John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor whose career encompassed film, TV and theatre.
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Life and career
Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada during the Second World War, where he remained to finish his education, studying at McGill University in Montreal. Before returning to Britain, he gained experience as a local radio broadcaster and appeared on television in plays and documentaries.
Returning to the UK in 1953, Allen made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (1954). He subsequently appeared in character roles in many films, including Captain Clegg, The Wild Geese, The Sea Wolves, Puppet on a Chain, and Who Dares Wins. He was also the lead actor in the Associated-Rediffusion adventure series Crane (1963–65) and in the BBC1 series Brett (1971). Allen played Moriarty's deputy Colonel Sebastian Moran in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Allen made regular appearances during the 1960s and early 1970s in the ABC Television television series The Avengers, and in numerous ITC television series including The Power Game, The Baron, The Champions, and Gideon's Way, although he never had a recurring role in any of these series.
He was featured in one episode of the Tempean Films television series The Saint ("The Man Who Could Not Die"), broadcast in the UK in July 1965., and also appeared in 1971 in the "Timelash" episode of the Century 21 Productions television series UFO.
