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	{{Short description\|English actor (1909–2002)}}		{{Short description\|English actor (1909–2002)}}
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	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| name = Maurice Denham		\| name = Maurice Denham
	\| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire\|OBE]]		\| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire\|OBE]]
	\| image = File:Maurice Denham.jpg		\| image = File:Maurice Denham.jpg
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	* {{IMDb name\|id=0219062\|name=Maurice Denham}}		* {{IMDb name\|id=0219062\|name=Maurice Denham}}
	* [http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/search/people_sub_plays?forename=Maurice&surname=DENHAM&job=Actor&pid=1884&image_view=Yes&x=19&y=17 Maurice Denham's stage performances listed in archive of Theatre Collection University of Bristol]		* [http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/search/people_sub_plays?forename=Maurice&surname=DENHAM&job=Actor&pid=1884&image_view=Yes&x=19&y=17 Maurice Denham's stage performances listed in archive of Theatre Collection University of Bristol]

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	{{DEFAULTSORT:Denham, Maurice}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Denham, Maurice}}

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2A02:C7D:D627:9100:118C:6057:8A3A:30E5: /* Selected filmography */

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Selected filmography

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{{Short description|English actor (1909–2002)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{refimprove|date=March 2013}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Maurice Denham
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]
| image = File:Maurice Denham.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = William Maurice Denham
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1909|12|23}}
| birth_place = [[Beckenham]], [[Kent]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2002|7|24|1909|12|23}}
| death_place = [[Denville Hall]], [[London]], England
| death_cause =
| occupation = Actor
| spouse = {{marriage|Elizabeth Dunn|1936|1971|reason=died}}
| children = 3
| imagesize = 220px
| yearsactive = 1934–1997
}}
'''William Maurice Denham''' [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English [[character actor]] who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career.

==Family==
Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in [[Beckenham]], [[Kent]], the son of Eleanor Winifred (née Lillico) and Norman Denham.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/61/Maurice-Denham.html|title=Maurice Denham Biography (1909-2002)|website=www.filmreference.com}}</ref> He was the third child of four: Norman Keith (1907), Winifred Joan (1908), and Charles (1915). He was educated at [[Tonbridge School]] and trained as a lift engineer. Like fellow actor [[James Robertson Justice]], he played amateur rugby for [[Beckenham RFC]].<ref>[http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/beckenham/ Beckenham Rugby Club]</ref>

In 1936, he married Elizabeth Dunn, with whom he had two sons and a daughter: Christopher (born 1939), Timothy (born 1946) and Virginia (born 1948). Elizabeth died in 1971.<ref name=bio/>

He was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] in 1992. He died on 24 July 2002, aged 92 at [[Denville Hall]] in [[North London]].<ref name=bio>{{Cite news|title=Obituary: Maurice Denham|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/jul/26/broadcasting.filmnews|last=Barker|first=Dennis|date=July 26, 2002|access-date=April 27, 2020}}</ref>

==Career==
Denham eventually became an actor in 1934, and appeared in live television broadcasts as early as 1938, continuing to perform in that medium until 1997.

Denham initially made his name in radio comedy series such as ''[[It's That Man Again|ITMA]]'' and ''[[Much Binding in the Marsh]]'', which established him as a familiar radio character<ref name=book>{{Cite book|title=British Film Character Actors: Great Names and Memorable Moments|last=Pettigrew|first=Terrence|publisher=Barnes and Nobles|year=1982|isbn=9780715382707|pages=43-44|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/British_Film_Character_Actors/z3Wl9qRevrEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Maurice+Denham%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA43&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> (providing over sixty different voices, female as well as male, according to a radio interview in November 1988), and later provided all the voices for the animated version of ''[[Animal Farm (1954 film)|Animal Farm]]'' (1954). ''[[British Pathé]]'' chose him to narrate the voiceover for their 1950's film, 'All in a Day'.
He was nominated for the [[BAFTA]] Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Blore in 1954's ''[[The Purple Plain]]''. Other film credits include ''[[23 Paces to Baker Street]]'' (1956), ''[[Night of the Demon]]'' (1957), ''[[Two-Way Stretch]]'' (1960), ''[[Sink the Bismarck!]]'' (1960), ''[[H.M.S. Defiant]]'' (1962), ''[[Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines]]'' (1965), ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Day of the Jackal]]'' (1973), ''[[Minder on the Orient Express]]'' (1985) and ''[[84 Charing Cross Road (film)|84 Charing Cross Road]]'' (1987).

