View source for Brian Glover

{{Short description|British character actor, writer and professional wrestler}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Brian Glover
| image              = Brian Glover.jpg
| caption            = Glover
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1934|4|2|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[w:Sheffield|Sheffield]], [[w:West Riding of Yorkshire|West Riding of Yorkshire]], England
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1997|07|24|1934|04|02|df=y}}
| death_place        = London, England
| occupation         = Wrestler, teacher, actor, writer
| alma_mater         = [[w:Sheffield University|Sheffield University]]
| yearsactive        = 1969–1997
| spouse             = {{marriage|Elaine Foster|1954|end=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Tara Prem|1976}}
| children           = 2
}}

'''Brian Glover''' (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and [[w:professional wrestler|professional wrestler]] before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His film appearances include ''[[w:Kes (film)|Kes]]'' (1969), ''[[w:An American Werewolf in London|An American Werewolf in London]]'' (1981) and ''[[w:Alien 3|Alien 3]]'' (1992).

Described by ''[[w:The New York Times|The New York Times]]'' as a "robust [[w:character actor|character actor]]" who played "gruff but likable roles",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/25/arts/brian-glover-63-british-actor-played-gruff-but-likable-roles.html |title=Brian Glover, 63, British Actor; Played Gruff but Likable Roles |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 July 1997 |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> he had a "string of roles playing tough guys and criminals".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1PvG7Tfd8hCwgfh8s94qcPD/biggest-bottoms-whos-made-an-ass-of-themselves |title=Biggest Bottoms: who's made an ass of themselves? |publisher=[[w:BBC Online|]] |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> He once said, "You play to your strengths in this game, and my strength is as a bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshireman".<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Brian Glover |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-brian-glover-5557490.html |access-date=30 August 2015 |date=25 July 1997 |last=Vallance |first=Tom |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> Glover was also known as the voice of the [[w:Tetley|Tetley]] tea commercials.<ref name="independent">{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/brian-glover-dies-in-his-sleep-after-fight-against-tumour-1252335.html |title=Brian Glover dies in his sleep after fight against tumour |work=The Independent |date=25 July 1997 |access-date=16 July 2017}}</ref> ''[[w:The Independent|The Independent]]'' described him upon his death as "one of Britain's best-loved actors".<ref name="independent"/>

==Early life and wrestling career==
Glover was born in [[Sheffield]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], and grew up in [[Barnsley]]. His father, Charles Glover, was a wrestler, performing as "the Red Devil". He attended [[Holgate School (Barnsley)|Barnsley Grammar School]] and the [[University of Sheffield]],<ref name="odnb" /> where he supplemented his student grant with appearances as a professional wrestler, going under the ring name "Leon Arras the Man From Paris". He adopted that name from a wrestler who didn't turn up to a match one night, for whom Glover stood in. His wrestling style incorporated a lot of comedy, including the catchphrases "ask 'im, ref" and "'ow about that then".<ref>{{cite web |title=British Wrestlers Reunion |url=http://www.britishwrestlersreunion.com/WEBPROTECT-briangloverleonarras.htm |website=British Wrestlers Reunion |access-date=30 January 2018}}</ref><ref>Garfield, Simon. ''[https://www.simongarfield.com/books/the-wrestling/ The Wrestling]'' (1996)</ref>

In 1954 he married his first wife Elaine, and became a teacher at the same Barnsley school where he had been a pupil. He taught English and French from 1954 until 1970, some of it at Longcar Central School, Barnsley, where he met [[Barry Hines]] who was also teaching there. He managed to combine this with regular performances as "Leon Arras", whose appearances included bouts on ''[[World of Sport (UK TV series)|World of Sport]]'', and in [[Paris]], [[Milan]], [[Zurich]] and [[Barcelona]].<ref name="odnb">{{cite book |last=Dewhurst |first=Keith |title=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |year=2004 |chapter=Brian Glover (1934–1997)}}</ref>

