John Hollis

John Hollis (12 November 1927 – 18 October 2005) was a British actor of TV and film. He is known for his uncredited appearance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, as well as for his appearances in the Superman films, Casino Royale, The Dirty Dozen, Flash Gordon, and The Empire Strikes Back.

John Hollis
Born	Bertie Wyn Hollis (1927-11-12)12 November 1927 Fulham, London, England
Died	18 October 2005(2005-10-18) (aged 77) London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–1999
Spouses	Gabrielle Hamilton ​ ​ (m. 1953⁠–⁠1965)​ Sheila Forrester ​ ​ (m. 1966⁠–⁠2005)​

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 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace 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 (Roger Moore)^[1] after he had attempted to kill Bond by using a remote control link to Bond's MI6 helicopter.^[2]

Hollis's 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 in The Superlative Seven as Magwitch. He was 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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	Casino Royale	Fred (Temple Priest)	Uncredited
	The Dirty Dozen	German Porter at Chateau	Uncredited
1968	On the Run	Baldy
1971	Creatures the World Forgot	Masked Attacker	Uncredited
	Freelance	Hartley
1973	Ghost in the Noonday Sun	Kanaris
1974	Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter	Barman
1975	The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother	Moriarty's Gunman
1978	Superman	4th Elder (Krypton Council)
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Lobot (Lando's aide)
	Flash Gordon	Klytus Observer No. 2
	Superman II	Krypton Elder
1981	For Your Eyes Only	Ernst Stavro Blofeld	Uncredited
1986	Valhalla	Hymer	English version, Voice
1987	Superman IV: The Quest for Peace	Russian General

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	The Andromeda Breakthrough	Kaufman	6 episodes
1963–67	The Saint	Maximillian Tordoff/West	2 episodes
1963–68	The Avengers	Various	4 episodes
1971	Armchair Theatre	Blond	Episode "Detective Waiting"
1972	Doctor Who: The Mutants	Sondergaard	4 episodes
1980	Blake's 7	Lorn	1 episode, Powerplay
1981	The Day of the Triffids	Alf	1 episode
1984	Badger Girl	Mr Barker	8 episodes