Among his television appearances were as the father in ''[[Talking to a Stranger]]'' (1966), ''[[The Lotus Eaters (TV series)|The Lotus Eaters]]'' (1972–73), as [[Cosmo Gordon Lang|Archbishop Lang]] in ''[[Edward & Mrs Simpson]]'' (1978), [[Gerrit Dou]] in ''[[Schalcken the Painter]]'' (1979), ''[[All Passion Spent]]'' with Dame [[Wendy Hiller]] (1986), as Mr Justice Gwent-Evans in an episode of ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]'' (1987), ''[[Behaving Badly (TV serial)|Behaving Badly]]'' (1989), ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'' (1991) and as Sir Max Spence in an episode of ''[[Lovejoy]]'' ("Benin Bronze", 1992). He also appeared in the ''Sherlock Holmes'' story "[[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|The Last Vampyre]]" (1993), with [[Jeremy Brett]] starring as Sherlock Holmes. He also appeared (heavily made-up) in another Sherlock Holmes episode, starring [[Douglas Wilmer]] as Holmes, "[[The Retired Colourman]]", first shown by the BBC in 1965.

He made a guest appearance in the [[BBC]] science fiction television series ''[[Doctor Who]]'' in the 1984 serial ''[[The Twin Dilemma]]'', the first story to star [[Colin Baker]] in the title role as the [[sixth Doctor]]. He later appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' radio serial ''[[The Paradise of Death]]'' in 1993 alongside [[Jon Pertwee]]. As [[The Honourable Mr Justice Stephen Rawley]] in two episodes in 1977 of the BBC TV prison comedy ''[[Porridge (TV series)|Porridge]]'', he ends up sharing a cell with [[Ronnie Barker]]'s Fletcher, whom he had sentenced.

In further radio work, he starred in a [[BBC Radio 4]] version of the ''[[Oldest Member (character)|Oldest Member]]'', based on stories by [[P.G. Wodehouse]], from 1994 to 1999, as Rumpole in ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey|Rumpole: The Splendours and Miseries of an Old Bailey Hack]]'', as [[Dr. Alexandre Manette]] in ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'', as 'Father' in [[Peter Tinniswood]]'s ''Winston'' series, and also as Chief Inspector [[Jules Maigret]] in several series beginning in 1976.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trussel.com/maig/radio.htm|title=Maigret on the Radio|website=www.trussel.com}}</ref> He also portrayed [[Hercule Poirot]] in a [[BBC]] radio dramatisation of ''[[The Mystery of the Blue Train]]'' (1985).

In his book ''British Film Character Actors'' (1982), Terence Pettigrew noted that Denham "had one of the best-known bald heads in British films. His face was a minor work of art, a bright-eyed pixie face hand-painted on an egg. It could be kindly, sympathetic, gnomish and infinitely expressive. He also had one of the most listenable and controlled of English-speaking voices, a legacy from his many years in radio."<ref name=book/>