==Acting career==
Glover's first acting job came playing Mr Sugden, the comically overbearing sports teacher in [[Ken Loach]]'s film ''[[Kes (film)|Kes]]'' (a job offered to him when Barry Hines, who wrote the film, suggested him to the director).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Golding |first1=Simon W. |title=Life After Kes |date=2014 |publisher=Andrews UK Limited |isbn=9781910295311 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nLzABQAAQBAJ&pg=PT129}}</ref> Although untrained, Glover proved to be a skilled and flexible character actor,<ref>{{cite web |title=A typical reaction was a snigger... I was making a film about the wrong kind of bird |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/100filmmoments/story/0,4135,77579,00.html |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 August 1999}}</ref> using techniques learnt during his wrestling career.<ref name="odnb" /> His large bald head, stocky build, and distinctive voice, with his [[Yorkshire accent]], garnered him many roles as tough guys and criminals. He played Bottom in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (BBC TV, 1981) and had a recurring role in the classic sitcom ''[[Porridge (1974 TV series)|Porridge]]'' as dim-witted prison inmate Cyril Heslop<ref name=Porridge>{{cite book |year=2001 |author1=Richard Webster |author2=Dick Clement |author2-link=Dick Clement |author3=Ian La Frenais |author3-link=Ian La Frenais |isbn=0-7472-3294-6 |title=Porridge The Inside Story |publisher=Headline Book Publishing}}</ref> who, when accused of being [[illiterate]], utters the memorable line "I read a book once! Green, it was." He played Quilp in ''[[The Old Curiosity Shop]]'', and lent his voice to a number of animated characters, including the "gaffer" of the "[[Tetley Tea Folk]]" in a long-running series of television advertisements for [[Tetley]] tea, the voice behind the advertising slogan "Bread wi' nowt taken out" for [[Allinson]] bread, and the voice of "Big Pig", the mascot for the long-running ''[[Now That's What I Call Music!]]'' album series, appearing on the TV adverts for ''[[Now That's What I Call Music 3 (UK series)|Now 3]]'', ''[[Now That's What I Call Music 4 (UK series)|Now 4]]'' and ''[[Now That's What I Call Music 5 (UK series)|Now 5]]''. He also appeared in ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'', ''[[The First Great Train Robbery]]'', ''[[Jabberwocky (film)|Jabberwocky]]'', ''[[Alien 3]]'', ''[[Leon the Pig Farmer]]'' and as General Douglas in a Bollywood hit ''[[1942: A Love Story]]''. He appeared seven times in ''[[Play for Today]]'', in three of them as part of a recurring trio of Yorkshiremen: ''The Fishing Party'', ''Shakespeare or Bust'' and ''Three for the Fancy''.

Glover's performance in ''Kes'' led to parts at the [[Royal Court Theatre]], London, notably in [[Lindsay Anderson]]'s ''[[The Changing Room]]'' (1971). A season with Britain's [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] followed, where  his roles included Charles the wrestler (and, drawing on his wrestling experience, the [[Stage combat|fight arranger]]) in ''[[As You Like It]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Buzz Goodbody's production As You Like It |url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/as-you-like-it/past-productions/in-focus-buzz-goodbody-1973 |website=www.rsc.org.uk |publisher=[[Royal Shakespeare Company]]}}</ref> and a robust Peter in ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''. For the [[Royal National Theatre]] he appeared in ''[[The Mysteries (play)|The Mysteries]]'' (as God, creating the world with the help of a real fork-lift truck),<ref>{{cite book |last=Normington |first=Katie |title=Modern mysteries: contemporary productions of medieval English cycle dramas |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]] |location=Melton, Suffolk, England |date=October 2007 |page=86 |isbn=978-1-84384-128-9}}</ref> ''[[Saint Joan (play)|Saint Joan]]'' and ''[[Don Quixote]]''.

In the film ''[[Brannigan (film)|Brannigan]]'' he claimed to have lost the only fight in his acting career, fighting [[John Wayne]].

