
John Leyton
Acting
Biography
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.
Known For

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

Jericho is an American espionage series set during World War II. The series stars John Leyton, Don Francks and Marino Masé as secret agents, and aired on CBS from September 1966, to January 1967.
Jericho

Ready Steady Go! is one of the UK's first rock/pop music television programmes and was a forerunner of MTV-type programming. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan was assisted by record producer/talent manager Vicki Wickham, who became the show's producer, and Michael Lindsay-Hogg who was appointed the show's director in 1965. It was broadcast from August 1963 until December 1966. It was produced by Associated-Rediffusion the weekday ITV contractor for London, called Rediffusion-London post 1964. The live show was eventually networked nationally. The show gained its highest ratings on 20 March 1964 when it featured the Beatles being interviewed and performing their songs "It Won't Be Long", "You Can't Do That" and "Can't Buy Me Love" - the last of which was a hit at the time. RSG! USA! was a Dick Clark production in 1964. A trademark infringement ended the show after six episodes. Its last episode was broadcast on 23 December 1966.
Ready Steady Go!

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

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

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

Series on the unsung heroes of British pop.
Jukebox Heroes

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

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

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

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

The Nearly Man was a UK TV series from the mid-1970s created by Arthur Hopcraft about a middle-class Labour MP. Originally screened on ITV on 4 August 1974, the series won the Broadcasting Press Guild award for the best single play on British television in 1974. The series was filmed in London by Granada Television, in black and white. Some episodes were directed by British director John Irvin. The main cast included Tony Britton as the lead character, Anne Firbank, John Leyton, and Ian McCulloch.
The Nearly Man

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

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

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

Biggles was a Detective Air Inspector attached to Scotland Yard. Helping him was Ginger & Bertie and they fought against villains like von Stalhein. Aimed at a younger audience there was plenty of action, excitement, death traps and even some flying with each adventure ending in a cliff hanger with the viewers told to tune in next week for more daring adventures.
Biggles

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

A group of teenagers take jobs at a holiday camp for the summer and enter a TV talent show
Every Day's a Holiday

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!

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?