The British character actor James Robertson Justice was born 15th June 1907 in London.
He studied science at University College London, but left after a year and became a geology student at the University of Bonn, where he again left after just a year. He returned to the UK in 1927, and became a journalist in London but after a year he emigrated to Canada, where he worked as an insurance salesman, taught English at a boys' school, became a lumberjack and mined for gold. He came back to Britain penniless, working his passage on a Dutch freighter washing dishes in the ship's galley to pay his fare.
He left Britain again to become a policeman for the League of Nations in the Territory of the Saar Basin (a region of Germany occupied and governed by France and Germany under a League of Nations mandate). After the Nazis came to power, he fought in the Spanish Civil War on the Republican side. It was here that he first grew his signature trademark bushy beard, which he retained throughout his career. On return to Britain, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, but after sustaining an injury in 1943 (thought to be shrapnel from a German shell), he was pensioned off.
With almost 90 film credits to his name, all in similar character roles, he is well recognised by film fans. Two of fis first films included Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne; in 1945 he played the part of Branksom in the Facts of Life’ segment in Quartet and in 1949 he played the part of Arthur Peters (pictured) in Stop Press Girl.
There are too many films to list here but a small example include; Champagne Charlie 1944, Whisky Galore 1949, The Magnet 1950, Miss Robin Hood 1952, Doctor in the House 1954 and subsequent films in the series, The Iron Petticoat 1956, The Guns of Naverone 1961, The Fast Lady 1962 and as Lord Scrumptious in 1968’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
He died 2nd July 1975.
He studied science at University College London, but left after a year and became a geology student at the University of Bonn, where he again left after just a year. He returned to the UK in 1927, and became a journalist in London but after a year he emigrated to Canada, where he worked as an insurance salesman, taught English at a boys' school, became a lumberjack and mined for gold. He came back to Britain penniless, working his passage on a Dutch freighter washing dishes in the ship's galley to pay his fare.
He left Britain again to become a policeman for the League of Nations in the Territory of the Saar Basin (a region of Germany occupied and governed by France and Germany under a League of Nations mandate). After the Nazis came to power, he fought in the Spanish Civil War on the Republican side. It was here that he first grew his signature trademark bushy beard, which he retained throughout his career. On return to Britain, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, but after sustaining an injury in 1943 (thought to be shrapnel from a German shell), he was pensioned off.
With almost 90 film credits to his name, all in similar character roles, he is well recognised by film fans. Two of fis first films included Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne; in 1945 he played the part of Branksom in the Facts of Life’ segment in Quartet and in 1949 he played the part of Arthur Peters (pictured) in Stop Press Girl.
There are too many films to list here but a small example include; Champagne Charlie 1944, Whisky Galore 1949, The Magnet 1950, Miss Robin Hood 1952, Doctor in the House 1954 and subsequent films in the series, The Iron Petticoat 1956, The Guns of Naverone 1961, The Fast Lady 1962 and as Lord Scrumptious in 1968’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
He died 2nd July 1975.
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