John Leyton

Acting

John Leyton

Born 1939-02-17 · Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England, UK

John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936) is an English actor and singer. Leyton as a singer is best known for his hit song "Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961 despite being banned by the BBC for its death references. His follow-up single, "Wild Wind", reached number two in the charts. Alongside singing, Leyton's acting career saw him appearing in television and films throughout the 1960s. His films included The Great Escape, Guns at Batasi, Von Ryan's Express and Krakatoa, East of Java. In 2009 he also had a small role in the film Telstar, a biopic based on Joe Meek's life in which Leyton himself was portrayed by Callum Dixon.

Acting credits

The Great Escape poster
7.9

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

The Great Escape

1963

Von Ryan's Express poster
7.0

Von Ryan's Express stars Frank Sinatra as a POW colonel who leads a daring escape from WWII Italy by taking over a freight train, but he has to win over the British soldiers he finds himself commanding.

Von Ryan's Express

1965

The Captain's Table poster
6.0

A captain is promoted by his company from tramp steamers to their flagship passenger liner. Although he is a thoroughly competent sailor ready to take charge of such a ship, he is less prepared for the social duties his new position involves, not least the way he in which becomes the target for all the unattached women on board.

The Captain's Table

1959

Telstar: The Joe Meek Story poster
5.5

Set against a backdrop of early '60s London, Telstar is the story of the world's first independent record producer, Joe Meek. A maverick genius who enjoyed phenomenal success with Telstar – the biggest selling record of it's time – before bad luck, depression, heartbreak and paranoia led to his downfall.

Telstar: The Joe Meek Story

2008

I'm All Right Jack poster
6.6

Naive Stanley Windrush looks for a career in a family business. Much to his dismay, he finds work at a munitions factory where he has to start from the bottom, while both the management and the labor union use him as a tool in their fight for power.

I'm All Right Jack

1959

Colour Me Kubrick poster
5.7

The true story of a man who posed as director Stanley Kubrick during the production of Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut, despite knowing very little about his work and looking nothing like him.

Colour Me Kubrick

2005

Krakatoa, East of Java poster
5.8

A team of maritime salvage workers are about to embark on a recovery dive. However the 1883 Krakatoa Volcano eruption provides more pressing problems.

Krakatoa, East of Java

1969

Schizo poster
5.6

A recently-married woman who has been labeled as mentally unstable, begins to suspect that someone close to her is the culprit in a sudden string of murders.

Schizo

1976

The Idol poster
4.9

A rebellious student embarks on an affair with the mother of his best friend, leading to disastrous consequences.

The Idol

1966

Danger Within poster
6.3

Drama set in an Italian prisoner of war camp during World War 2, where a group of British soldiers find their plans for escape thwarted by a mysterious traitor in their midst.

Danger Within

1959

Guns at Batasi poster
6.9

An anachronistic martinet RSM on a remote Colonial African army caught in a local coup d'etat must use his experience to defend those in his care.

Guns at Batasi

1964

Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective poster
6.2

When D. C. Dangerous Davies, not held in high regard by his superiors, is assigned to find a notorious criminal kingpin, he uncovers the details of 15-year-old cold case.

Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective

1981

Every Day's a Holiday poster
7.0

A group of teenagers take jobs at a holiday camp for the summer and enter a TV talent show

Every Day's a Holiday

1965

It's Trad, Dad! poster
5.7

The hero and heroine want to popularize trad jazz in their town. Some older people feel displeased about trad jazz, and prevent their trying. The hero and heroine go to a London television studio to ask trad jazz musicians to perform in concert.

It's Trad, Dad!

1962

The Unexpected Return of Mr. Meek poster
NR

A feature-length music documentary that explores the groundbreaking career and queerness of Joe Meek, a pioneering 1960s British record producer. Celebrated for shaping modern music with innovative techniques and collaborations with icons like David Bowie, Meek's story is also marked by his struggle as a gay man in an era when homosexuality was illegal in the UK. The film uses AI to bring Meek’s voice back to narrate his own story, shedding light on his mental health battles and the dark, hostile environment he faced. Contemporary artists reimagine his unreleased tracks, connecting past and present while revealing new perspectives on his tragic life and legacy as a queer icon.

The Unexpected Return of Mr. Meek

The Very Strange Story of the Legendary Joe Meek poster
8.0

Documentary about the influential pop composer and record producer Joe Meek, who died in dramatic circumstances in 1967 after a bizarre childhood and a career, often controversial, which spanned the period from the mid-50s to the rise of the Beatles in the 60s. At the end of his life he was suffering from paranoid delusions that people were watching him through walls. Alan Lewens' film charts an Ortonesque tale of post-war Britain.

The Very Strange Story of the Legendary Joe Meek

1991

Baby Talk poster
7.0

It's such a simple, natural thing to have a baby, thinks Mary. But she and husband Paul are preoccupied with their careers. Can their young neighbour Tessa help, or are the emotions around a new baby more complex than anyone had expected?

Baby Talk

1981

A Life in the Death of Joe Meek poster
9.0

This documentary chronicles the rise, fall and resurrection of Joe Meek. It shows, due in equal measures to his pioneering DIY recording techniques, hit-making philosophy and a life full of social, psychological and sexual obstacles.

A Life in the Death of Joe Meek

2013