John Standing
        1 FOLLOWER • 31 CREDITS • AUG 16, 1934 • 91
        
        
        
            Biography
                
            Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, 3rd Baronet, a stockbroker descended from Sir Herbert Leon, the builder of Bletchley Park. He succeeded his father as the 4th baronet in 1964, but does not use the title. The Leon family were, until 1937, owners of Bletchley Park, the country house in Buckinghamshire used in the Second World War as a code-breaking centre. He was educated at Eton College and Millfield School, Somerset. He served in the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a second lieutenant, before going on to study at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London
Standing began his career in Peter Brook's 1955 production of Titus Andronicus starring Laurence Olivier and wife Vivien Leigh and later played leading parts in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Christopher Fry's Ring Round the Moon, A Sense of Detachment by John Osborne, and Noël Coward's Private Lives, with Maggie Smith. He was nominated for an Olivier award (1979) for Close of Play at the National Theatre. He made his film debut in The Wild and the Willing (1962), going on to appear in King Rat (1965), Walk, Don't Run (1966), The Psychopath (1966), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Elephant Man (1980), Nightflyers (1987), Mrs Dalloway (1997) and A Good Woman (2004).
One of his first major television roles was as Sidney Godolphin in the BBC twelve-part serial, The First Churchills (1969). Other television appearances include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979); the ITV sitcom The Other 'Arf (1980–84), with Lorraine Chase; The Choir (1995) and King Solomon's Mines (2004). In the United States, he made guest appearances in numerous weekly programmes including L.A. Law, Civil Wars and Murder, She Wrote, and co-starred briefly with Robert Wagner and Samantha Smith in the action series Lime Street (1985). In 1976, he also appeared opposite Peter O'Toole in the little-seen BBC thriller film, Rogue Male, directed by Clive Donner.  He appeared in the horror film Nightflyers (1987) adapted from a short story by George R. R. Martin. In 2002, he had a speaking credit on Lost Horizons, the second studio album from the British electronic duo Lemon Jelly. On track 1, "Elements", he lists the basic “elements" that make up the world: ash, metal, water, wood, fire and sky. On track 3, "Ramblin' Man", Standing reads a long list of various locations around the world, ranging from small Sussex villages to major world capitals. In July 2010, it was confirmed that he would be appearing as Jon Arryn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels.
            
        
        
        
        Known For
            
                        Murder, She Wrote
                    
                
                    
                        
                        BBC Play of the Month
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Hunter
                    
                
                    
                        
                        L.A. Law
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Crown
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Game of Thrones
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Midsomer Murders
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Agatha Christie's Poirot
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Space: 1999
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Saint
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Patrick Melrose
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Eerie, Indiana
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Avengers
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
                    
                
                    
                        
                        In Deep
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Borgia
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Joan of Arc
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Love in a Cold Climate
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Gulliver's Travels
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Consenting Adults
                    
                
                    
                        
                        King Lear
                    
                
                    
                        
                        V for Vendetta
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Contractor
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Elephant Man
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Choir
                    
                
                    
                        
                        King Solomon's Mines
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Shadow in the North
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Great Escaper
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Real Jane Austen
                    
                
                    
                        
                        The Falklands Play
                    
                
                    
                        
                        Rogue Male
                    
                
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