Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

'John Van Eyssen' (1922-1995) was a South African born actor, agent and executive. He moved to England following World War II. Van Eyssen appeared in films from 1950 as well as on stage and perhaps achieved most of his fame as an actor when he portrayed Jonathan Harker in the Hammer Film Productions production Dracula (Horror of Dracula in the US) in 1958. He left acting in 1961 to become a literary agent. 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 the managing director responsible for Romeo and Juliet (1968), To Sir With Love (1967), Born Free (1966), Georgy Girl (1966), Oliver! (1968), and A Man For All Seasons (1966). He later moved to New York City and became an independent producer. Van Eyssen returned to England in 1991 and helped establish Britain's premiere showcase for talented young filmmakers, the Chelsea Film Festival. He was longtime companion to Ingrid Bergman in the years before her death in 1982.