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IMDbPro

John Williams(1903-1983)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
John Williams
When singer Guy Lambert goes on tour in Europe, he is pursued by two beautiful women, bumbling jewel thieves, and a mysterious killer.
Play trailer2:37
Double Trouble (1967)
11 Videos
34 Photos
John Williams was a tall, urbane Anglo-American actor best known for his role as Chief Inspector Hubbard in Dial M for Murder (1954), a role he played on Broadway, in Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1954 film, and on television in 1958. Playing Hubbard on the Great White Way brought him the 1953 Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Play. "Dial M for Murder" was the 27th Broadway play he had appeared in since making his New York debut in "The Fake" in 1924, which he had originally appeared in back in his native England.

Williams was born on April 15, 1903 in Buckinghamshire and attended Lancing College. He first trod the boards as a teenager in a 1916 production of Peter Pan (1924). He moved to America in the mid-1920s and was a busy and constantly employed stage actor for 30 years. After "Dial M for Murder" in the 1953-54 season, though, he appeared in only four more Broadway plays between 1955 and 1970 as he focused on movies and television.

In addition to "Dial M for Murder", he appeared in Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947) and in To Catch a Thief (1955) and in 10 episodes of the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). For Billy Wilder, he appeared in Sabrina (1954) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Beginning in the 1960s, most of his work was in television, including a nine-episode stint on Family Affair (1966) taking over Sebastian Cabot's duties as Brian Keith's butler when Cabot was waylaid by health problems.

He retired in the late '70s, his last acting gig being an appearance on Battlestar Galactica (1978) in 1979. He was known by many in the last phase of his career for his work on one of the first TV infomercials, when he served as the pitchman for a classical music record collection called "120 Music Masterpieces."

John Williams died on May 5, 1983 in La Jolla, California from an aneurysm. He was 80 years old.
BornApril 15, 1903
DiedMay 5, 1983(80)
BornApril 15, 1903
DiedMay 5, 1983(80)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win

Photos34

Humphrey Bogart and John Williams in Sabrina (1954)
John Williams, Terry Carter, and Dennis Weaver in McCloud (1970)
John Williams, Fred Clark, and Ray Collins in The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)
Jerry Lewis and John Williams in Visit to a Small Planet (1960)
John Williams and René Blancard in To Catch a Thief (1955)
John Williams in To Catch a Thief (1955)
Cary Grant and John Williams in To Catch a Thief (1955)
Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, John Williams, and Jessie Royce Landis in To Catch a Thief (1955)
Grace Kelly, John Williams, and Jessie Royce Landis in To Catch a Thief (1955)
Cary Grant and John Williams in To Catch a Thief (1955)
Cary Grant and John Williams in To Catch a Thief (1955)
John Williams in To Catch a Thief (1955)

Known for

Grace Kelly and Anthony Dawson in Dial M for Murder (1954)
Dial M for Murder
8.2
  • Chief Inspector Hubbard
  • 1954
Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, and William Holden in Sabrina (1954)
Sabrina
7.6
  • Thomas Fairchild
  • 1954
Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief (1955)
To Catch a Thief
7.4
  • H.H. Hughson
  • 1955
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Witness for the Prosecution
8.4
  • Brogan-Moore
  • 1957

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Noah Hathaway, Lorne Greene, Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch, and Laurette Spang in Battlestar Galactica (1978)
    Battlestar Galactica
    • Sire Montrose
    • TV Series
    • 1979
  • ABC Weekend Specials (1977)
    ABC Weekend Specials
    • Hawkins
    • TV Series
    • 1978
  • Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978)
    Hot Lead and Cold Feet
    • Mansfield
    • 1978
  • David Niven, Kim Richards, Herschel Bernardi, Barbara Feldon, Don Knotts, Darren McGavin, and Brad Savage in No Deposit, No Return (1976)
    No Deposit, No Return
    • Jameson
    • 1976
  • Raymond Burr in Ironside (1967)
    Ironside
    • Insp. Bill Walston
    • TV Series
    • 1974
  • Lost in the Stars (1974)
    Lost in the Stars
    • Judge
    • 1974
  • Love, American Style (1969)
    Love, American Style
    • Gorum the Butler (segment "Love and the Generation Gasp")
    • TV Series
    • 1973
  • Banyon (1971)
    Banyon
    • Albert Sten
    • TV Series
    • 1973
  • Dennis Weaver in McCloud (1970)
    McCloud
    • Inspector Mills
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • Peter Falk in Columbo (1971)
    Columbo
    • Sir Roger Haversham
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • Rod Serling in Night Gallery (1969)
    Night Gallery
    • Doctor (segment "The Caterpillar")
    • Colonel Hymber Masters (segment "The Doll")
    • TV Series
    • 1971–1972
  • The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972)
    The Hound of the Baskervilles
    • Arthur Frankland
    • TV Movie
    • 1972
  • Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Peter Graves, Peter Lupus, and Greg Morris in Mission: Impossible (1966)
    Mission: Impossible
    • Lord Richard Weston
    • TV Series
    • 1970
  • Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in The Wild Wild West (1965)
    The Wild Wild West
    • Sir Nigel Scott
    • TV Series
    • 1969
  • It Takes a Thief (1968)
    It Takes a Thief
    • Col. Waldebrooke
    • TV Series
    • 1969

Videos11

To Catch A Thief
Clip 1:11
To Catch A Thief
To Catch A Thief
Clip 1:24
To Catch A Thief
To Catch A Thief
Clip 0:51
To Catch A Thief
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:44
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:37
Official Trailer
DVD Trailer
Trailer 1:39
DVD Trailer
To Catch a Thief
Trailer 0:11
To Catch a Thief
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Trailer 2:23
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Island In The Sun
Trailer 3:31
Island In The Sun
To Catch A Thief
Trailer 2:10
To Catch A Thief
Dial M For Murder
Trailer 2:34
Dial M For Murder

Personal details

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  • Height
    • 6′ 1″ (1.86 m)
  • Born
    • April 15, 1903
    • Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
  • Died
    • May 5, 1983
    • La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA(aneurysm)
  • Spouse
    • Helen? - May 5, 1983 (his death)
  • Children
    • No Children
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He substituted for Sebastian Cabot, as the gentleman's gentleman, or butler, for Brian Keith's Bill Davis character, in the sitcom Family Affair (1966). This was during Cabot's eight episode leave of absence (plus one overlapping episode, where they both appeared) from the program, after Cabot developed pneumonia in 1967. Williams portrayed the part of Mr. Giles French's brother, Nigel ("Niles") French.

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