Harold Bennett

2023-01-07T07:05:32Z

49.179.88.22: Not notable in other occupations

{{short description|English actor}}{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Harold Bennett
| image = File:Harold Bennett WWI.jpg
| caption = Bennett during his military service in
[[World War I]]
| birth_name = Harold Frank Bennett
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1898|11|17}}
| birth_place = [[Hastings]], [[Sussex]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1981|9|11|1898|11|17}}
| death_place = [[London]], England
| years_active = 1910–1980 - stage from 1950, screen 1964-1980
| occupation = Actor
| other_names =
| spouse =
| children = 3, including John Bennett (writer)
}}

'''Harold Frank Bennett''' (17 November 1898<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=8IYqGM6qsAU2psQG%2BskydQ&scan=1|title=Index entry|access-date=13 June 2018|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> – 11 September 1981) was an English actor, active in stage, television and film best remembered for being in [[British sitcom|sitcoms]] written and produced by [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]], having played [[List of Are You Being Served? characters#The Grace Brothers (Harold Bennett and Kenneth Waller) (series 1–8, series 8)|'Young Mr. Grace']] in the 1970s [[British sitcom]] ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'', as well as minor character [[List of Dad's Army characters#Other platoon members#Sidney Blewitt|Sidney Bluett]] in ''[[Dad's Army]].''

==Biography==
Bennett was born in [[Hastings]],<ref>Webber, Richard (1998). ''Are You Being Served: 25 Years''. London: Orion. p. 73; {{ISBN|0-75281-7957}}.</ref> Sussex. After leaving school at the age of twelve, in his early life he toured America as a clown with a circus, and later taught English at the [[Working Men's College]] in London. During [[World War I]] he served as a courier, initially on horseback, then on motorcycle. After the war he took up acting and eventually worked as stage producer in the [[Tower Theatre Company|Tower Theatre]], London. He subsequently pursued a career as a draughtsman for an electric company, only taking up his acting career again following retirement.

Harold Bennett died of a heart attack on 11 September 1981, aged 82. His wife predeceased him in the 1930s;<ref>Webber, Richard (1998). ''Are You Being Served: 25 Years''. London: Orion. p. 74; {{ISBN|0-75281-7957}}.</ref> he was survived by their three children. One of his children, John, was also an actor.

==Acting career==
He played the recurring character Mr (Sidney) Bluett in ''[[Dad's Army]]'' from 1969 to 1977, but it was as Young Mr Grace, the ancient, amiably callous owner of Grace Brothers department store in British sitcom ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'' that he achieved his greatest fame. His last appearance in ''Are You Being Served?'' aired some three months after his death, having been recorded earlier in the year.

Bennett also played the role of the aged Archdeacon Pulteney in ''[[The Stalls of Barchester]]'', the [[BBC]] ''[[A Ghost Story for Christmas]]'' broadcast 24 December 1971 and adapted from the [[M.R. James]] story of the same name. Bennett also appeared in ''[[Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton]]'' (1965), and in several films, including as a photographer in ''[[Games That Lovers Play (film)|Games That Lovers Play]]'' (1971) and as the aged odd-job man Gasper in ''[[The Ups and Downs of a Handyman]]'' (1975).

On the stage, he appeared in a [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] production of ''[[London Assurance]]'', and in an [[Open University]] production of [[Anton Chekhov|Chekhov]]'s ''[[Three Sisters (play)|The Three Sisters]]''.

==Filmography==
===Film===
* ''[[The Sky Bike]]'' (1967) – Old Man
* ''[[Games That Lovers Play (film)|Games That Lovers Play]]'' (1971) – Old photographer
* ''[[Au Pair Girls]]'' (1972) – Lord Tryke
* ''[[The Ups and Downs of a Handyman]]'' (1976) – Gasper
* ''[[Are You Being Served? (film)|Are You Being Served?]]'' (1977) – Young Mr. Grace

===Television===
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1965 || ''[[The Nigel Barton Plays|Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton]]'' || Old man || TV play by [[Dennis Potter]]
|-
| 1971 || ''[[Whack-O!]]'' || Mr Dinwiddie ||
|-
| 1971 || ''[[The Stalls of Barchester]]'' || Archdeacon Pulteney ||
|-
| 1973 & 1976 || ''[[Thriller (UK TV series)|Thriller]]'' || Old man/Blind man || Episodes: 'A Place To Die' and 'The Next Victim'
|-
| 1976–1977 || ''[[The Clayhanger Family#TV version|Clayhanger]]'' || Mr Shushions ||
|-
| 1969–1977 || ''[[Dad's Army]]'' || [[List of Dad's Army characters#Other recurring characters|Sidney Bluett]] || 13 episodes
|-
| 1977 || ''[[Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries)|Jesus of Nazareth]]'' || Elder (uncredited) || TV mini-series
|-
|1972–1981 || ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'' || [[List of Are You Being Served? characters#The Grace Brothers (Harold Bennett and Kenneth Waller) (series 1–8, series 8)|"Young" Mr Grace]] || 50 episodes (Final appearance)
|-
|1980 || ''[[Oh Happy Band!]]'' || Reverend ||
|}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0071789|name=Harold Bennett}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Harold}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:People from Hastings]]
[[Category:Male actors from Sussex]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:British Army soldiers]]

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Harold Bennett