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John Bentley (actor)

April 09, 2024

John Bentley (2 December 1916 – 13 August 2009) was a British film actor. He had a successful career as a leading man from the 1940s to the late 50s and was a popular heart-throb who appeared in many British b-movies during that time. Later in his career, in the 1970s he appeared as Hugh Mortimer, Meg Richardson's ill-fated third husband in the famous English soap opera Crossroads.[2] He also starred in the jungle adventure series African Patrol (1957) as Chief Inspector Paul Derek and made various other guest appearances in many popular TV series from the late 50s onwards.[3]

John Bentley
Born(1916-12-02)2 December 1916[1]
Sparkhill, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England[1]
Died13 August 2009(2009-08-13) (aged 92)[1]
Petworth, West Sussex, England[1]
Years activelate 1930s–1976
SpouseJoyce Bentley (? – 1955) (divorced) 1 child

John Bentley was also an accomplished singer and stage actor.[4]

Early life and career edit

Born in Sparkhill, Birmingham, in 1916, Bentley was brought up by his mother after his father, a furniture retailer, died when he was a toddler. He came to acting quite by chance, in his own words:

Apart from the odd school play, I had very little interest in the theatrical world until I was sixteen and that was quite by accident. I got into the business through radio producer Martyn C. Webster. On one of his radio broadcasts he offered listeners to come to his studio and audition. Those who were good enough would be offered work at the station. I actually decided that I would be quite a good singer, so armed with a 78 record to accompany my performance, I sang for Martyn. He liked what he heard and offered me a part in a radio musical. And that is where the singing evolved into acting. Other radio dramas soon followed thankfully.

As a result of singing for Webster, he was given the joint leading role in a radio musical, backed by the BBC Midland Orchestra and Chorus. He worked for Radio Luxembourg in the late 1930s as an announcer, and in 1940 made his West End stage debut in the variety show New Faces at the Comedy Theatre with Judy Campbell and Charles Hawtrey (of Carry On... fame).

Film career edit

After the war he started his film career playing Terry O'Keefe in the low-budget musical romance The Hills of Donegal in 1947. The film was produced at Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames and financed by Butcher's Film Service. Bentley went on to do several other films in the same vein with Butcher's at Nettlefold, most of them being completed in less than a week. Three based on Francis Durbridge's "Paul Temple" the amateur detective (Calling Paul Temple in 1948, Paul Temple's Triumph in 1950 and Paul Temple Returns in 1952) were released at the same time as a popular radio series. Similarly, Salute the Toff and Hammer the Toff were produced in 1952 in which Bentley played amateur sleuth Richard Rollison.

In 1950 he had a supporting role in the main feature comedy The Happiest Days of Your Life playing schoolteacher Richard Tassell alongside Alistair Sim, Margaret Rutherford and Joyce Grenfell.[5] Following many other "B" films in the 1950s there were appearances in Hollywood films – as a police detective in Istanbul (1957), one of Errol Flynn's last films, and Submarine Seahawk (1958) as a naval officer. However he hated Hollywood, saying people were judged on how much they earned rather than their ability and subsequently returned to the UK, where he was offered the lead role of "Inspector Paul Derek" in the TV series African Patrol filmed entirely on location in Kenya. This ran for 39 episodes that were shown on ITV in 1958–59.

In 1961 he acted alongside Dirk Bogarde and John Mills in The Singer Not the Song, and in one of his last films in 1962 he starred as Mike Andrews in the thriller The Fur Collar.[6][2]

Television career edit

In the later 1960s and 1970s Bentley featured in soap opera Crossroads as Hugh Mortimer, third husband of the motel owner Meg Richardson, played by Noele Gordon. There was a previous connection with Gordon, who had presented the daytime TV magazine programme Lunch Box, popular in the 1950s, in which Bentley regularly appeared as a guest singer. Lunch Box was produced by Reg Watson who was part of the Crossroads team. This connection gave him the offer of the part of Mortimer.

In the soap Hugh Mortimer was a millionaire businessman who arrived in 1965 and started romancing the widowed Meg. They were engaged twice, but he eventually married Jane Templeton, while Meg became the wife of Malcolm Ryder, who later tried to murder her. When Hugh's wife died, he renewed his interest in Meg and gave Crossroads one of its biggest audiences, for 1975's television wedding of the year. Eighteen million viewed the episode and there were thousands lining the streets of Birmingham when the blessing was filmed in Birmingham Cathedral. The couple were chauffeured by the comedian Larry Grayson, a close friend of Noele Gordon. Two years after the wedding he was written out of the series via a terrorist attack; he said that the script writers did not know what to do with his part following the marriage.

