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IMDbPro

Ronald Adam(1896-1979)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Ronald Adam
Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity...
Play trailer2:14
The Haunting (1963)
2 Videos
2 Photos
Ronald Adam was a man who combined an acting career with an extra-ordinary military career that encompassed being a victim of the Red Baron in World War One to taking his revenge as an RAF fighter controller in the Battle of Britain. Born Ronald George Hinings Adams on the last day of 1896, he was educated at University College, London. When still only 17 years of age, Adams volunteered to join the British army on the outbreak of the first world war. On December 2nd 1914, he was commissioned as a temporary second Lieutenant in the 15th (reserve) battalion of the Middlesex regiment. He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) as an observer and then undertook pilot training. Adams then served with 18 squadron and flew Sopwith Camel's with 44 squadron on home defense duties. He then joined 73 squadron, also flying Sopwith Camel's in France. On April 7th 1918, he was shot down near Villers-Brettoneux in northern France. Historians still debate who shot down Adams, some argue his victor was Ltn Hans Kirchstein, but many others think that he was the 78th victim of the legendary Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known to history as "The Red Baron". Adams was wounded and captured and, on the evening of his aerial defeat, was visited by a German orderly who gave him Von Richthofen's compliments. Ronald Adams spent eight months in hospitals and prison camps before he was re-repatriated on 17th December 1918, the 15th anniversary of the Wright brothers first powered flight.

Post-war Adams trained as a chartered accountant and then moved into theatre management, running the Embassy Theatre in London. He then decided to become an actor proper, altering his name slightly to Ronald Adam. He also wrote books and several of his plays were staged. From 1936 he began to work in films. On the outbreak of the second world war Ronald Adam rejoined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and during the Battle of Britain which raged over England in the summer of 1940 he was the fighter controller for the Hornchurch sector. No matter how good the RAF's Spitfire and Hurricanes were, they could not be effective unless they could intercept the armada of incoming German planes. It was Wing Commander Ronald Adam's job to co-ordinate the RAF fighter command interceptions from data gathered by radar and ground observers and then dispatch fighters to intercept. It was a vital role in one of histories decisive battles in which the future of western civilization was at stake. Post war Ronald Adam lived in Surbiton, Surrey and died on 28th March 1979. He was 83 years of age.
BornDecember 31, 1896
DiedMarch 26, 1979(82)
BornDecember 31, 1896
DiedMarch 26, 1979(82)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos

Ronald Adam, Sarah Hollis Andrews, Shane Franklin, Reggie Winch, Robin Keston, and Anthony McCaffery in The Man from Nowhere (1975)

Known for

Julie Harris in The Haunting (1963)
The Haunting
7.4
  • Eldridge Harper
  • 1963
David Niven and Cantinflas in Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Around the World in 80 Days
6.7
  • Club Steward
  • 1956
Kenneth More in Reach for the Sky (1956)
Reach for the Sky
7.2
  • Air Vice-Marshal Leigh-Mallory
  • 1956
The Crime of the Century
TV Series
  • Asst. Commissioner Relf

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Bibi Andersson and Annie Girardot in L'amour en question (1978)
    L'amour en question
    • Le juge anglais
    • 1978
  • Premiere (1977)
    Premiere
    • Old man
    • TV Series
    • 1978
  • Castaways (1978)
    Castaways
    • Daniel Defoe
    • TV Series
    • 1978
  • Marie Curie (1977)
    Marie Curie
    • Professor Gautier
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1977
  • Twiggy in Victorian Scandals (1976)
    Victorian Scandals
    • Mr. Chichelle Plowden
    • TV Series
    • 1976
  • Ronald Adam, Sarah Hollis Andrews, Shane Franklin, Reggie Winch, Robin Keston, and Anthony McCaffery in The Man from Nowhere (1975)
    The Man from Nowhere
    • George Harvey
    • 1975
  • Anthony Valentine, Margaret Lockwood, and John Stone in Justice (1971)
    Justice
    • Sir William
    • TV Series
    • 1974
  • The Nine Tailors (1974)
    The Nine Tailors
    • Dowson
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1974
  • Jan Adair, Astrid Frank, Maureen Lipman, Leslie Phillips, and Madeline Smith in Casanova '73 (1973)
    Casanova '73
    • Dr. Spratforth
    • TV Series
    • 1973
  • The Zoo Robbery (1973)
    The Zoo Robbery
    • Zoologist
    • 1973
  • Peter Falk in Columbo (1971)
    Columbo
    • George, Steward at Supt. Durk's Club (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • Margaret Ashcroft, Glynn Edwards, Anna Palk, John Stride, and John Wentworth in The Main Chance (1969)
    The Main Chance
    • Sir Charles Braithwaite
    • TV Series
    • 1972
  • Peter O'Toole in The Ruling Class (1972)
    The Ruling Class
    • Lord
    • 1972
  • Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Tom Owen, Wendy Padbury, and Adrian Wright in Freewheelers (1968)
    Freewheelers
    • Professor Lowrie
    • Professor Gotts
    • TV Series
    • 1968–1971
  • Frank Finlay and Zienia Merton in Casanova (1971)
    Casanova
    • Senior Inquisitor
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1971

Writer

  • Bob Dylan, David Warner, Ursula Howells, Reg Lye, and Maureen Pryor in The Madhouse on Castle Street (1963)
    BBC Sunday-Night Play
    • writer
    • TV Series
    • 1960
  • Saturday Playhouse
    • play
    • TV Series
    • 1960
  • Marriage Settlement
    • play
    • TV Movie
    • 1956
  • Black on Magenta
    • play
    • TV Movie
    • 1953
  • An English Summer
    • play
    • TV Movie
    • 1949

Additional Crew

  • Cinderella
    • stage presentation
    • TV Movie
    • 1937

Videos2

Sea Wife
Trailer 2:11
Sea Wife
The Haunting (1963)
Trailer 2:14
The Haunting (1963)

Personal details

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  • Alternative name
    • Ronald Adams
  • Height
    • 6′ 0½″ (1.84 m)
  • Born
    • December 31, 1896
    • Bromyard, England, UK
  • Died
    • March 26, 1979
    • Halland, East Sussex, England, UK(natural causes)
  • Spouses
      Tanzy Cutava
  • Other works
    He acted in Rudolph Besier's play, "The Barretts of Wimpole Street", at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in Birmingham, West Midlands, England with Elizabeth Bell in the cast. Philip Dudley was the director.
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    RFC/RAF pilot during WWI. Shot down and captured in early 1918 - believed to have been the 78th victim of "The Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen).

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