Rosamund John (19 October 1913 – 27 October 1998), born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress.

Early life

She was born and brought up in Tottenham in North London, the daughter of Frederick Henry Jones, a wine merchant's clerk, and his wife, Edith Elizabeth (née Elliott). She was educated at Tottenham high school before studying for the theatre at the Embassy School of Acting.

Career

At the age of nineteen, John was introduced to actor–director Milton Rosmer, who cast her in several minor stage roles before casting her in his film ''

The Secret of the Loch ''The Secret of the Loch'' is a 1934 British film about the Loch Ness Monster. It is the first film made about the monster. Charles Bennett said the film was based on his original idea. He later admitted it was "terrible... but amusing".Tom Wav ...

'' (1934). Following several more years of stage work she was cast opposite Leslie Howard in '' The First of the Few'' (1942).McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 399; This led to her being cast in Howard's next film as a director, '' The Gentle Sex'' (1943).McFarlane, Brian (1997). ''An Autobiography of British Cinema''. London: Methuen. p. 329; Howard cast John in her next film '' The Lamp Still Burns'' (1943), which he produced, but he was killed during the film's production when his plane was shot down returning from Lisbon. John became one of Britain's most popular screen stars, second only to Margaret Lockwood as Britain's favourite female star in 1944, and credited her career ascendance to Howard. She next starred in the rural wartime comedy ''

Tawny Pipit The tawny pipit (''Anthus campestris'') is a medium-large passerine bird which breeds in much of the central Palearctic from northwest Africa and Portugal to Central Siberia and on to Inner Mongolia. It is a migrant moving in winter to tropic ...

'' (1944), made by Two Cities Films, which, according to John, went on to be popular with American audiences as "it was everything the Americans thought of as being English." John co-starred in Anthony Asquith's wartime drama '' The Way to the Stars'' (1945), following which she appeared in the medical wartime thriller '' Green for Danger'' (1946). 1947 saw her star with

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 ...

in '' The Upturned Glass'' (1947), with '' Michael Redgrave'' in the Boulting Brothers' political drama '' Fame is the Spur'' (1947) and with Patricia Roc in the drama '' When the Bough Breaks'' (1947).

Personal life

John was twice married, first to film editor Russell Lloyd, from 1943 to 1949, with whom she had a son named John, and then to politician John Silkin from 1950 to 1987, with whom she had her second son, Rory."Rosamund John (Silkin): Transcript"
''

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''. Retrieved 31 July 2021. She died at a nursing home in Clapham, London in 1998, aged 85.

Filmography

Sources

*Halliwell, Leslie and John Walker. ''Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies''. Harper Resource, 2001. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Rosamund 1913 births 1998 deaths English film actresses English stage actresses Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses People from Tottenham