His performance in ''The Mysteries'' secured additional work in the commercial theatre. ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'' ("Chaucer wi' nowt taken owt"<ref>{{cite news |title=Brian Glover as The Miller |work=[[The Times]] |date=5 July 1994}}</ref>)([[West End theatre|West End]]) was followed by a return to television and the ''[[Play for Today]]'' series, both as writer and performer and, in turn, more screen roles.<ref name="odnb" /> Glover wrote a horror themed episode of ''Theatre Box'' called ''Death Angel'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glover |first1=Brian |title=Death Angel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcFzQgAACAAJ |publisher=Thames Methuen |access-date=30 January 2018 |date=1981|isbn=9780423003000 }}</ref> which aired in 1981.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Peter |title=Death Angel |website=[[IMDb]] |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4193832/ |access-date=30 January 2018 |date=16 November 1981}}</ref> He went on to play [[Magersfontein Lugg|Lugg]], the endearing rogue manservant to [[Albert Campion]] in the series ''[[Campion (1989 TV series)|Campion]]'', and the role of a crook, Griffiths, in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'' in 1985. He played Edouard Dindon in the original London cast of ''[[La Cage aux Folles (musical)|La Cage aux Folles]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://broadwayworld.com/shows/cast.php?showid=3778&cast_type=original |title=La Cage aux Folles Original West End Cast – 1986 West End |website=broadwayworld.com |access-date=16 July 2017}}</ref> In 1991 he starred in the second episode of ''[[Bottom (TV series)|Bottom]]'', in the episode "[[Gas (Bottom)|Gas]]", as the perpetually angry neighbour Mr Rottweiler. At the end of his life he acted in [[John Godber]]'s [[rugby league]] comedy ''[[Up 'n' Under (film)|Up 'n' Under]]'' (1998). He was also the voice for the UNO Upholstery TV adverts in 1995 and 1996.

Glover also wrote over 20 plays and short films. In 1982 he was a guest presenter in series six of ''[[Friday Night Saturday Morning]]'', a late-night BBC chat show.<ref>{{cite web |title=Friday Night, Saturday Morning: S6 |url=http://www.aveleyman.com/TVEpisode.aspx?FilmID=2902&Episode=19820226 |website=www.aveleyman.com |access-date=30 January 2018}}</ref>

[[File:BrianGloverBrompton.jpg|thumb|200px|Gravestone]]

==Personal life==
Glover was married twice, secondly to television producer Tara Prem, the daughter of TV actor Bakhshi Prem. He had two children, one daughter from his first marriage and one son from his second marriage. In September 1996, Glover developed a [[brain tumour]] and underwent an operation for it. The tumour was removed and it appeared he had made a full recovery but it returned in the summer of 1997<Ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/BRAIN+OP+AGONY+OF+TV+BRIAN.-a061304436 | title=BRAIN OP AGONY OF TV BRIAN. - Free Online Library }}</ref> and Glover died in his sleep in a London hospital on 24 July 1997. He is buried in [[Brompton Cemetery]], London.<ref name="independent"/>

