British Actors Archives - Page 29 of 137

Richard Wattis

IMDB entry:

A balding, bespectacled, bird-like British comic actor, Richard Wattis was an invaluable asset to any UK comedy film or TV programme for nearly thirty years. Much associated with the Eric Sykes TV series for the latter part of his career. He was often seen in officious roles, such as snooty shop managers, secretaries and policemen. He was working right up to his sudden death from a heart attack in 1975.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Article on Richard Wattis in “Tina Aumont’s Eyes” website:

In the 1950’s and 60’s, it seemed to me that just about every British movie had either Cyril Chamberlain, Victor Maddern or Richard Wattis in it. A prolific and instantly recognisable character actor, with his balding hairline and often bespectacled appearance, Richard Wattis specialised in snobbish authority figures, and comfortably mixed small comedy fare with large-scale blockbusters, often working with some of the biggest directors of the time. If it was a stuffy civil servant you required, you needn’t look any further!

Born in Staffordshire, England on February 25th 1912, Wattis began onscreen with uncredited parts in numerous pictures including ‘A Yank at Oxford’ (’38) and ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’ (’49), before landing a supporting role in the excellent Alastair Sim-Margaret Rutherford school comedy ‘The Happiest Days of Your Life’ (’50). Richard was great fun as a scathing English professor and followed this with another good role, that of Seton the butler in Noel Coward’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ (’52), again with Margaret Rutherford. Following parts in notable pictures such as David Lean’s ‘Hobson’s Choice’ (’54) and P.O.W favourite ‘The Colditz Story’ (’55), this busy period for Richard also saw him work with Alfred Hitchcock on ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’, and play a Scotland Yard inspector in the Oscar-winning ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ (both ’56).

One of Richard’s most fondly remembered roles was as Northbrook, Laurence Olivier’s trusted diplomat, in the enjoyable comedy-drama ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’ (’57). It was a great part and gave Wattis one of his biggest and best opportunities. Other notable appearances that year were his researcher aiding Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker, in Hammer’s mediocre adventure ‘The Abominable Snowman’, and his droll civil servant Manton Basset, in the comedy sequel ‘Blue Murder at St Trinian’s’. A small role came next in Mark Robson’s ‘The Inn of the Sixth Happiness’ (’58), a missionary epic with Ingrid Bergman which had North Wales successfully standing in for China. After a few comedies including ‘Dentist on the Job’ and ‘Very Important Person’ (both ’61), Richard could be spotted as a paratrooper in the star-studded ‘The Longest Day’ (’62). After brief bits in ‘The V.I.P’s’ (’63) and the excellent mystery ‘Bunny Lake is Missing’ (’65), more big-budget fare included ‘Casino Royale’ (’67), and ‘Monte Carlo or Bust!’ (’69).

The Seventies began with a large role in Roddy McDowall’s under-rated revenge piece ‘Tam-Lin’ (’70), wonderfully playing against type as a secretary to Ava Gardner’s wealthy widow. Back in comedy land, Wattis was chased around by Joanna Lumley and Penny Brahms in the tired sex farce ‘Games That Lovers Play’ (’70). For television Richard had a recurring role in the popular sitcom ‘Sykes’ (’72-’74) playing Charles Fulbright-Brown, the pompous neighbour to Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques’ unmarried twins. Back on the big screen Richard’s final movie was the hugely successful sex comedy ‘Confessions of a Window Cleaner’ (’74), as frisky Katya Wyeth’s father.

Sadly, on February 1st 1975, while eating in a London restaurant, Richard suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 62 years old. From Alfred Hitchcock to David Lean, from Vivien Leigh to Marilyn Monroe, Richard Wattis was a reliable character actor who, no matter what the production, whether it be a grand studio picture or a 1970’s sex farce, was always good value for money, and a consummate professional to the very end.

Favourite Movie: Bunny Lake is Missing
Favourite Performance: The Prince and the Showgirl

The above article can also be accessed online here.

Samantha Power was born in 1973 in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland. She is an actress, known for The Low Down (2000), A Prince Among Men (1997) and Mischief Night(2006).

