Born in
Shanghai in 1932, Judd and his English father and Russian mother fled when the Japanese attacked
China five years later. His career was at its peak in the 1960s, with a series of leading roles in British
science fiction films, including
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961 – a
disaster film in which he played an alcoholic reporter during a time when two large nuclear explosions altered the Earth's axis, propelling the Earth towards the Sun),
First Men in the Moon (1964), and
Island of Terror (1966). As well as starring in these films, he worked as a
soap opera actor and performed other character parts on television. His roles in these science fiction films were highly praised by audiences and critics alike. Judd was also known for the 1975 "Think Once, Think Twice, Think Bike" campaign to make motorists aware of the risks faced on the road by motorcyclists. Judd's success in
The Day the Earth Caught Fire saw Columbia Pictures sign him to a long-term contract. However, according to
Val Guest, "he was such a pain in the ass to everybody. He had an enormous opinion of himself and he was his own worst enemy. Columbia just loaned him out here and there and then let him go." Judd appeared regularly on TV. In particular, he played the tyrannical uncle, William Russell, in the 1979 TV mini-series
Flambards. He also appeared in
Thriller (1975),
The Sweeney,
Crown Court (TV series), and
The Onedin Line in supporting roles. Very little is known of his life after the 1970s. He was heard in an episode of the
BBC Radio comedy
Drop Me Here, Darling, starring
Leslie Phillips, in 1983, as well as playing Barrymore in a televised version of
The Hound of the Baskervilles the same year, and the BBC Radio play
Philadelphia Moonshine in 1985. He appeared in the 1988 TV film
Jack the Ripper as
Thomas Arnold. In the early 1970s, Judd lived in Cottenham Park Road,
Wimbledon. During the 1970s and 1980s, Judd (known as Eddie to some friends, as evidenced in
Michael Caine's 2011 autobiography) was a highly respected
voice-over artist, used on many commercials recorded in the recording studios in London's Soho. In the early 1990s, Judd lived in the Phoenix Hotel in Wimbledon and was a credit officer for a Canadian investment bank. He lived at a retirement home in
Mitcham in his last years. ==Personal life==