==Selected filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=24em}}
* ''[[The Man Within (film)|The Man Within]]'' (1947) as Smuggler
* ''[[The Upturned Glass]]'' (1947) as Mobile Policeman
* ''[[They Made Me a Fugitive]]'' (1947) as Mr Fenshaw
* ''[[Holiday Camp (film)|Holiday Camp]]'' (1947) as Camp Doctor
* ''[[Jassy (film)|Jassy]]'' (1947) as Jim Stoner
* ''[[Captain Boycott (film)|Captain Boycott]]'' (1947) as Lt. Col. StrickLand
* ''[[Fame Is the Spur (film)|Fame Is the Spur]]'' (1947) as Prison Doctor No. 2 (uncredited)
* ''[[Take My Life]]'' (1947) as Defending Counsel
* ''[[The End of the River]]'' (1947) as Defending Counsel
* ''[[Easy Money (1948 film)|Easy Money]]'' (1948) as Detective-Inspector Kirby
* ''[[Blanche Fury]]'' (1948) as Maj. Fraser
* ''[[Escape (1948 film)|Escape]]'' (1948) as Crown Counsel
* ''[[Daybreak (1948 film)|Daybreak]]'' (1948) as Inspector
* ''[[Miranda (1948 film)|Miranda]]'' (1948) as Cockle Vendor
* ''[[Oliver Twist (1948 film)|Oliver Twist]]'' (1948) as Chief of Police
* ''[[My Brother's Keeper (film)|My Brother's Keeper]]'' (1948) as Supt. Trent
* ''[[London Belongs to Me]]'' (1948) as Jack Rufus
* ''[[The Blind Goddess (1948 film)|The Blind Goddess]]'' (1948) as Johnson, The Butler
* ''[[Quartet (1948 film)|Quartet]]'' (1948) as Coroner (segment "The Allen Corn")
* ''[[Here Come the Huggetts]]'' (1948) as 1st Engineer
* ''[[Look Before You Love]]'' (1948) as Fosser
* ''[[Once Upon a Dream (1949 film)|Once Upon a Dream]]'' (1949) as Vicar
* ''[[The Blue Lagoon (1949 film)|The Blue Lagoon]]'' (1949) as Ship Captain
* ''[[It's Not Cricket (1949 film)|It's Not Cricket]]'' (1949) as Otto Fisch
* ''[[A Boy, a Girl and a Bike]]'' (1949) as Bill Martin
* ''[[Poet's Pub]]'' (1949) as PC Windle
* ''[[Don't Ever Leave Me]]'' (1949) as Mr Knowles
* ''[[Madness of the Heart]]'' (1949) as Simon Blake
* ''[[Landfall (1949 film)|Landfall]]'' (1949) as Wing Cmdr. Hewitt
* ''[[The Spider and the Fly (1949 film)|The Spider and the Fly]]'' (1949) as Colonel de la Roche
* ''[[Traveller's Joy]]'' (1950) as Fowler
* ''[[No Highway in the Sky|No Highway]]'' (1951) as Major Pearl (uncredited)
* ''[[Time Bomb (1953 film)|Time Bomb]]'' (1953) as Jim Warrilow
* ''[[The Net (1953 film)|The Net]]'' (1953) as Prof. Carrington (uncredited)
* ''[[Street Corner (1953 film)|Street Corner]]'' (1953) as Mr. Dawson
* ''[[Malta Story]]'' (1953) as British Officer (uncredited)
* ''[[The Million Pound Note]]'' (1954) as Jonathan Reid
* ''[[Eight O'Clock Walk]]'' (1954) as Horace Clifford
* ''[[The Purple Plain]]'' (1954) as Blore
* ''[[Carrington V.C. (film)|Carrington V.C.]]'' (1954) as Lt Col Reeve
* ''[[Animal Farm (1954 film)|Animal Farm]]'' (1954) as All Animals (voices)
* ''[[Doctor at Sea (film)|Doctor at Sea]]'' (1955) as Easter
* ''[[Simon and Laura]]'' (1955) as Wilson
* ''[[23 Paces to Baker Street]]'' (1956) as Inspector Grovening
* ''[[The Spanish Gardener (film)|The Spanish Gardener]]'' (1956) as Pedro (voice)
* ''[[Checkpoint (1956 film)|Checkpoint]]'' (1956) as Ted Thornhill
* ''[[Barnacle Bill (1957 film)|Barnacle Bill]]'' (1957) as Crowley
* ''[[Night of the Demon]]'' (1957) as Professor Harrington
* ''[[The Captain's Table]]'' (1959) as Major Broster
* ''[[Our Man in Havana (film)|Our Man in Havana]]'' (1959) as Admiral
* ''[[Two-Way Stretch]]'' (1960) as The Governor
* ''[[Sink the Bismarck!]]'' (1960) as Commander Richards
* ''[[The Greengage Summer]]'' (1961) as Uncle William
* ''[[The Mark (1961 film)|The Mark]]'' (1961) as Arnold Cartwright
* ''[[Invasion Quartet]]'' (1961) as Dr Barker
* ''[[Damn the Defiant]]'' (1962) as Mr Goss (Ship's Surgeon)
