John Slater (22 August 1916 – 9 January 1975) was an English

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

who usually portrayed lugubrious, amiable

cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

types.

Biography

Slater's father was an antiques dealer. After attending St Clement Danes Grammar School in Hammersmith, Slater began acting in

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

at the

Whitehall Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

. He first appeared on film in 1938, remaining active in the industry up to his death. He was a familiar face in British films of the 1940s and appeared in many classic films of the period, including ''

The Day Will Dawn ''The Day Will Dawn'', released in the US as ''The Avengers'', is a 1942 British war film set in Norway during World War II. It stars Ralph Richardson, Deborah Kerr, Hugh Williams and Griffith Jones, and was directed by Harold French from a s ...

'' (1942, US title ''The Avengers''), ''

Went the Day Well? ''Went the Day Well?'' is a 1942 British war film adapted from a story by Graham Greene and directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. It was produced by Michael Balcon of Ealing Studios and served as unofficial propaganda for the war effort. The film shows ...

'' (1942), ''

We Dive at Dawn ''We Dive at Dawn'' is a 1943 war film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring John Mills and Eric Portman as Royal Navy submariners in the Second World War. It was written by Val Valentine and J. B. Williams with uncredited assistance from Fr ...

'' (1943), ''

A Canterbury Tale ''A Canterbury Tale'' is a 1944 British film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Sgt. John Sweet; Esmond Knight provided narration and played two small roles. For the post-war American ...

'' (1944), ''

The Seventh Veil ''The Seventh Veil'' is a 1945 British melodrama film directed by Compton Bennett and starring James Mason and Ann Todd. It was made by Ortus Films (a company established by producer Sydney Box) and released through General Film Distributors in ...

'' (1945), ''

It Always Rains on Sunday ''It Always Rains on Sunday'' is a 1947 British film adaptation of Arthur La Bern's novel by the same name, directed by Robert Hamer. The film has been compared with the poetic realism movement in the French cinema of a few years earlier by the ...

'' (1947) and ''

Passport to Pimlico ''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the unea ...

'' (1949). He was also a singer, and made three solo 78rpm records for Columbia in 1953 and 1954. The first of these was a cover of "

(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window? "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" is a popular novelty song. It was written by Bob Merrill and first registered on September 25, 1952, as "The Doggie in the Window". On January 27, 1953, its sheet music was published in New York as "( ...

", followed by "Travelling Alone", his own composition. The latter was released in 1953, and subsequently used in the 1956 film ''

Johnny, You're Wanted ''Johnny, You're Wanted'' is a 1956 British crime B-movie, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring John Slater. The film features famous strongwoman Joan Rhodes performing her stage act. It was based on the 1953 BBC television series of the s ...

'', which starred Slater in the lead role. In 1954, Columbia released a single of excerpts from ''Dry Rot'', a farce from London's Whitehall Theatre by John Chapman (which later became a film of the same name). The record featured Slater alongside

Brian Rix Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix, (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016) was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including ''Dry Rot'', '' Simple Spymen'' and ''One for ...

, Basil Lord, Cicely Paget-Bowman, Diana Caderwood and Chapman, with Jackie Brown on the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

. In 1959, Slater participated on a studio cast recording of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'', singing "

With a Little Bit of Luck "With a Little Bit of Luck" is a popular song by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, written for the 1956 Broadway play ''My Fair Lady''. It was sung by Stanley Holloway as Alfred P. Doolittle in both the original stage and film versions. I ...

" and "

Get Me to the Church on Time "Get Me to the Church on Time" is a song composed by Frederick Loewe, with lyrics written by Alan Jay Lerner for the 1956 musical ''My Fair Lady'', where it was introduced by Stanley Holloway. It is sung by the cockney character Alfred P. Doolit ...

" as

Eliza Doolittle Eliza Doolittle is a fictional character and the protagonist in George Bernard Shaw's play ''Pygmalion'' (1913) and its 1956 musical adaptation, ''My Fair Lady''. Eliza (from Lisson Grove, London) is a Cockney flower woman, who comes to Profe ...

's father Alfred. Slater narrated the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...

's ''Mining Review'' documentary series, and was known on television for his presenter role opposite popular children's puppets

Pinky and Perky ''Pinky and Perky'' is a children's television series first broadcast by BBC TV in 1957, and revived in 2008 as a computer-animated adaptation. Original series The title characters are a pair of anthropomorphic puppet pigs, named Pinky and ...

during the 1960s, as a

story-teller ''The Story-Teller'' was a monthly British pulp magazine, pulp Literary magazine, fiction magazine from 1907 to 1937. ''The Story-Teller'' is notable for having published some of the works of prominent authors, including G. K. Chesterton, Will ...

on '' Jackanory'' and as Det. Sgt. Stone in ''

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 ...

