Julian Somers

John Julian Somers (12 November 1903 – 11 November 1976), known as Julian Somers, was a prolific English stage and screen actor.

Career

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

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

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

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^[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

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

^ “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
^ ^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

Julian Somers at IMDb
Julian Somers, aveleyman.com

[1] “LONDON THEATRES: CROYDON REPERTORY” in The Stage (London), Thursday 28 June 1934, p. 10

[2] “LONDON THEATRES: THE EMBASSY” in The Stage, Thursday 4 February 1937, p. 10

[3] “LEWIS CARROLL'S AND TENNIEL'S MAGIC STAGED: ALICE IN WONDERLAND” in The Sketch, Wednesday 26 January 1944, pp 14–15

[4] 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

[5] National Registration Act 1939, Park Lane, Leatherhead, ancestry.co.uk, accessed 26 January 2021 (subscription required)

[6] “SOMERS John J / NEWCOMBE Finsbury 5c 1320” in General Register Office Index to Marriages in England and Wales (1950, 3rd Quarter)

[7] ”SOMERS John Julian of 33 Wharton Street WC1 died 11 November 1976” in Probate Index for England and Wales (1976), p. 7814

[8] Cremation register summary Somers John Julian, deceasedonline.com, accessed 26 January 2021: “Somers John Julian cremation date 17 November 1976 location Islington”

[9] Howard Maxford, Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company (2019), p. 302

[GA-10] Nik Havert, The Golden Age of Disaster Cinema: A Guide to the Films, 1950-1979 (McFarland, 2019), p. 31

[11] Paul J. Niemeyer, Seeing Hardy: Film and Television Adaptations of the Fiction of Thomas Hardy (McFarland, 2015), p. 256

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