After leaving Crossroads, Bentley returned to the stage including a starring role as the English literature professor in a tour of Educating Rita, but by the early 1990s he had retired as a result of breaking an ankle on stage, which subsequently caused arthritis.

Personal life edit

Bentley was married twice. He and his first wife were divorced in 1955. He married again in 2003; he and his wife lived in Petworth, West Sussex, until his death in 2009 at the age of 92.

Selected filmography edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "John Bentley | Television". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b at BFI.
  3. ^ Hal Erickson, John Bentley Biography, AllMovie.
  4. ^ Gavin Gaughan, "John Bentley" (obituary), The Guardian, 18 August 2009.
  5. ^ , BFI.
  6. ^ "The Singer Not the Song", AllMovie.

External links edit

  • John Bentley at IMDb
  • Anthony Hayward, "John Bentley: Actor who played Noele Gordon's husband in 'Crossroads'", The Independent, 18 August 2009.
  • Gavin Gaughan, "John Bentley", obituary in The Guardian, 18 August 2009.
  • Obituary in The Times.

April 09, 2024
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John Bentley 2 December 1916 13 August 2009 was a British film actor He had a successful career as a leading man from the 1940s to the late 50s and was a popular heart throb who appeared in many British b movies during that time Later in his career in the 1970s he appeared as Hugh Mortimer Meg Richardson s ill fated third husband in the famous English soap opera Crossroads 2 He also starred in the jungle adventure series African Patrol 1957 as Chief Inspector Paul Derek and made various other guest appearances in many popular TV series from the late 50s onwards 3 John BentleyBorn 1916 12 02 2 December 1916 1 Sparkhill Birmingham Warwickshire England 1 Died13 August 2009 2009 08 13 aged 92 1 Petworth West Sussex England 1 Years activelate 1930s 1976SpouseJoyce Bentley 1955 divorced 1 childJohn Bentley was also an accomplished singer and stage actor 4 Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Film career 3 Television career 4 Personal life 5 Selected filmography 6 References 7 External linksEarly life and career editBorn in Sparkhill Birmingham in 1916 Bentley was brought up by his mother after his father a furniture retailer died when he was a toddler He came to acting quite by chance in his own words Apart from the odd school play I had very little interest in the theatrical world until I was sixteen and that was quite by accident I got into the business through radio producer Martyn C Webster On one of his radio broadcasts he offered listeners to come to his studio and audition Those who were good enough would be offered work at the station I actually decided that I would be quite a good singer so armed with a 78 record to accompany my performance I sang for Martyn He liked what he heard and offered me a part in a radio musical And that is where the singing evolved into acting Other radio dramas soon followed thankfully As a result of singing for Webster he was given the joint leading role in a radio musical backed by the BBC Midland Orchestra and Chorus He worked for Radio Luxembourg in the late 1930s as an announcer and in 1940 made his West End stage debut in the variety show New Faces at the Comedy Theatre with Judy Campbell and Charles Hawtrey of Carry On fame Film career editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Bentley actor news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message After the war he started his film career playing Terry O Keefe in the low budget musical romance The Hills of Donegal in 1947 The film was produced at Nettlefold Studios in Walton on Thames and financed by Butcher s Film Service Bentley went on to do several other films in the same vein with Butcher s at Nettlefold most of them being completed in less than a week Three based on Francis Durbridge s Paul Temple the amateur detective Calling Paul Temple in 1948 Paul Temple s Triumph in 1950 and Paul Temple Returns in 1952 were released at the same time as a popular radio series Similarly Salute the Toff and Hammer the Toff were produced in 1952 in which Bentley played amateur sleuth Richard Rollison In 1950 he had a supporting role in the main feature comedy The Happiest Days of Your Life playing schoolteacher Richard Tassell alongside Alistair Sim Margaret Rutherford and Joyce Grenfell 5 Following many other B films in the 1950s there were appearances in Hollywood films as a police detective