IMDB entry:

Sir John Standing is one of England’s most respected stage, film and television actors. From a distinguished acting dynasty which includes his great-grandfather Herbert Standing(1846-1923) and his grandfather Sir Guy Standing (1873-1937) and his mother, the actress Kay Hammond. He succeeded his father Sir Ronald Leon, as the 4th baronet in 1964. Sir John has worked productively on both the London and New York stages over the decades with leading parts in “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Ring Around the Moon,” “A Sense of Detachment” by John Osborne, and, most notably, in Noel Coward‘s “Private Lives,” with Maggie Smith. Lesser known for his film work, he has nevertheless supported and enhanced such cinematic offerings as Young and Willing (1962), his debut film, King Rat(1965), The Psychopath (1966), Walk Don’t Run (1966), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Elephant Man (1980), Nightflyers (1987), Mrs Dalloway (1997), and A Good Woman (2004). His prestigious television roles have included the classic mini-series The First Churchills(1969), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), and The Choir (1995), and King Solomon’s Mines(2004). In the U.S., he has graced numerous weekly programmes including L.A. Law(1986), Civil Wars (1991), and Murder, She Wrote (1984) and co-starred briefly with Robert Wagner and the late Samantha Smith in the action series Lime Street (1985), which ended abruptly with the young girl’s death in a plane crash. The 13-year-old Smith became an instant celebrity after writing a touching and concerned letter to the then Soviet PresidentYuri Andropov about the relations between the two dominant powers and being invited to Russia. His second wife is the actress Sarah Forbes, who is the daughter of the directorBryan Forbes and actress Nanette Newman.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

“Wikipedia” entry:

Mantovani was born in Venice, Italy, into a musical family. His father, Bismarck, served as the concertmaster of La Scala opera house’s orchestra in Milan, under the baton ofArturo Toscanini. The family moved to England in 1912, where young Annunzio studied at Trinity College of Music in London. After graduation, he formed his own orchestra, which played in and around Birmingham. He married Winifred Moss in 1934, and they had two children: Kenneth (born 12 July 1935) and Paula Irene (born 11 April 1939). By the timeWorld War II broke out, his orchestra was one of the most popular British dance bands, both on BBC radio broadcasts and in live performances.

He was also musical director for a large number of musicals and other plays, including Noel Coward‘s Pacific 1860 (1946) and Vivian Ellis‘s musical setting of J. B. Fagan‘s And So to Bed (1951).^[4] After the war, he concentrated on recording, and eventually gave up live performance altogether. He worked with arranger and composer Ronnie Binge, who developed the “cascading strings” effect (also known as the “Mantovani sound”) His records were regularly used for demonstration purposes in stores selling hi-fi stereoequipment, as they were produced and arranged for stereo reproduction. He became the first person to sell a million stereophonic records. In 1952, Binge ceased to arrange for Mantovani but the distinctive sound of the orchestra remained.

Mantovani recorded for Decca until the mid-1950s, and then for London Records. He recorded in excess of 50 albums on that label, many of which were Top 40 hits. His single tracks included “The Song from The Moulin Rouge”, which reached Number One in the UK Singles Chart in 1953;^[2] “Cara Mia” (with him and his orchestra backing David Whitfield) in 1954; “Around the World” in 1957; and “Main Theme from Exodus (Ari’s Theme)” in 1960. In the United States, between 1955 and 1972, he released more than 40 albums with 27 reaching the “Top 40”, and 11 in the “Top Ten”. His biggest success came with the album Film Encores, which attained Number One in 1957.

Similarly, Mantovani Plays Music From ‘Exodus’ and Other Great Themes made it to the Top Ten in 1961, with over one million albums sold.

In 1958, Mantovani and his family bought a holiday home in Bournemouth in Durley Chine Road, and then in 1961 acquired a new property in Burton Road (now part of Poole). He moved, finally, to a new home in Martello Road in Poole.

Mantovani starred in his own syndicated television series, Mantovani, which was produced in England and which aired in the United States in 1959. Thirty-nine episodes were filmed.^[7] Mantovani made his last recordings in the mid-1970s.

He died at a care home in Royal Tunbridge Wells Kent.^[1] Cremated on 8 April 1980, his ashes are interred at the Kent and Sussex Crematorium and Cemetery.

The above “Wikipedia” entry can also be accessed online here.

TCM overview:

This tall, attractive blond Englishman has often been cast in aristocratic roles, many of which aired on public television in the USA. Anthony Andrews delivered what should have been a star-making turn as the charmingly charismatic but alcoholic Sebastian Flyte in the Granada TV miniseries “Brideshead Revisited” (1980-81; aired in the USA on PBS in 1982). Yet, unlike his “Brideshead” co-star Jeremy Irons, he was unable (or unwilling) to capitalize on his small screen success.

