Jack William Frederick Gwillim (15 December 1909 – 2 July 2001) was an English character actor.

Career

Born in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, Kent, England, he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

at 17 and served for over twenty years, becoming one of the youngest men ever to obtain the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

. During his time in the Navy, he became a champion boxer and rugby player, and was invalided out in 1946. After training at Central School of Speech and Drama, Gwillim began his acting career in earnest in the 1950s, working on both stage and screen. On stage, he appeared both at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford and at the Old Vic. He performed in an extensive amount of theatre, both classics and modern plays, in the West End of London and on Broadway. Some of his most notable roles include: playing in Sir Ralph Richardson's production of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

''; ''

The Right Honourable Gentleman ''The Right Honourable Gentleman'' is a 1962 play by Michael Dyne, first staged in 1964. Plot ''The Right Honourable Gentleman'' is a dramatization of the rather complicated real-life Crawford scandal of Victorian England. Sir Charles Dilke, a ...

'' with lifelong friend Anthony Quayle; a revival of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flowe ...

'' with Rex Harrison, playing Colonel Pickering; John Gielgud's ''

The Constant Wife ''The Constant Wife'', a play written in 1926 by W. Somerset Maugham, is a comedy whose modern and amusing take on marriage and infidelity gives a quick-witted, alternative view on how to deal with an extramarital affair. A “sparkling comedy ...

'', with

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

; and '' The Iceman Cometh'', with James Earl Jones. Gwillim also featured in over fifty films and television series, usually war films or historical epics. His military background, commanding presence and deep, booming voice typecast him as soldiers and authority figures. Some of his most notable roles include playing a warship captain in '' Sink the Bismarck!'' (1960), the archbishop Hubert Walter in '' Sword of Sherwood Forest'' (1960), the obnoxious club secretary in '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), King Aeëtes in '' Jason and the Argonauts'' (1963), an RAF officer in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

film '' Thunderball'' (1965), the Lord Chief Justice in '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966), General Harold Alexander in '' Patton'' (1970),

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

in '' Clash of the Titans'' (1981), and Van Helsing in '' The Monster Squad'' (1987). He also had a recurring role on the TV series '' Danger Man'', '' The Saint'', and '' The Troubleshooters''. He took part in a number of recordings for Caedmon Shakespeare Records.

Personal life

Gwillim was twice married: to Peggy Bollard, until 1958, and Olivia Selby, from 1969 until his death. He had two children from his first marriage, Sarah-Jane Gwillim and

David Gwillim David Gwillim (born 15 December 1948) is an English actor, known for playing Prince Hal in the ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' adaptations of ''Henry IV, Part I'' and '' Henry IV, Part II'' and the title role in ''Henry V'' which were broadcast i ...

, and a third, Jaxon Duff Gwillim, from his second marriage. His children also became actors, and he acted onstage with them in 1995 in a production of '' On Borrowed Time'', which was his last on stage performance.

Death

Gwillim died in Los Angeles, California on 2 July 2001 at the age of 91. He was buried in Lot 136, Section 15 of Albany Rural Cemetery in Upstate New York.

Filmography

* '' The Battle of the River Plate'' (1956) - Captain Parry - H.M.N.Z.S. Achilles * '' The One That Got Away'' (1957) - Commandant Grizedale * ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...

'' (1959) - Oberon (voice) * '' North West Frontier'' (1959) - Brigadier Ames * '' Solomon and Sheba'' (1959) - Josiah * '' Sink the Bismarck!'' (1960) - Captain (King George V) * '' Let's Get Married'' (1960) - Dr. Sanders * '' Circus of Horrors'' (1960) - Supt. Andrews * ''

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

'' (1960) - Barrister * '' Sword of Sherwood Forest'' (1960) - Archbishop of Canterbury Hubert Walter * '' Sentenced for Life'' (1960) - John Richards * ''

No Love for Johnnie ''No Love for Johnnie'' is a 1961 British drama film in CinemaScope directed by Ralph Thomas. It was based on the 1959 book of the same title by the Labour Member of Parliament Wilfred Fienburgh, and stars Peter Finch. It depicts the disillusi ...

'' (1961) - MP (uncredited) * '' Lisa'' (1962) - Insp. Cobb * '' In Search of the Castaways'' (1962) - Captain Grant * '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962) - Club Secretary * ''The Rivals'' (1963) - Rolf Neilson * '' Sammy Going South'' (1963) - District Commissioner * '' Jason and the Argonauts'' (1963) - King Aeëtes * '' The World Ten Times Over'' (1963) - Bolton * '' The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb'' (1964) - Sir Giles Dalrymple * '' Thunderball'' (1965) - Senior RAF Staff Officer (uncredited) * '' Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die'' (1966) - British ambassador * '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966) - Chief Justice * '' Casino Royale'' (1967) - British Officer at Auction (uncredited) * '' The Bushbaby'' (1969) - Ardsley * '' Battle of Britain'' (1969) - Senior Air Staff Officer * '' Patton'' (1970) - General Sir Harold Alexander * '' Cromwell'' (1970) - General Byron * '' The Adams Chronicles'' (1976, TV Mini-Series) - Lord Carmarthen * '' Clash of the Titans'' (1981) -

* '' Sicilian Connection'' (1987) - (voice) * ''

Blind Date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

'' (1987) - Artist * '' The Monster Squad'' (1987) - Van Helsing * '' Blue Shark Hash'' (2001) - Jonah (final film role)

References

External links

* * * *
Obituary in ''The Guardian''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwillim, Jack 1909 births 2001 deaths English male film actors English male stage actors Male actors from Kent People from Canterbury Royal Navy officers British expatriate male actors in the United States Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Military personnel from Kent Royal Navy officers of World War II Burials in New York (state)