John Van Eyssen

John Van Eyssen
Photo by Anthony Buckley, 1955
Born	Matthew John Du Toit Van Eyssen (1922-03-19)19 March 1922 Fauresmith, Union of South Africa
Died	13 November 1995(1995-11-13) (aged 73) London, England
Alma mater	Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Occupations	Actor literary agent producer
Years active	1950–1991
Spouse	Shirley Goulden (divorced 1977)
Partner	Ingrid Bergman (late 1970's-early '80s)
Children	David Van Eyssen

Matthew John Du Toit Van Eyssen (born 19 March 1922 – 13 November 1995) was a South African actor, literary agent, and film production executive who spent most of his professional life in the United Kingdom. He served as the head of the Grade Organisation’s literary agency, and was later the UK Managing Director for Columbia Pictures.

Early life and education

Van Eyssen was born in the town of Fauresmith, Free State in 1922. He served in the South African Army during the Second World War. He moved to the UK after his discharge to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Acting career

Eyman was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company during its 1948 season. He played Rosencrantz in Hamlet, opposite Paul Scofield as the title character. In 1951, he played Cassio in Orson Welles' 1951 production of Othello.

In 1951 and in 1954 he played the role of Lucifer in the York Cycle of Mystery Plays, first revived in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain.

Van Eyssen appeared in films from 1950 as well as on stage, but achieved his greatest fame as an actor when he portrayed Jonathan Harker in the Hammer Film Productions version of Dracula (released as Horror of Dracula in the US) in 1958.

Agent and executive

He left acting in 1961 to become head of the Grade Organisation literary agency. His subsequent clients were Franco Zeffirelli, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. He left the business in 1965 to work for the UK division of Columbia Pictures, eventually becoming Managing Director in July 1969. Among the films he oversaw were A Man for All Seasons (1966), Born Free (1966), Georgy Girl (1966), To Sir, with Love (1967), The Taming of The Shrew (1967), and Oliver! (1968). Both Oliver! and A Man for All Seasons won Best Picture Academy Awards. In 1970, he was promoted to Worldwide Head of Production (ex-USA) and moved to New York.

After his tenure at Columbia, Van Eyssen became an independent producer, returning to the UK in 1991 to establish Britain's premier showcase for talented young filmmakers, the Chelsea Film Festival.

Personal life

Van Eyssen was longtime companion of Ingrid Bergman in the years before her death in 1982. His son, David Van Eyssen, is a visual artist, and a producer-director known for the science fiction streaming series RCVR.

Death

Aged 73, Van Eyssen died in Fulham, London on 13 November 1995.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	The Angel with the Trumpet	Albert Drauffer
1951	Murder in the Cathedral	Priest
1953	Four Sided Triangle	Robin
	Three Steps in the Dark	Henry Burgoyne
1954	The Men of Sherwood Forest	Will Scarlett
1955	The Cockleshell Heroes	Marine Bradley
1956	Kitty Clive	Robert Wilks	Television film
1957	Brothers in Law	Forbes	Uncredited
	The Traitor	LT. Grant
	Quatermass 2	The P.R.O.
	Account Rendered	Clive Franklyn
	The One That Got Away	German Prisoner
1958	The Whole Truth	Archer
	Dracula	Jonathan Harker
	Moment of Indiscretion	Corby
1959	Carlton-Browne of the F.O.	Hewitt
	Carry On Nurse	Surgeon Stephens
	I'm All Right Jack	Reporter
	Blind Date	Inspector Westover
1960	Make Mine Mink	Rowson	Uncredited
	The Criminal	Formby
1961	Exodus	Detective	Uncredited
	A Story of David	Joab
1963	Like Two Drops of Water		Uncredited

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951-56	BBC Sunday Night Theatre	Various roles	5 episodes
1954	The Three Musketeers	Duke of Buckingham	3 episodes
1956-60	ITV Television Playhouse	Prof. Craig, Philip	Episode: "Ever Since Paradise" & "The Two Wise Virgins of Hove"
1957	The Errol Flynn Theatre	Lover	Episode: "Love Token"
	Overseas Press Club – Exclusive!	Capt. Bauer	Episode: "My Favourite Kidnapper"
	O.S.S.	Secretary	Episode: "Operation Big House"
1958	The New Adventures of Charlie Chan	Insp. Pierre Renal	Episode: "The Noble Art of Murder"
	Ivanhoe	Sir Alistair	Episode: "Rinaldo"
1959	The Verdict Is Yours	Defence Counsel	Episodes: "The Case of the Missing Golf Funds: Parts 1 & 2"
	Charlesworth	Stanton	Episode: "Long Hot Spell"
	The Man Who Finally Died	Sgt. Hirsch	Episodes: "The Gloves" & "The Clinic"
	Interpol Calling	Capt. Flormann	Episode: "Air Switch"
1960	ITV Play of the Week	President	Episode: "Carrington V.C."
	The Four Just Men	Raoul	Episode: "The Grandmother"
1960-61	The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theater	Merril, John Mandle	Episodes: "Marriage of Convenience" & "Partners in Crime"
1961	Drama 61-67	Stephen Axley	Episode: "Journey to Nowhere"

Partial stage credits

Year	Title	Role	Venue(s)	Ref.
1947	French Without Tears		Summer Theatre, Frinton-on-Sea
1947-48	Othello		Bristol Old Vic, Bristol
1948	King John		Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
	The Merchant of Venice
	Hamlet	Rosencrantz
	The Taming of the Shrew	Haberdasher
	The Winter's Tale
	Troilus and Cressida	Menelaus
	Othello
1948-49	The Miser	Cleante	New Theatre, London
1949-50	Hamlet	Player King
1949-50	Love's Labour's Lost	Dumaine
1950-51	Storks Don’t Talk	Carlo Cavendish	UK tour
1951	Othello	Cassio	Theatre Royal, Newcastle
			UK tour
			The Other Palace, London

External links

• John Van Eyssen at IMDb
• John Van Eyssen at Theatricalia