John Brown (April 4, 1904 – May 16, 1957) was a British actor.
Early years
Brown was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England.
Radio
Brown had major roles in several popular radio shows: He was "John Doe" in the Texaco Star Theater's version of Fred Allen's Allen's Alley, played Irma's love interest Al in My Friend Irma, both "Gillis" and Digby "Digger" O'Dell in The Life of Riley, (a role he reprised for the first incarnation of the television show), "Broadway" in The Damon Runyon Theatre, and "Thorny" the neighbor on the radio version of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Perhaps his most memorable piece of work is the ‘Broadway’ role; once heard, many find it impossible to think of the narrator of Damon Runyon’s stories as anyone else. It was a measure of Brown’s talent that this quintessentially American character was portrayed by an Englishman.
Film
Brown appeared in some notable films: as the inebriated professor in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, uncredited), and The Wild One (1953); he supplied the voice of "Ro-Man" in the 1953 cult science fiction B-film Robot Monster.
Television
In early television, Brown was the second actor (after Hal March) to play "Harry Morton", the next-door neighbor of George Burns and Gracie Allen in their situation comedy show, opposite Bea Benaderet; his tenure on the series lasted six months, and he was replaced by Fred Clark in June 1951.
Personal life
In 1952, Brown was placed on the Hollywood blacklist.
Death
Brown died of a heart attack on May 16, 1957, in West Hollywood, California, while en route to his doctor's office.
Filmography
Radio
Films
Television
References
External links
The Damon Runyon Theatre – audio files of the complete series, freely available at the Internet Archive