John Sweet (February 8, 1916 – July 5, 2011) was a US Army sergeant serving in the UK in World War II when he was selected by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger to play the role of Sgt. Bob Johnson, one of the three pilgrims in the 1944 feature film A Canterbury Tale .
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As the oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States of America was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775.
The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
Sweet was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After the movie, he went back to the United States and made a few attempts at an acting career, notably in theater, but finally decided to go back to his original profession, teaching.
Sweet returned to Canterbury in October 2000 [1] to join Sheila Sim for a Michael Powell celebration and gave a 20-minute interview in the documentary A Pilgrim's Return by Nick Burton and Eddie McMillan. This documentary is featured in the Criterion Collection DVD of the film. The soft-spoken Sweet provides details about the shooting of the movie, his relationship with Michael Powell and the rest of the crew, and the effect the film has had on his life. Sweet stated that "The few months I spent making the film were the most profound and influential of my life".
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
Sheila Beryl Grant Attenborough, Lady Attenborough, known professionally by her maiden name Sheila Sim, was an English film and theatre actress. She was the wife of the actor, director and peer Lord Attenborough.
The Criterion Collection, Inc. is an American home video distribution company which focuses on licensing "important classic and contemporary films" and selling them to film aficionados. Criterion is noted for helping to standardize a number of new ideas, such as the letterbox format for widescreen films, adding bonus features, commentary tracks, doing film restoration, and releasing special editions for home video.
Sweet was paid $2,000 for working on A Canterbury Tale, all of which he donated to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a remarkable gesture for the time. [2]
Sweet died at home in Fearrington Village, North Carolina, on July 5, 2011, aged 95. [3]
Fearrington Village is a residential development and census-designated place (CDP) in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,339 at the 2010 census, up from 903 at the 2000 census. Its name is pronounced FAIR-ington, not FEAR-ington as the spelling might indicate. The CDP occupies what was formerly the area of the unincorporated community of Farrington. It is a mixed-use community located on farmland dating back to the 18th century in Pittsboro, North Carolina. The community is located about 15 minutes from Chapel Hill, a half-hour from Durham and 45 minutes from Raleigh.
