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) - Detective (uncredited) * '' The End of the Line'' (1957) - Inspector Gates * ''

Web of Suspicion ''Web of Suspicion'' is a 1959 British crime film directed by Max Varnel and starring Philip Friend and Susan Beaumont. It was produced by the Danziger Brothers.Night Train for Inverness ''Night Train for Inverness'' is a black and white 1960 British drama film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Norman Wooland, Jane Hylton and Dennis Waterman. It is notable as the film debut of Dennis Waterman. The film was referenced in an ...

'' (1960) - Boy's Father (uncredited) * '' Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons'' (1960) - Concierge (uncredited) * ''

Compelled ''Compelled'' is a 1960 British neo noir black and white crime film, one of two films directed by Ramsey Herrington. It stars Ronald Howard and Beth Rogan. Plot Ex-con Paul Adams is an engineer blackmailed into assisting with a jewel theft ...

'' (1960) - Grimes * ''

Transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

'' (1960) - Capt. Brady * '' Sentenced for Life'' (1960) - (uncredited) *''

The Fourth Square ''The Fourth Square'' is a 1961 British crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Conrad Phillips, Natasha Parry and Delphi Lawrence. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is loosel ...

'' (1961) - Stewart * ''

Feet of Clay Feet of clay is an idiom used to refer to a weakness or character flaw, especially in people of prominence and power. It can also be used to refer to larger groups, such as societies, businesses, and empires. An entity with feet of clay may appe ...

'' (1961) - Soames * '' Follow That Man'' (1961) - Lars Toren * ''Hotel Incident'' (1962) - Max * '' The Last Man Out'' (1962) - Sergeant-Major Knutley * '' What Every Woman Wants'' (1962) - Dr. Falcon * ''

The Gentle Terror ''The Gentle Terror'' is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Frank Marshall. Plot A mild mannered bookkeeping clerk (Terence Alexander) is accused of embezzlement. To clear his name he must catch the true culprit. Cast * Terence Alexander ...

'' (1963) - Inspector Miles * '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964) - The Psycho-Analyst * ''

Night Train to Paris ''Night Train to Paris'' is a 1964 British-American spy film starring Leslie Nielsen, Aliza Gur and Dorinda Stevens. Plot Former OSS officer Alan Holiday is visited by Catherine Carrel on New Year's Eve, Carrel says she's a close friend of Jule ...

'' (1964) - PC inspector * ''Walk a Tightrope'' (1964) - Bit Part * ''

A Home of Your Own ''A Home of Your Own'' is a 1964 British comedy film, which is a brick-by-brick account of the building of a young couple's dream house. From the day when the site is first selected, to the day – several years and children later – when the ...

'' (1965) * ''

Lust for a Vampire ''Lust for a Vampire'', also known as ''Love for a Vampire'' or ''To Love a Vampire'' (the latter title was the one used on American television), is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Barbara Jef ...

'' (1971) - Bishop (final film role)

References

External links

* * 1899 births 1972 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors {{England-actor-stub