Julian Somers
John Julian Somers (12 November 1903 – 11 November 1976), known as Julian Somers, was a prolific English stage and screen actor.
Career
[edit]By 1934, Somers was appearing in rep at Croydon.[1] In 1937, he was on stage in Jeffrey Dell's play Night Alone at the Embassy Theatre with Alexander Archdale.[2] In 1944, he appeared as the White Rabbit in a stage production of Alice in Wonderland.[3]
Early film roles came in The Peterville Diamond (1942) and Caravan (1946). Outside his developing screen career as a supporting actor, Somers continued to be heard in BBC Radio productions and to appear in West End theatre plays and reviews.[4] In 1952 he appeared in the West End in Raymond Massey's Hanging Judge.
Private life
[edit]In October 1939, Somers was living with his mother, Ethel M. Somers, at Wolnoth, Park Lane, Leatherhead, and was registered as an actor.[5] In the summer of 1950, he married Betty Margaret Newcombe at Finsbury.[6] They had three sons and a daughter.
Death
[edit]Somers died in London in 1976, aged 72. At the time of his death, he was living at 33, Wharton Street, Clerkenwell.[7] He was cremated at Islington.[8]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]- The Peterville Diamond (1942) as Andre
- Caravan (1946) as Manoel
- The Small Back Room (1949) as Dr Bryan
- Diamond City (1949) as van Niekerk
- Hunted (1952) as Jack Lloyd
- The Gambler and the Lady (1952) as Licasi[9]
- The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) as Posse leader
- Three Steps to the Gallows (1953) as John Durante
- The Long Memory (1953) as Delaney
- Fatal Journey (1954) as Goff
- The Battle of the River Plate (1956) as Quartermaster of Graf Spee
- The Moonraker (1957) as Captain Foster
- The One That Got Away (1957) as Railway Booking Clerk[10]
- Time Without Pity (1957) as First Warder
- Battle of the V-1 (1957) as Reichsfuehrer
- Miracle in Soho (1957) as Potter
- A Night to Remember (1958) as Bull[10]
- Another Time, Another Place (1958) as Hotel Manager
- Room at the Top (1959) as St Clair
- The Giant Behemoth (1959) as Rear Admiral Summers
- Sink the Bismarck! (1960) as Civilian on HMS Prince of Wales
- Reluctant Bandit (1965)
- Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) as Jan Coggan[11]
- The Snow Goose (1971) as Jim
Television
[edit]- The Adventures of Robin Hood: “The Crusaders” (1958) as Sir Paul
- The Invisible Man: “Blind Justice” (1959) as Simmons
- The Avengers, episode "Man in the Mirror" (1963), as Mike Brown
- Coronation Street (1963) as Ministry of Pensions Supervisor
- Gideon's Way: “The Great Plane Robbery” (1965) as Cameron
- ITV Play of the Week: The Winds of Green Monday (1965) as Bosun Brien
- Thursday Theatre: “Celebration” (1965) as Arthur Broadbent
- Churchill's People: “A Wilderness of Roses” (1975) as John Mauteby
Notes
[edit]- ^ “LONDON THEATRES: CROYDON REPERTORY” in The Stage (London), Thursday 28 June 1934, p. 10
- ^ “LONDON THEATRES: THE EMBASSY” in The Stage, Thursday 4 February 1937, p. 10
- ^ “LEWIS CARROLL'S AND TENNIEL'S MAGIC STAGED: ALICE IN WONDERLAND” in The Sketch, Wednesday 26 January 1944, pp 14–15
- ^ Frances Stephens Rockliff, Theatre World Annual (London): A Pictorial Review of West End Productions with a Record of Plays and Players, Issue 15 (1964), p. 30
- ^ National Registration Act 1939, Park Lane, Leatherhead, ancestry.co.uk, accessed 26 January 2021 (subscription required)
- ^ “SOMERS John J / NEWCOMBE Finsbury 5c 1320” in General Register Office Index to Marriages in England and Wales (1950, 3rd Quarter)
- ^ ”SOMERS John Julian of 33 Wharton Street WC1 died 11 November 1976” in Probate Index for England and Wales (1976), p. 7814
- ^ Cremation register summary Somers John Julian, deceasedonline.com, accessed 26 January 2021: “Somers John Julian cremation date 17 November 1976 location Islington”
- ^ Howard Maxford, Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company (2019), p. 302
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nik Havert, The Golden Age of Disaster Cinema: A Guide to the Films, 1950-1979 (McFarland, 2019), p. 31
- ^ Paul J. Niemeyer, Seeing Hardy: Film and Television Adaptations of the Fiction of Thomas Hardy (McFarland, 2015), p. 256
External links
[edit]- Julian Somers at IMDb
- Julian Somers, aveleyman.com