John Leyton

About John Leyton

Who is it?: Actor, Soundtrack, Miscellaneous Crew
Birth Day: February 17, 1936
Birth Place:  Frinton-On-Sea, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Birth Sign: Pisces
Years active: c. 1959—present
Known for: Pvt. Wilkes in Guns at Batasi Flight Lt. William Dickes "The Tunneler" in "The Great Escape"
Relatives: Hedley Leyton (brother)
Website: http://www.johnleyton.com/

John Leyton Net Worth

John Leyton was born on February 17, 1936 in  Frinton-On-Sea, Essex, England, United Kingdom, is Actor, Soundtrack, Miscellaneous Crew. John Leyton was born on Feb. 17th 1936 at Frinton-On Sea, Essex, England, to parents of show business background. His father owned several cinemas and his mother acted under the name of 'Babs Walters' on the London stage. When John showed a desire to act, his parents tried to discourage him, wanting him to enter the family rope business as they felt it was too difficult to get a start in acting. After working for a while with his parents he was drafted into the Royal Army Service Corps to do his National Service. On completion, John decided to join the Actor's Workshop to study drama. To supplement his income, John turned to his love of singing and managed to get some work in night clubs imitating singers like Frankie Laine and Johnnie Ray. On finishing drama school, John joined York Repertory Theatre as a juvenile lead and was signed by Robert Stigwood (his manager during the 1960's) for television work in London. John's first important break was in the Granada TV series Biggles (1960) and this brought him a huge following of fans. It was not long before his biggest break came when he played the part of singer Johnny St. Cyr in the ATV series Harpers West One (1961) where he performed the song Johnny Remember Me. The fans loved it and demanded a record, which put John into the British Hit parade with a number one disc that held the top spot for seven weeks. His acting was placed on hold as his pop singing career took over, the follow up single, Wild Wind, reached number two. Further releases did not have the same impact. Eventually John found his way back to acting and appeared in two major Hollywood movies The Great Escape (1963) and Von Ryan's Express (1965). Further movies followed but it seemed his star had faded. He drifted back to television work and eventual obscurity.
John Leyton is a member of Actor

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some John Leyton images

Biography/Timeline

1936

John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936 in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex) is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song "Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached Number 1 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 2 in the charts.

1960

Leyton was a familiar face in film and television during the 1960s. He played himself in the 1962 Dick Lester film It's Trad, Dad!, performing his latest single "Lonely City" in a radio studio. In The Great Escape (1963) he played tunnel designer Willie Dickes, one of the only three characters who successfully make it to freedom. Leyton also cut a single with lyrics to Elmer Bernstein's theme to the film. He also appeared in Guns at Batasi in 1964; Every Day's a Holiday (aka Seaside Swingers in the United States) and Von Ryan's Express starring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard in 1965. In Krakatoa, East of Java, in 1969 he played the designer of a diving bell.

1961

Following the success of Biggles, Leyton was persuaded by his manager, Robert Stigwood, to audition as a singer for record Producer Joe Meek, and subsequently recorded a cover version of "Tell Laura I Love Her", which was released on the Top Rank label. In 1961 though, the Top Rank label was taken over by EMI who then issued Leyton's records on their HMV label. EMI had already released Ricky Valance's version of the same song. Leyton's recording was withdrawn from sale, whilst Valance's version reached Number 1 in the UK chart.

1962

A second single - "The Girl on the Floor Above" - was released on the HMV label, but was not a success. His first big hit, "Johnny Remember Me", coincided with his appearance as an actor in the popular ATV television series Harpers West One, in which he played a singer named Johnny Saint Cyr. Leyton performed "Johnny Remember Me" during the show (backed by the Outlaws), and the single subsequently charted at Number 1. His next single, "Wild Wind", reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and later singles also achieved lower chart positions. On 15 April 1962, Leyton performed at the NME Poll-Winners Concert at London's Wembley Pool. But in 1963, Meek and Goddard's association with Leyton ended; that circumstance, combined with the British beat boom, cast Leyton adrift immediately, although he found a lot of acting work in television and film to keep him busy. Despite trying to give Leyton's music more of a 'group' sound by giving him a backing group, 'The LeRoys', his chart career faded out by the beginning of 1964.

1966

From 1966 to 1967, Leyton played the lead role as SOE Royal Navy Lieutenant Nicholas Gage, an expert in demolitions, in Jericho, an American TV series about espionage in the Second World War.

1970

He returned to Britain in the early 1970s and unsuccessfully attempted to re-launch his singing career, signing to the York record label in 1973. A single, "Dancing in the Graveyard c/w. Riversong (York SYK 551) & an L.P., "John Leyton" (York FYK 416) was released that year. A year later (1974) Leyton's cover version of the Kevin Johnson hit, "Rock 'n' Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life c/w. Highway Song. York YR 210.)" was issued in the UK but without success. In the mid 1970s, Leyton starred in the ITV television series, The Nearly Man. Acting roles became fewer and farther between during the 1970s, and by the early 1980s, he was no longer active in show Business.

1990

In the 1990s, however, he began performing in the 'Solid Gold Rock 'n' Roll Show', appearing with artists such as Marty Wilde and Joe Brown. The autumn 2004 tour featured Leyton, Showaddywaddy, Freddy Cannon and Craig Douglas. Leyton has also returned to acting, with a cameo appearance in the 2005 film, Colour Me Kubrick starring John Malkovich.

2006

In May 2006, Leyton released "Hi Ho, Come On England", a re-working of Jeff Beck's "Hi Ho Silver Lining", to coincide with the World Cup in Germany. During the summer of 2007 he filmed a cameo appearance for the Nick Moran film, Telstar. Leyton also topped the bill at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, along with 1960s stars Jess Conrad and Craig Douglas at a concert named "'60s Icons".

2014

Leyton continues to tour the UK and Scandinavia performing his hits (sometimes backed by the Rapiers) and can boast an internet following with his official website. In 2014 John continues to tour with his band the Flames, featuring John James on guitar, Ray Royal on drums and Dale Corcoran on bass guitar.