John Hollis


John Hollis was a British actor of TV and film.

Early life

John Hollis was born Bertie Wyn Hollis in southwest London in 1927.

Career

He played the role of Lobot in The Empire Strikes Back and the German porter at the chateau in The Dirty Dozen. He appeared in the Christopher Reeve Superman films Superman and Superman II as an elder of Krypton, and in as a Russian General.
He also played the role of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the cold open of the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, going uncredited due to the controversy over the film rights and characters of Thunderball. In this sequence, his character was famously lifted from a wheelchair and dropped to his death down a chimney stack by Bond after he had attempted to kill Bond by using a remote control link to Bond's MI6 helicopter.
Hollis' other film work included minor roles in Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter for Hammer Films and Gene Wilder's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. In television, Hollis took the role of Sondergaard in the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who in the story The Mutants, and appeared in The Avengers episode The Cybernauts as a sensei and also in The Tomorrow People. He also appeared as "Kaufmann" with a young Julie Christie in the BBC classic 'lost series' A for Andromeda.
John Hollis was a versatile character actor for BBC Radio. Notable roles include Magwitch in Great Expectations, Leonard Bast in Howards End, Conan Doyle's Inspector Lestrade and Shakespeare's Bardolph. He also took part in some commercial recordings, in parts as various as the March Hare in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the Murderer of the Duke of Clarence in Richard III.
He broadcast his own recollections of a cockney childhood, for the BBC in the 1970s.

Selected filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1967Casino RoyaleFred Uncredited
1967The Dirty DozenGerman Porter at ChateauUncredited
1968On the RunBaldy
1971Creatures the World ForgotMasked AttackerUncredited
1971FreelanceHartley
1973Ghost in the Noonday SunKanaris
1974Captain Kronos – Vampire HunterBarman
1975The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter BrotherMoriarty's Gunman
1978Superman4th Elder
1980The Empire Strikes BackLobot
1980Flash GordonKlytus Observer No. 2
1980Superman IIKrypton Elder
1981For Your Eyes OnlyErnst Stavro BlofeldUncredited
1986ValhallaHymerEnglish version, Voice
1987Russian General

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1962The Andromeda BreakthroughKaufman6 episodes
1963–67The SaintMaximillian Tordoff/West2 episodes
1963–68The AvengersVarious4 episodes
1972Doctor Who: The MutantsSondergaard4 episodes
1980Blake's 7Lorn1 episode, Powerplay
1981The Day of the TriffidsAlf1 episode
1984Badger GirlMr Barker8 episodes