in Istanbul 1957 one of Errol Flynn s last films and Submarine Seahawk 1958 as a naval officer However he hated Hollywood saying people were judged on how much they earned rather than their ability and subsequently returned to the UK where he was offered the lead role of Inspector Paul Derek in the TV series African Patrol filmed entirely on location in Kenya This ran for 39 episodes that were shown on ITV in 1958 59 In 1961 he acted alongside Dirk Bogarde and John Mills in The Singer Not the Song and in one of his last films in 1962 he starred as Mike Andrews in the thriller The Fur Collar 6 2 Television career editIn the later 1960s and 1970s Bentley featured in soap opera Crossroads as Hugh Mortimer third husband of the motel owner Meg Richardson played by Noele Gordon There was a previous connection with Gordon who had presented the daytime TV magazine programme Lunch Box popular in the 1950s in which Bentley regularly appeared as a guest singer Lunch Box was produced by Reg Watson who was part of the Crossroads team This connection gave him the offer of the part of Mortimer In the soap Hugh Mortimer was a millionaire businessman who arrived in 1965 and started romancing the widowed Meg They were engaged twice but he eventually married Jane Templeton while Meg became the wife of Malcolm Ryder who later tried to murder her When Hugh s wife died he renewed his interest in Meg and gave Crossroads one of its biggest audiences for 1975 s television wedding of the year Eighteen million viewed the episode and there were thousands lining the streets of Birmingham when the blessing was filmed in Birmingham Cathedral The couple were chauffeured by the comedian Larry Grayson a close friend of Noele Gordon Two years after the wedding he was written out of the series via a terrorist attack he said that the script writers did not know what to do with his part following the marriage After leaving Crossroads Bentley returned to the stage including a starring role as the English literature professor in a tour of Educating Rita but by the early 1990s he had retired as a result of breaking an ankle on stage which subsequently caused arthritis Personal life editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Bentley was married twice He and his first wife were divorced in 1955 He married again in 2003 he and his wife lived in Petworth West Sussex until his death in 2009 at the age of 92 Selected filmography editThe Hills of Donegal 1947 Terry O Keefe Calling Paul Temple 1948 Paul Temple Bait 1950 DuCane Torment 1950 Jim Brandon The Happiest Days of Your Life 1950 Richard Tassell Paul Temple s Triumph 1950 Paul Temple She Shall Have Murder 1950 Douglas Robjohn Salute the Toff 1952 The Honourable Richard Rollison The Woman s Angle 1952 Renfro Mansell Hammer the Toff 1952 The Honourable Richard Rollison The Lost Hours 1952 Clark Sutton Paul Temple Returns 1952 Paul Temple Tread Softly 1952 Keith Gilbert Men Against the Sun 1953 Hawker Black Orchid 1953 Eric Blair Golden Ivory 1954 Paul Dobson River Beat 1954 Dan Barker The Scarlet Spear 1954 District Officer Jim T Barneson Double Exposure 1954 Pete Fleming Profile 1954 Peter Final Appointment 1954 Mike Billings Confession 1955 Detective Inspector Kessler Stolen Assignment 1955 Mike Billings The Flaw 1955 Paul Oliveri Dial 999 1955 Det Sgt Seagrave Count of Twelve 1955 Dr Lawrence episode Blind Man s Bluff Flight from Vienna aka Escape from the Iron Curtain 1956 Capt Philip J Lawton Run for the Sun 1956 Jim Harrison Istanbul 1957 Insp Nural Submarine Seahawk 1958 Lt Cmdr Paul Turner Sacred Waters 1960 Lemmy ein Englander The Singer Not the Song 1961 Police Captain Mary Had a Little 1961 Dr Malcolm Nettel The Sinister Man 1961 Superintendent Wills The Fur Collar 1962 Mike Andrews Shadow of Treason 1963 SteveReferences edit a b c d John Bentley Television The Guardian Retrieved 24 September 2021 a b John Bentley at BFI Hal Erickson John Bentley Biography AllMovie Gavin Gaughan John Bentley obituary The Guardian 18 August 2009 The Happiest Days of Your Life 1950 BFI The Singer Not the Song AllMovie External links editJohn Bentley at IMDb Anthony Hayward John Bentley Actor who played Noele Gordon s husband in Crossroads The Independent 18 August 2009 Gavin Gaughan John Bentley obituary in The Guardian 18 August 2009 Obituary in The Times Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Bentley actor amp oldid 1188411143, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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