John Dearth (16 October 1920 – 17 March 1984) was a British actor, known for playing countless roles in nearly 30 episodes of ITV series ''

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 ...

''. He is also remembered for playing two villains in science fiction series ''

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 ...

'': firstly voicing the maniacal supercomputer BOSS in Season 10 finale ''

The Green Death ''The Green Death'' is the fifth and final serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 May to 23 June 1973. It was the last regular appe ...

'' and then portraying the greedy Lupton in the following season finale ''

Planet of the Spiders ''Planet of the Spiders'' is the fifth and final serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 4 May to 8 June 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's fina ...

''. Other television appearances include ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'', ''

The Adventures of William Tell ''The Adventures of William Tell'' is a British swashbuckler adventure series, first broadcast on the ITV network in 1958, and produced by ITC Entertainment. In the United States, the episodes aired on the syndicated NTA Film Network in 1958 ...

'', '' The Four Just Men'', ''

Emergency Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's fi ...

'', ''

No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' (1957–1958) an ...

'', '' The Avengers'' ('' Propellant 23''), ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

'', ''

Theatre 625 ''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and ...

'', '' Softly, Softly'', ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramati ...

'', ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'', ''

Thirty-Minute Theatre ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' was a British anthology drama series of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, which was used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short running length, and which t ...

'', ''

Play of the Month ''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wor ...

'', ''

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'', ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'', ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' and ''

Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to: * Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922 * Kessler (name), people named Kessler * ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981 * Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...

''. Dearth was also a member of the BBC Radio Repertory Company during the 1960s.

Theatre

Initially, Dearth began his acting career in theatre. After a working trip to America in 1951 appearing in '' Caesar and Cleopatra''/''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

'' on Broadway, he returned to England the following year and performed at the

Connaught Theatre The Connaught Theatre is a Streamline Moderne-style theatre and cinema in the centre of Worthing, in West Sussex, England. Built as the Picturedrome cinema in 1914, the venue was extended in 1935 and became the new home of the Connaught Theatre ...

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

. He made his debut as a mythical god in ''Isle of Umbrellas'' as well as playing

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago hates ...

in ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

''. He left to join

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

theatre company, playing Guildenstern in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

, as well as being an understudy to

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

in the title role. More performances followed at the Old Vic with Burton (where Dearth became friends with the Welshman).

Personal life

In 1959, Dearth lost a part in the film ''

A Touch of Larceny ''A Touch of Larceny'' is a 1959 British-American black-and-white comedy film, produced by Ivan Foxwell, directed by Guy Hamilton, that stars James Mason, George Sanders, and Vera Miles. The film co-stars Harry Andrews, Rachel Gurney, and John ...

'', fired by the producer,

Ivan Foxwell Ivan Cottam Foxwell (22 February 1914 – 16 January 2002) was a British screenwriter and film producer. The screenplay for ''Tiara Tahiti'' on which he worked was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay in 1962. Foxwell died ...

, who felt he bore too much of a resemblance to leading man

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

. According to

Barry Letts Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of '' Doctor Who'' from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre ...

on the ''Planet of the Spiders'' DVD commentary, this experience embittered Dearth for the rest of his life. Personal problems meant he found work difficult to come by later in life. The actor was known to be a heavy drinker which may have resulted in his untimely death. Letts described Dearth as "a lovely man, but ruined by drink."Uncredited actors?? - Page 13 - Britmovie
/ref> Dearth's daughter was the actress Lynn Dearth (1946–1994).

Filmography

* '' The Flying Scot'' a.k.a. ''The Mailbag Robbery'' (1957) - Father * ''

Dangerous Exile ''Dangerous Exile'' is a 1957 British historical drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Louis Jourdan, Belinda Lee, Anne Heywood and Richard O'Sullivan. It concerns the fate of Louis XVII, who died in 1795 as a boy, yet was popul ...

'' (1957) - Simon the Jailer (uncredited) * '' Breakout'' (1959) - Lt. Robson * ''

Look Back in Anger ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...

'' (1959) - Pet Stall Man * ''

The Wreck of the Mary Deare ''The Wreck of the Mary Deare'' (in the UK published as ''The Mary Deare'') is a 1956 novel written by British author Hammond Innes, which was later adapted as a film starring Gary Cooper released in 1959 by MGM. According to Jack Adrian, the ...

'' (1959) - Reporter (uncredited) * ''

The Young Jacobites ''The Young Jacobites'' is a 1960 British serial for the Children's Film Foundation.YOUNG JACOBITES, The Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 27, Iss. 312, (Jan 1, 1960): 116. Plot Two children on holiday on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, go back in ...

'' (1960) - Sergeant * ''

Dead Lucky ''Dead Lucky'' is a 1960 British crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Vincent Ball, Betty McDowall, John Le Mesurier, Alfred Burke and Michael Ripper. A crime reporter teams up with a fashion journalist to investigate illegal go ...

'' (1960) - Torrance * '' Circle of Deception'' (1960) - Captain Ormrod * ''

The Shadow of the Cat ''The Shadow of the Cat'' is a 1961 British horror film directed by John Gilling for Hammer Film Productions. It stars André Morell and Barbara Shelley. It was photographed in black-and-white by Arthur Grant. It was released in May 1961 on a ...

'' - Constable Hamer (uncredited) * ''

The Day the Earth Caught Fire ''The Day the Earth Caught Fire'' is a British science fiction disaster film starring Edward Judd, Leo McKern and Janet Munro. It was directed by Val Guest and released in 1961, and is one of the classic apocalyptic films of its era. The film o ...

'' (1961) - Dick (uncredited) * ''

Three Spare Wives ''Three Spare Wives'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Susan Stephen, John Hewer, Robin Hunter. It was based on a play by Talbot Rothwell. Plot On the death of his Arabian uncle, George (Robin Hunter) inheri ...

'' (1962) - News Editor * ''

The Road to Hong Kong ''The Road to Hong Kong'' is a 1962 British semi-musical comedy film directed by Norman Panama and starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, as well as Joan Collins, with an extended cameo featuring Dorothy Lamour in the setting of Hong Kong under B ...

'' (1962) - Leader's Man (uncredited) * ''

Strongroom A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents are stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, much like a safe. Unlike safes, vaults a ...

'' (1962) - Police Sergeant Hopkins * ''The Runaway'' (1964) - Sgt. Hardwick

References

External links

*
John Dearth
at Theatricalia * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dearth, John 1920 births 1984 deaths English male television actors 20th-century British male actors Alcohol-related deaths in England