John Brown
Born
April 4, 1904
Died
May 16, 1957 (53 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Hull, Yorkshire, England, UK
Brown had major roles in several popular radio shows: He was "John Doe" in the Texaco Star Theater's version of Fred Allen's Allen's Alley,[2] played Irma's love interest Al in My Friend Irma, both "Gillis" and Digby "Digger" O'Dell in The Life of Riley, (a role he reprised for the first incarnation of the television show), "Broadway" in The Damon Runyon Theatre, and "Thorny" the neighbor on the radio version of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Perhaps his most memorable piece of work is the ‘Broadway’ role; once heard, many find it impossible to think of the narrator of Damon Runyon’s stories as anyone else. It was a measure of Brown’s talent that this quintessentially American character was portrayed by an Englishman.
Brown appeared in some notable films: as the inebriated professor in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, uncredited), and The Wild One (1953); he supplied the voice of "Ro-Man" in the 1953 cult science fiction B-film Robot Monster.
Known For

Dixieland Droopy
Narrator / Pee Wee Runt (voice) (uncredited)
1954

The Wild One
Bill Hannegan
1953

The Bigamist
1953

Man Crazy
Mr. Duncan
1953

Crazylegs
Keller
1953

Jennifer
Service Station Attendant (uncredited)
1953

Robot Monster
Ro-Man / Great Guidance (voice)
1953

Hans Christian Andersen
Schoolmaster
1952

I Love Lucy
Mr. Murdoch · (1 episode)
1951

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
(1 episode)
1951

The Day the Earth Stood Still
George Barley, boarder
1951

Strangers on a Train
Prof. Collins
1951

Symphony in Slang
The Hipster / Noah Webster (voice) (uncredited)
1951

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
Harry Morton · (1 episode)
1950

The Life of Riley
Digger O'Dell
1949

The Stranger
Passport Photographer (uncredited)
1946

The Horn Blows at Midnight
Lou the waiter (uncredited)
1945

A Peach of a Pair
John
1934
Heritage
Narrator