'' from 1967 to 1974. He also appeared in the notorious 1958 stage production of

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's '' The Birthday Party'', as Nat Goldberg. He narrated the 1963 film ''Giants of Steam'' made by the

British Broadcasting Corporation #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. ...

and British Transport Films. Slater sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of an air crash in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1946 and sporadic bouts of ill health hampered his career. He died on 9 January 1975 from a heart attack, aged 58.

Selected filmography

* ''

Alf's Button Afloat ''Alf's Button Afloat'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. In the film, the Crazy Gang go to sea, where one of them discovers a butto ...

'' (1938) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' This Man Is Dangerous'' (1941) - (uncredited) * ''

Love on the Dole ''Love on the Dole'' is a novel by Walter Greenwood, about working-class poverty in 1930s Northern England. It has been made into both a play and a film. The novel Walter Greenwood's novel (1933) was written during the early 1930s as a respons ...

'' (1941) - Agitator on Demonstration (uncredited) * '' "Pimpernel" Smith'' (1941) - Reporter (uncredited) * ''Facing the Music'' (1941) * ''

The Saint Meets the Tiger ''The Saint Meets the Tiger'' is the title of a crime thriller produced by the British unit of RKO Pictures, produced in 1941, but not released until 1943. This was to be the last of the eight films in RKO's film series about the crimefighter ...

'' (1941) - Eddie * ''

The Common Touch ''The Common Touch'' is a 1941 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Geoffrey Hibbert, Harry Welchman, Greta Gynt, and Joyce Howard. The film is a remake by the director of his 1933 film ''Doss House''. Pianist Mark Hambourg ...

'' (1941) - Joe * ''

Penn of Pennsylvania ''Penn of Pennsylvania'' is a 1941 British historical drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans, Dennis Arundell, Henry Oscar, Herbet Lomas and Edward Rigby. The film depicts the life of the Quaker found ...

'' (1942) - Newgate Prisoner with Mouse (uncredited) * '' Hatter's Castle'' (1942) - Card Player (uncredited) * ''

Gert and Daisy's Weekend ''Gert and Daisys Weekend'' is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Elsie Waters, Doris Waters and Iris Vandeleur. It was shot at Welwyn Studios with sets designed by the art director William Hemsley. It was follo ...

'' (1942) - Jack Densham * ''

'' (1942, US title ''The Avengers'') - American Reporter In Oslo Hotel (uncredited) * ''

Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

'' (1942) - Air Raid Warden (uncredited) * ''

They Flew Alone ''They Flew Alone'' (released in the US as ''Wings and the Woman'') is a 1942 British biopic about aviator Amy Johnson directed and produced by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Robert Newton and Edward Chapman. It was distributed in the ...

'' (1942) - Officer on Interview Panel * ''

Unpublished Story ''Unpublished Story'' is a 1942 British black-and-white war film directed by Harold French and starring Richard Greene and Valerie Hobson. It was produced and co-written by Anthony Havelock-Allan. The film served as a propaganda film during Wo ...

'' (1942) - Code Soldier (uncredited) * '' Uncensored'' (1942) - Théophile * '' The Young Mr. Pitt'' (1942) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

'' (1942) - Sergeant * '' Those Kids from Town'' (1942) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

The Harvest Shall Come ''The Harvest Shall Come'' is a 1942 British documentary film about agricultural work between 1900 and World War II, using the story of a farm laborer to illustrate the importance of agriculture, and the importance of supporting workers in this o ...

'' (1942, Short) - Tom Grimwood (uncredited) * ''

'' (1943) - Charlie (uncredited) * ''

Undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

'' (1943) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

Millions Like Us ''Millions Like Us'' is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It starred Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Eric Portman and Megs Jenkins. It was co-written and co-directed ...

'' (1943) - Alec - Man at Dance Hall (uncredited) * ''

The Adventures of Tartu ''The Adventures of Tartu'' (alternate British title and American release title: ''Sabotage Agent'', also known as ''Tartu'') is a 1943 British Second World War spy film directed by Harold S. Bucquet and starring Robert Donat. It was a morale bo ...

'' (1943) - Luftwaffe Man with Coffee (uncredited) * ''

Schweik's New Adventures ''Schweik's New Adventures'' is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Karel Lamač and starring Lloyd Pearson, Maggie Rennie, Richard Attenborough and Julien Mitchell. It is also known by the alternative title ''It Started at Midnight''. It was ...

'' (1943) - A4 * ''

Deadlock In concurrent computing, deadlock is any situation in which no member of some group of entities can proceed because each waits for another member, including itself, to take action, such as sending a message or, more commonly, releasing a lo ...

'' (1943) - Fred Bamber / Allan Bamber * ''

The New Lot ''The New Lot'' is a 1943 British drama film directed by Carol Reed and starring Eric Ambler, Robert Donat, Kathleen Harrison, Bernard Lee, Raymond Huntley, John Laurie, Peter Ustinov and Austin Trevor, with music by Richard Addinsell. It is a ...