* ''[[The King's Breakfast (film)|The King's Breakfast]]'' (1963) as Narrator (voice)
* ''[[The Very Edge]]'' (1963) as Crawford
* ''[[Paranoiac (1963 film)|Paranoiac]]'' (1963) as John Kossett
* ''[[Armchair Theatre|Long Past Glory (TV film)]]'' (1963) as Charles
* ''[[The 7th Dawn]]'' (1964) as Tarlton
* ''[[Operation Crossbow (film)|Operation Crossbow]]'' (1965) as RAF Officer
* ''[[Hysteria (1965 film)|Hysteria]]'' (1965) as Hemmings
* ''[[Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines]]'' (1965) as Trawler Skipper
* ''[[The Alphabet Murders]]'' (1965) as Japp
* ''[[The Nanny (1965 film)|The Nanny]]'' (1965) as Dr. Beammaster
* ''[[The Heroes of Telemark]]'' (1965) as Doctor
* ''[[The Uncle]]'' (1965) as Mr. Ream
* ''[[Night Caller from Outer Space|The Night Caller]]'' (1965) as Dr Morley
* ''[[After the Fox]]'' (1966) as Chief of Interpol
* ''[[Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon]]'' (1967) as Narrator (voice, uncredited)
* ''[[The Long Duel]]'' (1967) as Governor
* ''[[Danger Route]]'' (1967) as Peter Ravenspur
* ''[[Torture Garden (film)|Torture Garden]]'' (1967) as Uncle Roger (segment 1 "Enoch")
* ''[[Attack on the Iron Coast]]'' (1968) as Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Grafton
* ''[[Negatives (1968 film)|Negatives]]'' (1968) as The Father
* ''[[Some Girls Do]]'' (1969) as Mr. Mortimer
* ''[[Midas Run]]'' (1969) as Charles Crittenden
* ''[[A Touch of Love (1969 film)|A Touch of Love]]'' (1969) as Doctor Prothero
* ''[[The Best House in London]]'' (1969) as Editor of ''The Times''
* ''[[The Virgin and the Gypsy (film)|The Virgin and the Gypsy]]'' (1970) as The Rector
* ''[[Countess Dracula]]'' (1971) as Master Fabio, Castle Historian
* ''[[Sunday Bloody Sunday (film)|Sunday Bloody Sunday]]'' (1971) as Mr Greville
* ''[[Nicholas and Alexandra]]'' (1971) as Kokovtsov
* ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Day of the Jackal]]'' (1973) as General Colbert
* ''[[Luther (1973 film)|Luther]]'' (1973) as [[Johann von Staupitz]]
* ''[[Fall of Eagles]]'' (1974) as Kaiser [[William I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I]]
* ''[[Shout at the Devil (film)|Shout at the Devil]]'' (1976) as Mr Smythe
* ''[[Julia (1977 film)|Julia]]'' (1977) as Undertaker
* ''[[Secret Army (TV series)|Secret Army]] — Series 1 Episode 14: Good Friday'' (1977) as Father Girard
* ''[[Martin Luther, Heretic (1983 film)|Martin Luther, Heretic]]'' (1983) as Father Staupitz
* ''[[The Chain (1984 film)|The Chain]]'' (1984) as Grandpa
* ''[[Mr Love]]'' (1985) as Theo
* ''[[84 Charing Cross Road]]'' (1987) as George Martin
* ''[[Miss Marple (TV series)|Miss Marple]] — [[4.50 from Paddington]]'' (1987) as Luther Crackenthorpe
* ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'' (1991) as Lance Mandeville
* ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]'' (1997) as Mr Turnbull
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0219062|name=Maurice Denham}}
* [http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/search/people_sub_plays?forename=Maurice&surname=DENHAM&job=Actor&pid=1884&image_view=Yes&x=19&y=17 Maurice Denham's stage performances listed in archive of Theatre Collection University of Bristol]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denham, Maurice}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English male voice actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Kent]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Tonbridge School]]
[[Category:People from Beckenham]]

Maurice Denham - Revision history

Kurt at 04:01, 16 January 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2A02:C7D:D627:9100:118C:6057:8A3A:30E5: /* Selected filmography */