John Edward Hawkins, CBE (14 September 1910 – 18 July 1973) was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s.

Career

Hawkins made his London stage debut aged 12, and was appearing on Broadway in Journey's End by the age of 18. Although he appeared in several films during the 1930s, it was only after service in World War II, during which he had become a colonel in ENSA for India and Southeast Asia, that he began to build a successful career in the cinema. Hawkins became a star with the release of three successful films in which he played stern but sympathetic authority figures: Angels One Five (1951), The Planter's Wife (1952), and Mandy (1952). In 1952 British exhibitors voted him the fourth most popular local star at the box office. He consolidated this status with The Cruel Sea, which was the most successful film of the year and saw Hawkins voted the most popular star in Britain regardless of nationality.

Hawkins' popularity declined with a series of less successful movies, but his authoritarian presence meant he was always in demand. From the late 1950s, he mostly appeared in character roles, often in epic films like The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia (playing General Edmund Allenby), Lord Jim, and Oh! What a Lovely War. For The Bridge on the River Kwai, he had to persuade good friend Alec Guinness to take the lead role, which would ultimately win Guinness an Oscar.

Some of Hawkins' more unusual roles included an Egyptian Pharaoh in Land of the Pharaohs, Ben Hur's adoptive Roman father Quintus Arrius in Ben-Hur, and Zulu, where he played against type as the fanatical pacifist, Reverend Otto Witt.

He appeared as one of The Four Just Men (1959) in the Sapphire Films TV series for ITV.

In reality Hawkins was politically liberal, and an emotional man, in sharp contrast to his conservative screen image. One of his favourite films, The League of Gentlemen, was considered quite groundbreaking for its time in its references to sex. However, though initially sought for the role of a gay barrister in Victim, he turned it down fearing that it might conflict with his masculine image. The role was eventually played by Dirk Bogarde.

Hawkins also produced the film adaptation of Peter Barnes's The Ruling Class (1972), with Peter O'Toole and Alastair Sim.

Personal life

He was married to Jessica Tandy from 1932 to 1942 and later to Doreen Lawrence (1919–2013) from 1947 until his death in 1973.

Military service

During WWII Hawkins served as an officer with the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

Illness and death

A three-pack-a-day smoker, Hawkins began experiencing voice problems in the late 1950s; unknown to the public he had undergone cobalt treatment in 1959 for what was then described as a secondary condition of the larynx, but which was probably cancer. In private, he used a mechanical larynx to aid his speech. In December 1965, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. His entire larynx was removed in January of the following year; thereafter his performances were dubbed, often (with Hawkins's approval) by Robert Rietti or Charles Gray. Hawkins continued to smoke after losing his voice.

He died at St Stephen's Hospital, Fulham Road, London, on 18 July 1973, following an operation to insert an artificial voicebox. He was 62. His final appearance was in the television miniseries QB VII. His autobiography, Anything For a Quiet Life, was published after his death. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium.

Filmography

• Birds of Prey (1930)
• The Lodger (1932)
• The Good Companions (1933)
• The Lost Chord (1933)
• I Lived with You (1933)
• The Jewel (1933)
• A Shot in the Dark (1933)
• Autumn Crocus (1934)
• Lorna Doone (1934)
• Death at Broadcasting House (1934)
• Peg of Old Drury (1935)
• Beauty and the Barge (1937)
• The Frog (1937)
• Who Goes Next? (1938)
• A Royal Divorce (1938)
• Murder Will Out (1939)
• The Flying Squad (1940)
• The Next of Kin (1942)
• The Fallen Idol (1948)
• Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948)
• The Small Back Room (1949)
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)
• State Secret (1950)
• The Black Rose (1950)
• No Highway in the Sky (1951)
• The Adventurers (1951)
• Home at Seven (1952)
• Angels One Five (1952)
• Mandy (1952)
• The Planter's Wife (1952)
• The Cruel Sea (1953)
• Malta Story (1953)
• Twice Upon a Time (1953)
• The Intruder (1953)
• The Seekers (1954)
• Front Page Story (1954)
• Land of the Pharaohs (1955)
• The Prisoner (1955)
• Touch and Go (1955)

• The Long Arm (1956)
• Fortune Is a Woman (1957)
• Man in the Sky (1957)
• The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
• The Two-Headed Spy (1958)
• Gideon's Day (USA title: Gideon of Scotland Yard) (1958)
• Gideon of Scotland Yard (1958)
• Ben-Hur (1959)
• The League of Gentlemen (1960)
• Two Loves (1961)
• Lafayette (1961)
• Five Finger Exercise (1962)
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
• Rampage (1963)
• Zulu (1964)
• Guns at Batasi (1964)
• The Third Secret (1964)
• Lord Jim (1965)
• Masquerade (1965)
• Judith (1966)
• Danger Grows Wild (1966)
• Shalako (1968)
• Stalked (short) (1968)
• Great Catherine (1968)
• Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
• Monte Carlo or Bust (1969)
• Waterloo (1970)
• Jane Eyre (1970)
• The Beloved (1970)
• The Adventures of Gerard (1970)
• Twinky (1970)
• When Eight Bells Toll (1971)
• Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
• Kidnapped (1971)
• Young Winston (1972)
• The Last Lion (1972)
• Escape to the Sun (1972)
• Theatre of Blood (1973)
• Tales That Witness Madness (1973)

During the 1950s, British exhibitors consistently voted Hawkins one of the most popular local stars in the country in the annual poll conducted by the Motion Picture Herald:

• 1952 - 4th most popular British star
• 1953 - most popular international star
• 1954 - 5th most popular international star, most popular British star
• 1955 - 6th most popular British star
• 1956 - 2nd most popular British star
• 1957 - 9th most popular British star
• 1958 - 9th most popular British star