Elwyn Brook-Jones (11 December 1911 – 4 September 1962) was a British theatre, film and television actor.

Life

Brook-Jones was born in

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sara ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

, on the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java Isl ...

. After a private education, he attended

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

. His public debut was in Australia, aged 11, as a concert pianist; he later made cabaret appearances in the US and the Far East. He was a

repertory 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 withdrawi ...

actor, first appearing in London in 1943 in ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

'' as Judge Brack, before going on to appear in many productions in the West End, films and television. In the BBC children's series '' Garry Halliday'', he was the hero's opponent "The Voice". His most prominent film role was arguably Tober in

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

's ''

Odd Man Out ''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade poli ...

'' (1947). He was also Gladwin in

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

and

Emeric Pressburger Emeric Pressburger (born Imre József Pressburger; 5 December 19025 February 1988) was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collabora ...

's '' The Small Back Room'' (1949) and the Emir in '' The Pure Hell of St Trinian's'' (1960). He died in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

, aged 50.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1947) * '' The Three Weird Sisters'' (1948) * ''

Good-Time Girl ''Good-Time Girl'' is a 1948 British film noir-crime drama film directed by David MacDonald. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she’s run away from home because she’s unhappy there. They exp ...

'' (1948) * '' Bonnie Prince Charlie'' (1948) * ''

It's Hard to Be Good ''It's Hard to Be Good'' is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Jeffrey Dell and starring Jimmy Hanley, Anne Crawford and Raymond Huntley. In the film, an ex-army officer finds his altruistic attempts to improve the world are unsuccessful. ...

'' (1948) * ''

Dear Mr. Prohack ''Dear Mr. Prohack'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland. It is a modern-day version of Arnold Bennett's 1922 novel, ''Mr Prohack'', as adapted in the play by Edward Knoblock. It stars Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns and Dirk Bo ...

'' (1949) * '' The Wonder Kid'' (1950) * '' I'll Get You for This'' (1951) * '' Life in Her Hands'' (1951) * '' Judgment Deferred'' (1952) * '' The Night Won't Talk'' (1952) as Martin Soames * ''

Three Steps in the Dark ''Three Steps in the Dark'' is a 1953 British mystery film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Greta Gynt, Hugh Sinclair and Sarah Lawson. It was produced as a second feature and shot at the Kensington Studios in London. The film's sets ...

'' (1953) * '' The Harassed Hero'' (1954) as Logan (credited as Elwyn Brook Jones) * ''

Beau Brummell George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, bu ...

'' (1954) as Mr. Tupp (uncredited) * '' The Gilded Cage'' (1955) * '' Assignment Redhead'' (1956) * '' Rogue's Yarn'' (1957) as Inspector Walker * '' The Duke Wore Jeans'' (1958) * '' Passport to Shame'' (1958) * '' Dial 999 (TV series)'' ('Ghost Squad', episode) (1959) as Mr. Scott * ''

The Ugly Duckling "The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection'' ...

'' (1959)

References

External links

* 1911 births 1962 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford British male television actors British male film actors British male stage actors British classical pianists 20th-century British male actors 20th-century British pianists 20th-century British musicians People from Kuching Raj of Sarawak people {{UK-screen-actor-stub