John Garrick, a Brighton College-educated actor and singer, abandoned his initial career path as a bank clerk to pursue a life on the stage. In 1924, he took his first steps in the world of variety, later touring Britain and Australia under the pseudonym 'Reginald Dandy' in musical comedies and operettas.
The allure of motion pictures soon drew him to the United States in 1929, where he performed in a play that received widespread criticism, "The Wishing Well". Despite this, he was offered a contract with Fox Movietone, and his early screen roles included a prominent part as a British war hero who kills a Zeppelin in the aerial melodrama, The Sky Hawk (1929).
Garrick then starred as J-21 in Fox's bizarre futuristic musical, Just Imagine (1930),in which he also sang a couple of songs. As his career progressed, his roles became increasingly focused on perfunctory British aristocrats and debonair 'other men'. However, he struggled to rise above the level of modestly-budgeted B-movies, and eventually returned to England.
Upon his return, Garrick enjoyed a higher profile in marginally more ambitious projects, such as Chu Chin Chow (1934),I Live Again (1936),and The Last Rose of Summer (1937). His last notable film appearance was in The Great Victor Herbert (1939). By the following year, Garrick had retired from acting, bringing an end to his illustrious career.