The son of a bandleader and a dancer, Andrews decided early in his life he wanted to be an actor. Dropping out of school in his late teens, he worked at a series of odd jobs (including a brief stint as a journalist) before he found employment as an assistant stage manager and understudy. Andrews soon found work onstage and later in BBC TV productions like Dennis Potter’s “A Beast With Two Backs” (1968), a regular role on “Dixon of the Dock Green” (BBC, 1972) and as a British soldier who romances an Irish lass in Belfast in the acclaimed Emmy-winner “A War of Children” (CBS, 1972). He appeared as titled aristocrats in the miniseries “The Pallisers” (BBC, 1974) and in an episode of “Upstairs/Downstairs”. Andrews was cast as Anthony Hopkins’ son in “QB VII” (ABC, 1974) and gained a loyal following as the dashing young officer affiliated with a team that disarmed German bombs in WWII-era London in “Danger UXB” (Thames TV, 1979). After earning an Emmy nomination as Sebastian Flyte, he went on to headline a number of period TV-movies. Andrews followed in the footsteps of legendary actors like Leslie Howard as “The Scarlet Pimpernel” (CBS, 1982), Robert Taylor as “Ivanhoe” (CBS, 1982), Peter Ustinov as the Emperor Nero in the NBC miniseries “A.D.” (1985), Cary Grant in the small screen remake of “Suspicion” (PBS, 1988) and both Fredric March and Spencer Tracy in “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (Showtime, 1989). He also garnered attention for his portrayal of King Edward VIII who abdicated the British throne for “The Woman He Loved” (CBS, 1988) and for a rare villainous turn as Prof. Moriarty to Edward Woodward’s Sherlock Holmes in “Hands of a Murderer” (CBS, 1990).

Andrews has been less successful on the big screen. He debut in the little seen “Take Me High/Hot Property” (1973) and appeared in such forgettable fare as “Les Adolescents” (1975). John Huston tapped him to play Albert Finney’s brother in “Under the Volcano” (1984) but the film was a box office disappointment. Andrews was then cast in several military roles in films that reached a limited audience, with the Australian-produced “The Lighthorsemen” (1987) perhaps the best. He earned critical praise for his emotional turn as an arrogant British archeologist wrongly imprisoned by the Soviet Union for spying in “Lost in Siberia” (1991). In 1996, he co-produced and co-starred as a malevolent artist with incestuous feelings for his sister in the stylized ghost story “Haunted”.

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

IMDB entry:

Gertrude Lawrence, original name Gertrud Alexandra Dagma Lawrence Klasen, (born July 4, 1898, London, Eng.—died Sept. 6, 1952, New York, N.Y., U.S.), English actress noted for her performances in Noël Coward’s sophisticated comedies and in musicals.

Lawrence was the daughter of music hall performers, and from an early age she was trained to follow their career. She made her stage debut in December 1908 in a pantomime Dick Whittington in Brixton. Subsequently she appeared in Babes in the Wood (1910) and other musicals and plays, and for a time she toured in minor revues. In 1916 she began appearing in André Charlot’s intimate revues in London, and two years later she stepped into the lead when Beatrice Lillie fell ill. She appeared with Coward, whom she had known for 10 years, in his London Calling (1923) and in January 1924 made her New York debut as one of the stars of Charlot’s Revue, with Lillie and Jack Buchanan. In 1926 she starred in George and Ira Gershwin’s Oh Kay!, which moved to London the next year, and in 1928 in their Treasure Girl. In the latter year she played her first straight dramatic role in Icebound in London. Lawrence’s greatest role was in Coward’s Private Lives, written with her in mind, in which she opened opposite the author at the Phoenix Theatre, London, in September 1930. Both the play and the stars set the tone that would characterize comedies of manners for a decade or more: sophistication, brittle wit, and chic. Perhaps Lawrence’s greatest triumph was as Liza Elliot in the Moss Hart–Kurt Weill musical Lady in the Dark (1941). Throughout her career, her singing and dancing, both accomplished but not exceptional, merely supported her compelling stage presence, what Coward called her “star quality.” On the strength of it she remained for a quarter-century one of the most popular stars on the American and British stages. She spent the years following her 1940 marriage to Richard Aldrich, an American producer, in the United States. In 1945 she published an autobiography, A Star Danced. In March 1951 she opened on Broadway in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I, during the run of which she died

She discovered she had cancer during the early part of the stage run, and died the year after the show opened. One of her last requests was that Yul Brynner, her leading man in the show, be upgraded in the posters and playbills from below to above-the title billing, sharing star billing with whomever would play Anna in other performances.Frequently appeared on stage opposite childhood friend, Sir Noel Coward.

