Moffat Johnston

Moffat Johnston
BornAugust 18, 1886
Edinburgh, Scotland
DiedNovember 3, 1935 (aged 49)
Norwalk, Connecticut
Other namesMoffat Johnson
Moffat Johnstone
J. Moffat Johnston
OccupationActor
Years active1905 - 1935
SpouseWinifred Durie Hodgson
ChildrenPeter Johnston[1]
Mary Rose Johnston

Moffat Johnston (1886–1935)[2] was a Scottish-born actor with a substantial United States stage career.

Career

Johnston was born to John Moffat Johnston and Margaret Parke (Boyd). He was educated at Watson's School and the University of Edinburgh. He made his stage debut in 1905 at Theatre Royal, Manchester in Frank Benson's company and went on with them to perform more than 200 Shakespearean roles. In 1914 he toured with his own theatre company in Germany before the outbreak of World War I. During the war he was a Lieutenant of the 8th Sherwood Foresters. He returned to theatrical work after the war making his American debut in 1922 in the world premier of George Bernard Shaw's Back to Methuselah.[3] Johnston appeared in several important Broadway productions in the 1920s, such as Methuselah, R. U. R., Six Characters in Search of an Author and the 1923 production of John Barrymore's Hamlet. Johnston created the role of Oscar Jaffe in the 1932 play Twentieth Century, which was later turned into a film and a musical. He also appeared with Lillian Gish in 1934's Within the Gates and his last role before his death in The Flowers of the Forest with Burgess Meredith and Katharine Cornell.[4]

Moffat's wife Winifred, also an actor, occasionally appeared on Broadway in plays with him. She performed under the name Winifred Johnston in the 1923 production of King Lear and the 1931 productions of The Streets of New York, or Poverty is No Crime.[5] Their son Peter Johnston also appeared on Broadway during the 1930s.[6]

Moffat taught at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[7]

Devoted to the stage, Johnston only appeared in two films: a 1911 Shakespearean silent Richard III starring Frank Benson and the 1934 sound drama Midnight.

He died after appendicitis surgery in 1935.[8]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1911 Richard III Duke of Buckingham Short
1934 Midnight Dist. Atty. Plunkett (final film role)

References

  1. ^ Who Was Who on Screen 2nd edition p.240 by Evelyn Mack Truitt c.1977
  2. ^ American and British Theatrical Biography p.532 c.1979 by J. P. Wearing ISBN 0-8108-1201-0
  3. ^ Who Was Who in the Theatre:1912-1976 vol. 3 I-P p. 1309; compiled from editions originally published annually by John Parker. 1976 version by Gale Research ISBN 0-8103-0406-6
  4. ^ Moffat Johnston at the Internet Broadway Database
  5. ^ "Winifred Johnston". at the Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  6. ^ "Peter Johnston". at the Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "Moffat Johnston, Actor, Dies in Norwalk Hospital". The Hartford Daily Courant. September 4, 1935. p. 4. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Silent Film Necrology 2nd edition p.271 by Eugene M. Vazzana c.2001 ISBN 0-7864-1059-0