John William Francis Hallam (28 October 1941 – 14 November 2006
) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
character actor, who frequently played hard men or military types.
[
]
Early life
John Hallam was born, the son of a superintendent at London Docklands
London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London Borough of ...
, in 1941 in Lisburn
Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...
, County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...
, after the family were evacuated to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
during the Second World War.South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area.
Geographical
Australia
*South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney
* South Coast (Q ...
, where he eventually found acting work in repertory theatre
A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.
United Kingdom
Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...
.[
]
Career
Stage
After training at RADA
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
(1962–64), Hallam began acting with 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 embryonic National Theatre Company
The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...
, playing the Stage Door Keeper in ''Trelawny of the 'Wells'
''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society.
Synopsis
''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' t ...
'' (Old Vic Theatre
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 ...
, 1965).[ He was seen performing on television for the first time in 1967, in the small role of a watchman when the BBC screened the director ]Franco Zeffirelli
Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...
's National Theatre production of ''Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' (Old Vic).
Stage roles became infrequent when an unending flow of film and television work followed.
Film
On the big screen, he worked his way up from bit-parts as an officer in ''The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to s ...
'' (directed by Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film ''Tom Jones (1963 film ...
, 1968) and a revolting Burpa tribesman in ''Carry On Up the Khyber
''Carry On Up the Khyber'' is a 1968 British comedy film, the 16th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It stars ''Carry On'' regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butt ...
'' (1968) to more substantial roles as Sir Meles of Bohemia in ''A Walk with Love and Death
''A Walk with Love and Death'' is a 1969 American adventure drama historical romance war film directed by John Huston and starring Anjelica Huston and Assi Dayan.
Plot
The story is based on the 1961 novel by Hans Koningsberger, set at the ti ...
'' (the director John Huston
John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...
's tale of 14th-century romance in France, 1969).[
Over the years he appeared in many films including '']Where's Jack?
''Where's Jack?'' is a 1969 British adventure film recounting the exploits of notorious 18th-century criminal Jack Sheppard and London "Thief-Taker General" Jonathan Wild.
The film was produced by Stanley Baker through his company Oakhurst Pro ...
'' (1969), ''The Last Valley The Last Valley may refer to:
* ''The Last Valley'' (novel), an historical novel about the Thirty Years' War
** ''The Last Valley'' (film), a 1971 film adaptation of the novel directed by James Clavell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Valley, The ...
'', ''Villain
A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...
'', ''Nicholas and Alexandra
''Nicholas and Alexandra'' is a 1971 British epic film, epic historical drama film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, from a screenplay written by James Goldman and Edward Bond, based on Robert K. Massie's 1967 Nicholas and Alexandra (book), boo ...
'', ''Murphy's War
''Murphy's War'' is an Eastmancolor 1971 Panavision war film starring Peter O'Toole and Siân Phillips. It was directed by Peter Yates based on the 1969 novel by Max Catto. The film's cinematographer was Douglas Slocombe.
The film is set in ...
'', '' Quest for Love'' (1971), ''The Offence
''The Offence'' is a 1973 British crime neo noir drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, based upon the 1968 stage play ''This Story of Yours'' by John Hopkins. It stars Sean Connery as police detective Johnson, who kills suspected child molest ...
'', ''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 ...
'' (1972), ''Hennessy
Jas Hennessy & Co., commonly known simply as Hennessy (), is a French producer of cognac, which has its headquarters in Cognac, France.
It is one of the "big four" cognac houses, along with Martell, Courvoisier, and Rémy Martin, who together ma ...
'' (1975), ''Trial by Combat
Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...
'' (1976), ''The Four Feathers
''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in t ...
'' (1978), '' Love and Bullets'' (1979), ''Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...
'' (1980), ''Dragonslayer
A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
'' (1981), ''Ivanhoe
''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...
'' (1982), '' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985), ''When the Whales Came
''When the Whales Came'' is a 1989 British drama film directed by Clive Rees and starring Helen Mirren, Paul Scofield, David Suchet, Barbara Jefford, David Threlfall, John Hallam, Barbara Ewing, and Jeremy Kemp. It is based on the 1985 children ...
'' (1989), and the 1985 science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
cult film '' Lifeforce'', directed by Tobe Hooper
Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influenti ...
.
He appeared in ''Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple “''4:50 from Paddington” as Cedric Crackenthorple. He also appeared as McTaggart in the director's cut of the 1973 film ''The Wicker Man
''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...
''. His later film roles included a Baron in '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991) and as Mandara in ''Kull the Conqueror
''Kull the Conqueror'' is a 1997 fantasy film about the Robert E. Howard character Kull starring Kevin Sorbo. It is a film adaptation of Howard's Conan novel ''The Hour of the Dragon'', with the protagonist changed to the author's other barbari ...
'' (1997).[
]
Television
In 1973 he played the troubled Dr. Peter Conway in the science fiction series ''Moonbase 3
''Moonbase 3'' is a British science fiction television programme that ran for six episodes in 1973.
It was a co-production between the BBC, 20th Century Fox and the American ABC network.
Created by ''Doctor Who'' producer Barry Letts and s ...
.'' Later in the decade he appeared as ''"uncle"'' Harry Farmer, a former soldier who is invalided out of the army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
in the BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
drama series, ''Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...
'' (1977-1978).
Another notable television role was as Thomas Mallen in Catherine Cookson’s adaptation drama series ''The Mallens
''The Mallens'' was a popular Granada Television adaptation of Catherine Cookson novels that ran for 13 episodes from 10 June 1979 to 3 July 1980. The series is based on ''The Mallen Streak'', ''The Mallen Girls'', and ''The Mallen Secret'' a ...
'' (1979).
He also appeared as '' "Gypsy Joe"'' in the ''Minder
A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds".
Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' episode ''"In"'', (1982) and in the 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 exam. ...
...
'', from 1988 until 1990, and later starred as Ali Ben Hassad in the 1998 TV movie ''
''.