== Film and television credits ==
{{Div col}}
* ''[[Kes (film)|Kes]]'' (1969) as Mr Sugden
* ''[[On the House (TV series)|On the House]]'' (1971, TV series) as Bagley
* ''[[Paul Temple (TV series)|Paul Temple]]'' (1971, TV series) as Waites
* ''[[Joy (film)|Joy]]'' (1972, TV movie) as Extra
* ''[[Coronation Street]]'' (1972, soap opera) as Fred Henshaw
* ''[[Sez Les]]'' (1972, TV series)
* ''A Day Out'' (1972, TV movie) as Boothroyd
* ''The Fishing Party'' (1972, [[Play for Today]]) as Art
* ‘’[[The Frighteners]]’’ (1972),ep.4 ‘The Minder’
* ''[[Thirty-Minute Theatre]]'' (1973, TV series) as The Guard
* ''[[Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?]]'' (1973, sitcom) as Flint
* ''[[The Regiment (TV series)|The Regiment]]'' (1973, TV series) as Sergeant Dyke
* ''[[O Lucky Man!]]'' (1973) as Plantation foreman / Bassett (Power station guard)
* ''[[The Protectors]]'' (1973, TV series) as Allen
* ''Shakespeare or Bust'' (1973, [[Play for Today]]) as Art
* ''You'll Never Walk Alone'' (1974, TV short) as Maurice Pouncey
* ''[[Porridge (1974 TV series)|Porridge]]'' (1974,sitcom) as Heslop
* ''[[Centre Play]]'' (1974, TV series) as Nobby
* ''Three for the Fancy'' (1974, [[Play for Today]]) as Art
* ''[[The Sweeney]]'' (1975, TV series) as Moose
* ''[[Not On Your Nellie]]'' (1975, TV series) .... Battling Bill
* ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'' (1975, TV series) ... Chuck Windell
* ''[[Brannigan (film)|Brannigan]]'' (1975) .... Jimmy-the-Bet
* ''[[Quiller (TV series)|Quiller]]'' (1975, TV series) .... Sergeant
* ''[[Mister Quilp]]'' (1975) .... Furnaceman
* ''[[Trial by Combat (film)|Trial by Combat]]'' (1976) .... Sidney Gore
* ''[[Sweeney!]]'' (1977) .... Mac
* ''[[Joseph Andrews (film)|Joseph Andrews]]'' (1977) .... Gaoler
* ''[[Jabberwocky (film)|Jabberwocky]]'' (1977) .... Armourer
* ''[[Secret Army (TV series)|Secret Army]]'' (1977, TV series) .... Corporal Emil Schnorr
* ''[[The First Great Train Robbery]]'' (1978) .... Captain Jimmy
* ''[[Absolution (1978 film)|Absolution]]'' (1978) .... First Policeman
* ''[[The Famous Five (1978 TV series)|The Famous Five]]'' (1978) .... Tiger Dan, circus clown
* ''[[Sounding Brass (1980 TV series)|Sounding Brass]]'' (1980, TV series) .... Horace Gilbert Beswick
* ''[[Minder (TV series)|Minder]]'' (1980, TV series) .... Yorkie
* ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'' (1981) .... Chess Player
* ''[[BBC Television Shakespeare#A Midsummer Night's Dream|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (1981, TV movie) .... [[Nick Bottom]]
* ''[[Britannia Hospital]]'' (1982) .... Painter: The Workers
* ''[[Red Monarch]]'' (1983, TV movie) .... [[Khrushchev]]
* ''[[Ordeal by Innocence (film)|Ordeal by Innocence]]'' (1984) .... Executioner
* ''[[The Company of Wolves]]'' (1984) .... Amorous Boy's Father
* ''[[Last of the Summer Wine]]'' (1985, sitcom) .... Oggie Buttercluff
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' (1985, serial: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'') .... Griffiths
* ''[[Lost Empires]]'' (1986, TV mini-series) .... Tommy Beamish
* ''[[To Kill a Priest]]'' (1988) .... Judge
* ''[[Campion (1989 TV series)|Campion]]'' (1989–1990, TV series) .... [[Magersfontein Lugg]]
* ''[[Bottom (TV series)|Bottom]]'' (1991, TV series) .... Mr. Rottweiler
* ''[[Kafka (film)|Kafka]]'' (1991) .... Castle Henchman
* ''[[Alien 3]]'' (1992) .... Harold Andrews
* ''[[Leon the Pig Farmer]]'' (1992) .... Brian Chadwick
* ''[[The Bill]]'' (1993, TV series) .... Ken Farley
* ''[[Prince of Jutland]]'' (1994) .... Caedman
* ''[[Anna Lee (TV series)|Anna Lee]]'' (1994, TV series) .... Selwyn Price
* ''[[1942: A Love Story]]'' (1994) .... General Douglas
* ''[[Rumble (TV series)|Rumble]]'' (1995) .... Johnny Pecs
* ''Bob's Weekend'' (1996) .... The Boss
* ''[[Snow White: A Tale of Terror]]'' (1997) .... Lars
* ''[[Up 'n' Under (film)|Up 'n' Under]]'' (1998) .... Jack, Doreen's father
* ''[[Stiff Upper Lips]]'' (1998) .... Eric (final film role)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|323093|Brian Glover}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130515231224/http://ayup.co.uk/gods/gods0-3.html Biography]
*[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp67382/brian-glover?search=sas&sText=Brian+glover Brian Glover at the National Portrait Gallery, London]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glover, Brian}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Actors from Barnsley]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Sheffield]]
[[Category:Burials at Brompton Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain tumor]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:Neurological disease deaths in England]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male professional wrestlers]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Sheffield]]
[[Category:Male actors from Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Sheffield]]