John Justin

Who was John Justin?

John Justin was a British stage and film actor.

John Justinian de Ledesma was born in London, England, the son of a well-off Argentine rancher. Though he grew up on his father's ranch, he was educated at Bryanston School, Dorset. He developed an interest in flying and became a qualified pilot at the age of 12, though he was not allowed to fly solo at the time because of his age.

The acting bug bit him early. By the age of 16, he had joined the Plymouth Repertory. In 1937, he briefly trained with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but did not like it and soon joined the repertory company of John Gielgud. In 1938, he auditioned for and won the role for which he is perhaps best remembered, Ahmad in the 1940 version of The Thief of Bagdad, opposite Sabu.

World War II broke out during the film's production. After completing the picture, Justin joined the Royal Air Force, serving as a test pilot and flying instructor. He also worked on two films, The Gentle Sex with Leslie Howard, and Journey Together with Edward G. Robinson.

With the war's end, Justin returned to acting. He made more films, such as David Lean's The Sound Barrier, Island in the Sun and Lisztomania, but his strong preference was for the stage. He became a member of the Old Vic company in 1959. He made his Broadway debut in 1960 in the play Little Moon of Alban. In 1979 he played the ghoulish lover in the BBC's dramatisation of Le Fanu's "Strange Incident in the Life of Schalcken the Painter", one of its Christmas ghost stories.