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James Robertson Justice was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. His only three Disney roles were Little John in The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, King Henry VIII in The Sword and the Rose, and Duke Campbell of Argyll in Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue; all of which were directed by Ken Annakin. He was originally cast as Mr. Dawes Jr. in Mary Poppins before Arthur Malet was chosen.

Justice was born in England and was educated at Marlborough College in Wiltshire as well as the University College London, but left after a year and became a geology student at the University of Bonn, where he again left after just a year. He became a journalist with Reuters in London, alongside Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond. After a year, he emigrated to Canada, where he worked as an insurance salesman, taught English at a boys' school, became a lumberjack and mined for gold. He came back to Britain penniless, working his passage on a Dutch freighter washing dishes in the ship's galley to pay his fare.

On his return to Britain, Justice continued to work various jobs before finding work as an actor in 1944. He appeared in Doctor in the House as Sir Lancelot Spratt, a role he would repeat for five more films. His other film credits included The Battle of the Birds, The Black Bull of Norroway, For Those In Peril, Vice Versa, Christopher Columbus, The Black Rose, David and Bathsheba, Anne of the Indies, Les Misérables (1952), The Voice of Merrill, The Guns of Navarone, Captain Horatio Hornblower, Moby Dick, A French Mistress, Very Important Person, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as hosting and narrating the shows Jackanory and This is Scotland.

in 1968, Justice suffered a severe stroke, which signaled the beginning of the end for his career. He suffered a further series of strokes, which left him unable to work and was declared bankrupt in 1970. He died penniless in 1975, and his ashes were buried in a moor near his former residence in the Highland village of Spinningdale.

Disney Roles[]

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