John Westbrook (actor)
Encyclopedia
John Westbrook was an English
actor
.
Born in Teignmouth, Devon, John Westbrook worked mainly in theatre
and in radio. He also made occasional film
and television
appearances. His most famous role was as Christopher Gough in Roger Corman's The Tomb of Ligeia
. Noted for his deep, mellifluous voice, he also recorded radio plays and audio book
s, and provided the role of Treebeard
in the 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
. Westbrook also recorded the spoken vocal parts for the orchestral pieces An Oxford Elegy
by Ralph Vaughan Williams
and Morning Heroes
by Arthur Bliss
.
He performed in a great many Shakespeare plays, which included the title part in Richard II
at the Citizens', Glasgow in 1956, Morocco and the Duke of Venice in The Merchant of Venice
for BBC Television in 1955, Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream
for BBC Television in 1958 and Prospero in The Tempest
for the Bristol Old Vic in 1960. On radio he played Cassio in Othello
, Fortinbras and later The Ghost in Hamlet
, Banquo
in Macbeth
etc.
Also for BBC Radio he was a remarkably fine Jesus in the last revival of Dorothy L.Sayers's The Man Born to be King
. This production has been repeated over a long period, most recently at Christmas 2008 on BBC Radio 7. He also portrayed Jesus in festival theatre productions such as the York Mystery Plays
, and much other work with a religious theme such as his Becket in Murder in the Cathedral
. Comparatively rare London appearances included The River Line at what was then the Strand Theatre in 1952.
He played the role of James II in the 1969 BBC miniseries "The First Churchills".
He appeared in poetry recitals all over the UK, including his own solo programme The Ruling Passion.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Born in Teignmouth, Devon, John Westbrook worked mainly in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and in radio. He also made occasional film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearances. His most famous role was as Christopher Gough in Roger Corman's The Tomb of Ligeia
The Tomb of Ligeia
The Tomb of Ligeia is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about a man haunted by the spirit of his dead wife and her effect on his second marriage. The screenplay by Robert Towne was based upon the tale "Ligeia" by American...
. Noted for his deep, mellifluous voice, he also recorded radio plays and audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
s, and provided the role of Treebeard
Treebeard
Treebeard is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The eldest of the species of Ents, he is said to live in the ancient Forest of Fangorn and stands fourteen feet in height and is tree-like in appearance, with leafy hair and a rigid structure. Fangorn Forest...
in the 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It contains both animation and live action footage which is rotoscoped to give it a more consistent look throughout the length of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of the high fantasy...
. Westbrook also recorded the spoken vocal parts for the orchestral pieces An Oxford Elegy
An Oxford Elegy
An Oxford Elegy is a work for narrator, small mixed chorus and small orchestra, written by Ralph Vaughan Williams between 1947 and 1949. It uses portions of two poems by Matthew Arnold, The Scholar Gipsy and Thyrsis...
by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
and Morning Heroes
Morning Heroes
Morning Heroes is a choral symphony by the English composer Arthur Bliss. The work received its first performance at the Norwich Festival on 22 October 1930, with Basil Maine as the speaker/orator...
by Arthur Bliss
Arthur Bliss
Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, CH, KCVO was an English composer and conductor.Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army...
.
He performed in a great many Shakespeare plays, which included the title part in Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
at the Citizens', Glasgow in 1956, Morocco and the Duke of Venice in The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
for BBC Television in 1955, Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
for BBC Television in 1958 and Prospero in The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
for the Bristol Old Vic in 1960. On radio he played Cassio in Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, Fortinbras and later The Ghost in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Banquo
Banquo
Banquo is a character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth. In the play, he is at first an ally to Macbeth and they are together when they meet the Three Witches. After prophesying that Macbeth will become king, the witches tell Banquo that he will not be king himself, but that his...
in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
etc.
Also for BBC Radio he was a remarkably fine Jesus in the last revival of Dorothy L.Sayers's The Man Born to be King
The Man Born to be King
The Man Born to Be King is a radio drama based on the life of Jesus, produced and broadcast by the BBC during the Second World War. It is a play cycle consisting of twelve plays depicting specific periods in Jesus' life, from the events surrounding his birth to his death and resurrection...
. This production has been repeated over a long period, most recently at Christmas 2008 on BBC Radio 7. He also portrayed Jesus in festival theatre productions such as the York Mystery Plays
York Mystery Plays
The York Mystery Plays, more properly called the York Corpus Christi Plays, are a Middle English cycle of forty-eight mystery plays, or pageants, which cover sacred history from the creation to the Last Judgement. These were traditionally presented on the feast day of Corpus Christi...
, and much other work with a religious theme such as his Becket in Murder in the Cathedral
Murder in the Cathedral
Murder in the Cathedral is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, first performed in 1935...
. Comparatively rare London appearances included The River Line at what was then the Strand Theatre in 1952.
He played the role of James II in the 1969 BBC miniseries "The First Churchills".
He appeared in poetry recitals all over the UK, including his own solo programme The Ruling Passion.
Selected filmography
- Foxhole in CairoFoxhole in CairoFoxhole in Cairo is a 1960 British war film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey and based on a novel by Leonard Mosley itself based upon the real-life Operation Salaam. It starred James Robertson Justice, Adrian Hoven, Fenella Fielding and Henry Oscar...
(1960) - A Prize of ArmsA Prize of ArmsA Prize of Arms is a 1962 British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Stanley Baker, Helmut Schmid, Patrick Magee and Tom Bell with early appearances by several actors including Fulton Mackay, Tom Adams and Rodney Bewes...
(1962) - The Masque of the Red DeathThe Masque of the Red Death (film)The Masque of the Red Death is a 1964 British horror film starring Vincent Price in a tale about a prince who terrorizes a plague-ridden peasantry while merrymaking in a lonely castle with his jaded courtiers. The film was directed by Roger Corman; the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R...
(1964) - The Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of Ligeia is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about a man haunted by the spirit of his dead wife and her effect on his second marriage. The screenplay by Robert Towne was based upon the tale "Ligeia" by American...
(1964) - The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings (1978 film)J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It contains both animation and live action footage which is rotoscoped to give it a more consistent look throughout the length of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of the high fantasy...
(1978) - North Sea HijackNorth Sea HijackNorth Sea Hijack is a British action film from 1979 starring Roger Moore, James Mason, Anthony Perkins, and Michael Parks. It was directed by Andrew V...
(1980)