Entertained allied troops in Europe as part of ENSA during World War II.

Is buried in the pink satin hooped ball gown that she sang “Shall We Dance?” in from the Broadway production of “The King and I”.

Child from first marriage: daughter Pamela

Won Broadway’s 1952 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for “The King and I.”

Biography in: “American National Biography”. Supplement 1, pp. 347-348. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

The character of Lorraine Sheldon in the Moss Hart / George S. Kaufman play “The Man Who Came to Dinner” (later filmed as The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), was based on Lawrence.

Portrayed by Julie Andrews in the 1968 biopic, Star! (1968).

Was considered for the role of Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950) after Claudette Colbert was forced to pull out of the project due to back injury. However the part was given to Bette Davis, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.

Of Danish-Irish ancestry, she started as a child dancer in the pantomime ‘Dick Whittington’ at the age of ten. Her first major success was in Andre Charlot’s Revue at the Times Square Theatre (1924-1925), co-starring Beatrice Lillie and Jack Buchanan

Harry Bailey is an actor, known for The Great Radio Comedians (1972), Comedy Bandbox(1962) and The Good Old Days (1953).

IMDB entry:

Valerie White was born on December 26, 1915 in Simonstown, Cape Colony, South Africa as Valerie Mary White. She was an actress, known for Travels with My Aunt (1972), The Web (1946) and If This Be Error (1952). She was married to Albert Lieven. She died on December 3, 1975 in London, England.Was orignally cast as the Doxy in The Wicked Lady (1945) but fell ill during shooting with appendicitis and the role was given to Jean Kent.

Fair-haired South African-born actress, on the London stage from 1942. Also in occasional films.

One Sheet; Movie Poster; Film Poster; Cinema Poster;

Raymond Huntley was born in 1904. He is best remembered for his role as ‘Sir Jeffrey Dillon’ the family solicitor in the 1970’s British TV series “Upstairs Downstairs”. Raymond Huntley died in 1990.

IMDB entry:

Birmingham-born Raymond Huntley was one of those instantly recognisable, mannered types that popped up in classic British films of the 1940’s and 50’s. Tall and austere, he had a somewhat mean, sour-faced look, accentuated whenever staring with icy disdain from behind horn-rimmed spectacles. This, and his trademark dry delivery, made Huntley such perfect casting for an extensive array of ever-so-superior, humourless civil servants, mean-spirited bank managers, dullish clubroom snobs, smug business types, dour undertakers or sinister cold war spooks. Earlier in his career, Huntley essayed rather more overtly menacing characters, effectively typecast during the war years as Nazi officers (‘Pimpernel’ Smith (1941)) or German spies (Mail Train (1941)). It is hard to pick out two outstanding performances above all others, but he was arguably at his best as the local bank manager Wix in Passport to Pimlico (1949), emphatic in his greed to reap whatever benefits from the Burgundian declaration of independence; as the irascible boffin Laxton-Jones in Secret Flight (1946); and as Henry Chester, made resentful by his illness, in the Sanatorium segment of Trio (1950). Towards the end of his career, Huntley achieved his greatest popularity when he was cast as the grumpy family solicitor, Sir Geoffrey Dillon, in TV’s Upstairs, Downstairs (1971).

Educated at King Edward’s School, Raymond Huntley made his theatrical debut with the Birmingham Repertory Company in 1922. By the age of twenty-one, he played a septuagenarian farm labourer and was consequently hired as a comedian by a North Country revue for a starting salary of ten pounds a week. Huntley was reputedly the first actor to play Dracula on stage (in Hamilton Deane‘s hit 1927 London adaptation of the original novel), though it is fair to point out that an earlier reading of the play took place on May 18th, 1897, at the Lyceum Theatre, arranged by none other than the author Bram Stoker himself. In any event, Huntley’s superb handling of the character established the direction his future career would take.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: I.S.Mowis

The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.