Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Jack Hawkins(1910-1973)

  • Actor
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Jack Hawkins
A psychiatrist tells stories of four special cases to a colleague.
Play trailer1:42
Tales That Witness Madness (1973)
29 Videos
73 Photos
In Britain, special Christmas plays called pantomimes are produced for children. Jack Hawkins made his London theatrical debut at age 12, playing the elf king in "Where The Rainbow Ends". At 17, he got the lead role of St. George in the same play. At 18, he made his debut on Broadway in "Journey's End". At 21, he was back in London playing a young lover in "Autumn Crocus". He married his leading lady, Jessica Tandy. That year he also played his first real film role in the 1931 sound version of Alfred Hitchcock's The Phantom Fiend (1932). During the 30s, he took his roles in plays more seriously than the films he made. In 1940, Jessica accepted a role in America and Jack volunteered to serve in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He spent most of his military career arranging entertainment for the British forces in India. One of the actresses who came out to India was Doreen Lawrence who became his second wife after the war. Alexander Korda advised Jack to go into films and offered him a three-year contract. In his autobiography, Jack recalled: "Eight years later I was voted the number one box office draw of 1954. I was even credited with irresistible sex appeal, which is another quality I had not imagined I possessed." A late 1940s film, The Black Rose (1950), where he played a secondary role to Tyrone Power, would be one of his most fortunate choices of roles. The director was Henry Hathaway who Jack said was "probably the most feared, yet respected director in America, for he had a sharp tongue and fired people at the drop of a hat. Years later, after my operation when I lost my voice, he went out of his way to help me get back into films. What I did not know was that during the filming of 'The Black Rose' he was himself suffering from cancer." In the 1950s came the film that made Hawkins a star, The Cruel Sea (1953). Suffering from life-long, real-life seasickness, he played the captain of the Compass Rose. After surgery for throat cancer in 1966, requiring the removal of his larynx, Jack continued to make films. He mimed his lines and the voice was dubbed by either Charles Gray or Robert Rietty. His motto during those last years came from Milton's "Comus", a verse play in which he acted early in his career in Regent's Park. The lines: "Yet where an equal poise of hope and fear does arbitrate the event, my nature is that I incline to hope, rather than to fear."
BornSeptember 14, 1910
DiedJuly 18, 1973(62)
BornSeptember 14, 1910
DiedJuly 18, 1973(62)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
    • 1 win & 5 nominations total

Photos73

View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
+ 68
View Poster

Known for

Ben-Hur (1959)
Ben-Hur
8.1
  • Quintus Arrius
  • 1959
Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, Geoffrey Horne, and Ann Sears in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The Bridge on the River Kwai
8.1
  • Major Warden
  • 1957
Zulu (1964)
Zulu
7.7
  • Otto Witt
  • 1964
Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Roger Livesey, Nanette Newman, Nigel Patrick, and Melissa Stribling in The League of Gentlemen (1960)
The League of Gentlemen
7.2
  • Hyde
  • 1960

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor



  • Anthony Hopkins, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, and Leslie Caron in QB VII (1974)
    QB VII
    7.7
    TV Mini Series
    • Justice Gilroy
    • 1974
  • Tales That Witness Madness (1973)
    Tales That Witness Madness
    5.6
    • Nicholas (segment "Clinic Link Episodes")
    • 1973
  • Vincent Price and Diana Rigg in Theater of Blood (1973)
    Theater of Blood
    7.1
    • Solomon Psaltery
    • 1973
  • Escape to the Sun (1972)
    Escape to the Sun
    5.7
    • Baburin
    • 1972
  • Young Winston (1972)
    Young Winston
    6.7
    • Mr. Welldon
    • 1972
  • The Last Lion (1972)
    The Last Lion
    5.9
    • Ryk Mannering
    • 1972
  • Sin (1971)
    Sin
    4.7
    • Father Nicholas
    • 1971
  • Kidnapped (1971)
    Kidnapped
    6.2
    • Captain Hoseason
    • 1971
  • Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
    Nicholas and Alexandra
    7.2
    • Count Fredericks
    • 1971
  • When Eight Bells Toll (1971)
    When Eight Bells Toll
    6.0
    • Sir Anthony Skouras
    • 1971
  • Ian Bannen, George C. Scott, and Susannah York in Jane Eyre (1970)
    Jane Eyre
    6.3
    • Mr. Brocklehurst
    • 1970
  • Waterloo (1970)
    Waterloo
    7.3
    • Gen. Sir Thomas Picton
    • 1970
  • Claudia Cardinale, Peter McEnery, and Eli Wallach in The Adventures of Gerard (1970)
    The Adventures of Gerard
    4.8
    • Marshal Millefleurs (Renegade English Officer)
    • 1970
  • Charles Bronson and Susan George in London Affair (1970)
    London Affair
    5.2
    • Judge Millington-Draper
    • 1970
  • The Father (1969)
    The Father
    Short
    • Captain Bill
    • 1969

Producer



  • Peter O'Toole in The Ruling Class (1972)
    The Ruling Class
    7.2
    • producer
    • 1972
  • BBC Play of the Month (1965)
    BBC Play of the Month
    6.7
    TV Series
    • executive producer
    • 1969
  • Oliver Reed in The Party's Over (1965)
    The Party's Over
    6.3
    • executive producer (uncredited)
    • 1965

Videos29

Lawrence of Arabia
Clip 1:58
Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia
Clip 1:32
Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia
Clip 1:32
Lawrence of Arabia
The Bridge On The River Kwai
Clip 1:17
The Bridge On The River Kwai
The Bridge On The River Kwai
Clip 1:55
The Bridge On The River Kwai
Official Trailer
Trailer 4:45
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:32
Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • 2nd. Lt. Jack Hawkins RWF
  • Height
    • 5′ 11¾″ (1.82 m)
  • Born
    • September 14, 1910
    • Wood Green, London, England, UK
  • Died
    • July 18, 1973
    • Chelsea, London, England, UK(post-operative complications)
  • Spouses
      Doreen LawrenceOctober 31, 1947 - July 18, 1973 (his death, 3 children)
  • Children
      Susan Hawkins
  • Other works
    Active on Broadway in the following productions:
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 53 Articles
    • 14 Pictorials
    • 21 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He had a daughter, Susan with Jessica Tandy and two sons, Nicholas & Andrew Hawkins, with Doreen Lawrence.
  • Quotes
    I adored it from the first moment. The excitement, the thrill, the smell of the theatre went right down to one's toes.
  • Trademark
      Often played friendly World War II officers
  • Salaries
      The Poppy Is Also a Flower
      (1966)
      £1

FAQ13

Powered by Alexa
  • When did Jack Hawkins die?
  • How did Jack Hawkins die?
  • How old was Jack Hawkins when he died?

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.