John Bennett(1928-2005)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
The lean, rather emaciated-looking John Bennett studied acting at the
Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After years in repertory
theatre, he made his feature debut in 1960, and, thereafter, appeared
regularly on British screens. He was prone to perform in diverse ethnic
guises, often adopting heavy make-up and using his penchant for accents
and dialects. One of his first notable appearances was as the evil
Injun Joe in the BBC children's series
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1960).
He came to be much in demand for crime-time TV series, like
The Avengers (1961),
The Saint (1962) and
Z Cars (1962), effortlessly switching
from menacing roles to law enforcement.
In feature films, he was generally confined to background support,
except for his titular lead in the little-seen drama
The Barber of Stamford Hill (1963).
He also provided an effective thread connecting the various vignettes
of
The House That Dripped Blood (1971),
as the sceptical investigating Chief Inspector. Bennett also appeared
as Joseph Goebbels in
Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973),
French Prime Minister
Georges Clemenceau in the excellent
miniseries
Fall of Eagles (1974), and as
Greek historian and philosopher Xenophon in
I, Claudius (1976). He twice
guested in Doctor Who (1963),
giving one of his most indelible performances as the Fu Manchu
look-alike, Li H'sen Chang, an evil Chinese magician and hypnotist
roaming Victorian-era London in search of victims to aid in his
master's reincarnation, in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". Bennett managed
to avoid the pitfalls of caricature and gave a thoroughly convincing
performance, managing to portray the arch villain with dignity and,
ultimately, even a degree of sympathy.
In addition to his work on screen, Bennett remained an exceedingly busy
stage performer, at once in classical roles at the National Theatre and
with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in West End revivals of noted
musicals like "The King and I" (1979) and "The Sound of Music" (1981).
Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After years in repertory
theatre, he made his feature debut in 1960, and, thereafter, appeared
regularly on British screens. He was prone to perform in diverse ethnic
guises, often adopting heavy make-up and using his penchant for accents
and dialects. One of his first notable appearances was as the evil
Injun Joe in the BBC children's series
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1960).
He came to be much in demand for crime-time TV series, like
The Avengers (1961),
The Saint (1962) and
Z Cars (1962), effortlessly switching
from menacing roles to law enforcement.
In feature films, he was generally confined to background support,
except for his titular lead in the little-seen drama
The Barber of Stamford Hill (1963).
He also provided an effective thread connecting the various vignettes
of
The House That Dripped Blood (1971),
as the sceptical investigating Chief Inspector. Bennett also appeared
as Joseph Goebbels in
Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973),
French Prime Minister
Georges Clemenceau in the excellent
miniseries
Fall of Eagles (1974), and as
Greek historian and philosopher Xenophon in
I, Claudius (1976). He twice
guested in Doctor Who (1963),
giving one of his most indelible performances as the Fu Manchu
look-alike, Li H'sen Chang, an evil Chinese magician and hypnotist
roaming Victorian-era London in search of victims to aid in his
master's reincarnation, in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". Bennett managed
to avoid the pitfalls of caricature and gave a thoroughly convincing
performance, managing to portray the arch villain with dignity and,
ultimately, even a degree of sympathy.
In addition to his work on screen, Bennett remained an exceedingly busy
stage performer, at once in classical roles at the National Theatre and
with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in West End revivals of noted
musicals like "The King and I" (1979) and "The Sound of Music" (1981).