John Julian Somers (12 November 1903 – 11 November 1976), known as Julian Somers, was a prolific English people stage and screen actor.
Career
By 1934, Somers was appearing in rep at
Croydon.
[“LONDON THEATRES: CROYDON REPERTORY” in The Stage (London), Thursday 28 June 1934, p. 10] In 1937, he was on stage in
Jeffrey Dell's play
Night Alone at the Embassy Theatre with Alexander Archdale.
[“LONDON THEATRES: THE EMBASSY” in The Stage, Thursday 4 February 1937, p. 10] In 1944, he appeared as the
White Rabbit in a stage production of
Alice in Wonderland.
[“LEWIS CARROLL'S AND TENNIEL'S MAGIC STAGED: ALICE IN WONDERLAND” in The Sketch, Wednesday 26 January 1944, pp 14–15]
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.[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] In 1952 he appeared in the West End in Raymond Massey's Hanging Judge.
Private life
In October 1939, Somers was living with his mother, Ethel M. Somers, at Wolnoth, Park Lane,
Leatherhead, and was registered as an actor.
[National Registration Act 1939, Park Lane, Leatherhead, ancestry.co.uk, accessed 26 January 2021 ]
In the summer of 1950, he married Betty Margaret Newcombe at
Finsbury.
[“SOMERS John J / NEWCOMBE Finsbury 5c 1320” in General Register Office Index to Marriages in England and Wales (1950, 3rd Quarter)] They had three sons and a daughter.
Death
Somers died in London in 1976, aged 72. At the time of his death, he was living at 33, Wharton Street,
Clerkenwell.
[”SOMERS John Julian of 33 Wharton Street WC1 died 11 November 1976” in Probate Index for England and Wales (1976), p. 7814] He was cremated at
Islington.
[ Cremation register summary Somers John Julian, deceasedonline.com, accessed 26 January 2021: “Somers John Julian cremation date 17 November 1976 location Islington”]
Filmography
Film
-
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
[Howard Maxford, Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company (2019), p. 302]
-
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
[Nik Havert, The Golden Age of Disaster Cinema: A Guide to the Films, 1950-1979 (McFarland, 2019), p. 31]
-
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
[
]
-
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
[Paul J. Niemeyer, Seeing Hardy: Film and Television Adaptations of the Fiction of Thomas Hardy (McFarland, 2015), p. 256]
-
The Snow Goose (1971) as Jim
Television
-
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
-
Object Z (1965) as the Prime Minister
-
Thursday Theatre: “Celebration” (1965) as Arthur Broadbent
-
Churchill's People: “A Wilderness of Roses” (1975) as John Mauteby
Notes
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