John Standing
Acting
Biography
Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, 3rd Baronet, a stockbroker descended from Sir Herbert Leon, the builder of Bletchley Park. He succeeded his father as the 4th baronet in 1964, but does not use the title. The Leon family were, until 1937, owners of Bletchley Park, the country house in Buckinghamshire used in the Second World War as a code-breaking centre. He was educated at Eton College and Millfield School, Somerset. He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a second lieutenant, before going on to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London Standing began his career in Peter Brook's 1955 production of Titus Andronicus starring Laurence Olivier and wife Vivien Leigh and later played leading parts in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Christopher Fry's Ring Round the Moon, A Sense of Detachment by John Osborne, and Noël Coward's Private Lives, with Maggie Smith. He was nominated for an Olivier award (1979) for Close of Play at the National Theatre. He made his film debut in The Wild and the Willing (1962), going on to appear in King Rat (1965), Walk, Don't Run (1966), The Psychopath (1966), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Elephant Man (1980), Nightflyers (1987), Mrs Dalloway (1997) and A Good Woman (2004). One of his first major television roles was as Sidney Godolphin in the BBC twelve-part serial, The First Churchills (1969). Other television appearances include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979); the ITV sitcom The Other 'Arf (1980–84), with Lorraine Chase; The Choir (1995) and King Solomon's Mines (2004). In the United States, he made guest appearances in numerous weekly programmes including L.A. Law, Civil Wars and Murder, She Wrote, and co-starred briefly with Robert Wagner and Samantha Smith in the action series Lime Street (1985). In 1976, he also appeared opposite Peter O'Toole in the little-seen BBC thriller film, Rogue Male, directed by Clive Donner. He appeared in the horror film Nightflyers (1987) adapted from a short story by George R. R. Martin. In 2002, he had a speaking credit on Lost Horizons, the second studio album from the British electronic duo Lemon Jelly. On track 1, "Elements", he lists the basic “elements" that make up the world: ash, metal, water, wood, fire and sky. On track 3, "Ramblin' Man", Standing reads a long list of various locations around the world, ranging from small Sussex villages to major world capitals. In July 2010, it was confirmed that he would be appearing as Jon Arryn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
Born: August 16, 1934
Place of Birth: London, England, UK
Known For
Filmography
as Arthur
as Narrator
as Bernard
as Additional Voices (voice)
as Butler
as George Watford
as Dr. Tucker
as Podmore
as Imbert-Terry
as Lord Camrose
as Mr. Carpenter (voice)
as Grandfather George
as Lord George Meriot
as Jon Arryn
as Webster Garland
as Lord Goddard
as Sir Anthony
as Michael de Vere
as Voice of Francis Youlgreave
as Garden Party Guest
as Lord Kessler
as Lilliman
as French
as Dean Frydman
as Dumby
as Dr. Sam Maitland
as Jenson Thackery
as Mr. Austen
as Lord Moyne
as Rt Hon William Whitelaw CH MC MP (Home Secretary)
as Foreign Secretary
as Rev Holland
as Foreign Secretary
as Ritchie
as Lord Montdore
as Jack Plummer
as Capt. Proctor
as Captain Proctor
as Politician
as Peter Baring
as Philip Emmenthal
as Archbishop
as Embleton
as Nicholas Jenkins (older)
as Richard Dalloway
as Count Dracul
as Charles Rust
as Will Tunstall
as Mr. Gilmore
as Admiral Bolgolam
as Bishop Robert Young
as Malise Gordon
as Butler
as Coudray
as Whitfield
as Professor Nigel Zirchon
as Alan Stacey
as Henry
as Mr. Brown
as Belfrage
as Charnaud
as Colonnel Toby Luttrell
as Dr. Kipper
as D'Branin
as Jack
as Nigel Morris
as Edward Wingate
as Van Rensburg
as Arthur Constable
as Chief Daniel Trent
as George Franklin
as The Duke of Windsor
as Colonel Pickering
as Captain Sholto Savory
as Fox
as Finley
as Charles Fairbrother
as Jason Mountolive
as Captain Winsloe
as Captain Winsloe
as Father Verecker
as Major Quive-Smith
as Pasc
as Ehrlich
as Tony Wardle
as Buster
as Gordon
as Lord Amberley
as Bernie
as Sidney Godolphin
as Roger
as Lord Radchester
as Leo Winston (segment 3 "Mr. Steinway")
as Julius D. Haversack
as Mark Von Sturm
as Daven
as Jack Chesney
as Cléante
as Men's Room Attendant
as Humphrey Gore-Brown
as Arthur
as Gendarme
as Hubert Shannon
as Sutcliffe