John Brown

Acting

John Brown

Born — Died

1904-04-04 — 1957-05-16

Place of birth

Hull, Yorkshire, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

21 titles

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,[2] 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 characte…

Known for

I Love Lucy poster
7.9

Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends.

I Love Lucy

1951

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show poster
7.2

Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television and achieved great success over four decades.

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

1950

Strangers on a Train poster
7.7

A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.

Strangers on a Train

1951

The Wild One poster
6.5

The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.

The Wild One

1953

The Day the Earth Stood Still poster
7.4

An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

1951

The Life of Riley poster
8.0

Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully disrupting life with his malapropisms and ill timed intervention into minor problems. His stock answer to every turn of fate became a catch phrase: 'What a revoltin' development this is!"

The Life of Riley

1949

Film credits

1950s · 12 titles

Strangers on a Train poster
7.7

A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.

Strangers on a Train

1951

The Wild One poster
6.5

The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.

The Wild One

1953

The Day the Earth Stood Still poster
7.4

An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

1951

The Bigamist poster
6.4

San Francisco businessman Harry Graham and his wife and business partner, Eve, are in the process of adopting a child. When private investigator Mr. Jordan uncovers the fact that Graham has another wife, Phyllis, and a small child in Los Angeles, he confesses everything.

The Bigamist

1953

Robot Monster poster
4.5

Ro-Man, an alien robot who greatly resembles a gorilla in a diving helmet, is sent to earth to destroy all human life. Ro-Man falls in love with one of the last six remaining humans, and struggles to understand how his programming can instruct him to kill her while his heart demands that he can't.

Robot Monster

1953

Crazylegs poster
5.8

The story of the life and career of football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch (who plays himself).

Crazylegs

1953

Dixieland Droopy poster
6.9

John Pettibone (Droopy), a dog whose love of Dixieland music is not appreciated by those around him, has a lucky meeting with Pee-Wee Runt and his All-Flea Dixieland band at the circus.

Dixieland Droopy

1954

Hans Christian Andersen poster
6.2

A small-town shoemaker with a knack for spinning yarns, Hans encounters happiness and heartbreak on his road to becoming a full-fledged writer.

Hans Christian Andersen

1952

Jennifer poster
6.0

A young woman is hired to take care of an eerie old mansion, where she finds herself entangled with an enigmatic murderer.

Jennifer

1953

That's My Pup! poster
7.0

Spike explains to his son the rules of being a dog: 1: be man's best friend (begging, lying at feet); 2: bury bones; 3: chase cats. Just then, Tom (and Jerry) run by, offering the perfect practice subject. Spike lectures Tom to be scared by the pup or else; Jerry overhears, and is soon doing his best dog impersonation, while Tom works on various strategies to neutralize Tyke

That's My Pup!

1953

Symphony in Slang poster
7.3

At the gates of Heaven, the admitting officials have a hard time understanding a newcomer's life story with all his contemporary slang.

Symphony in Slang

1951

Man Crazy poster
7.0

Three women come to Hollywood to break into the movies.

Man Crazy

1953

Series credits