'' (1943) - Soldier in Truck (uncredited) * '' Candlelight in Algeria'' (1944) - American Officer * '' For Those in Peril'' (1944) - A / C 1. Wilkie * ''

The Hundred Pound Window ''The Hundred Pound Window'' is a 1944 British crime film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Anne Crawford, David Farrar, Frederick Leister and Richard Attenborough. The film follows an accountant who has to take a second job work ...

'' (1944) - O'Neil * ''

'' (1944) - Sergt. Len * ''

I Live in Grosvenor Square ''I Live in Grosvenor Square'' is a British comedy-drama romance war film directed and produced by Herbert Wilcox. It was the first of Wilcox's "London films" collaboration with his wife, actress Anna Neagle. Her co-stars were Dean Jagger a ...

'' (1945) - Paratrooper * ''

Murder in Reverse? ''Murder in Reverse'' (also styled ''Murder in Reverse?'') is a 1945 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley and Chili Bouchier. It is based on the story ''Query'' by "Seamark" ( Austin J. ...

'' (1945) - Fred Smith * ''

'' (1945) - James * ''

Teheran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

'' (1946) - Maj. Sergei Soviesky, USSR * ''

'' (1947) - Lou Hyams * ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

'' (1948) - Salesman * '' Against the Wind'' (1948) - Emile Meyer * ''

Noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

'' (1948) - Pudd'n Bason * ''

'' (1949) - Frank Huggins * ''

Prelude to Fame ''Prelude to Fame'' is a 1950 British drama film set in Italy, directed by Fergus McDonell and starring Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Byron and Kathleen Ryan. It is based on the 1924 story "Young Archimides" by Aldous Huxley, about a mathematical prodi ...

'' (1950) - Dr. Lorenzo * '' The Third Visitor'' (1951) - James Oliver * ''

The Faithful City ''The Faithful City'' is a 1952 American drama film directed by Józef Lejtes and written by Józef Lejtes and Ben Barzman. The film stars Jamie Smith, Ben Josef, John Slater, Rahel Marcus, Dina Doron and Didi Ramati. The film was released on Apr ...

'' (1952) - Ezra * '' The Ringer'' (1952) - Bell * ''The Promise'' (1952) * ''

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) - Pewsey * ''

The Flanagan Boy ''The Flanagan Boy'' (released in the United States as ''Bad Blonde'') is a 1953 British film noir directed by Reginald Le Borg. It was made by Hammer Film Productions and stars Barbara Payton, Tony Wright, Frederick Valk and Sid James. ''The ...

'' (1953) - Charlie Sullivan * ''

Strange Stories ''Strange Stories'' was a pulp magazine which ran for thirteen issues from 1939 to 1941. It was edited by Mort Weisinger, who was not credited. Contributors included Robert Bloch, Eric Frank Russell, C. L. Moore, August Derleth, and ...

'' (1953) - Storyteller / Narrator * ''

The Million Pound Note ''The Million Pound Note'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gregory Peck, Ronald Squire, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Jane Griffiths. It is based on the 1893 Mark Twain short story '' The Million Pound Bank Note'' ...

'' (1954) - Parsons * '' Star of India'' (1954) - Emile * ''

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

'' (1954) - Condemned Man * ''

'' (1956) - Johnny * ''Raiders of the River'' (1956) - Narrator * '' The Devil's Pass'' (1957) - Bill Buckle * ''

Violent Playground ''Violent Playground'' is a black and white 1958 British film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing, and David McCallum. The film, which deals with the genre of juvenile delinquent, has an explicit social agenda. It ...

'' (1958) - Sgt. Walker * ''Upgreen - And at 'Em'' (1960) * '' The Night We Got the Bird'' (1961) - Wolf Mannheim (Manny) * ''

Three on a Spree ''Three on a Spree'' is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Jack Watling, Carole Lesley and John Slater. It is based on the 1902 novel ''Brewster's Millions'' by George Barr McCutcheon, which became the hit 19 ...

'' (1961) - Sid Johnson * ''

Nothing Barred ''Nothing Barred'' is a 1961 British black and white comedy film directed by Darcy Conyers and starring Brian Rix, Leo Franklyn and Naunton Wayne. Plot Penniless Lord Whitebait (Naunton Wayne) plans to save his dwindling fortunes by opening ...

'' (1961) - Warder Lockitt * ''

A Place to Go ''A Place to Go'' is a 1963 British crime drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Bernard Lee, Rita Tushingham and Michael Sarne. Set in contemporary Bethnal Green in the East End of London, it charted the dramatic changes that were ...

'' (1963) - Jack Ellerman * ''The Yellow Hat'' (1966) - Slack

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, John 1916 births 1975 deaths English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from London People educated at St. Clement Danes School 20th-century English male actors