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{{Short description|English actor}} | {{Short description|English actor}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} | ||
'''Desmond Walter-Ellis''' (16 September 1914 – 16 September 1994) was an English actor. He was active in a range of genres, from classic drama to cabaret, revue and musicals. He played a major part in the development of [[BBC Television]] when it restarted after the Second World War. | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = <!-- defaults to article title when left blank --> | |||
| image = Desmond Walter-Ellis.jpg< | |||
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|09|16|df=y}} | |||
| birth_place = London | |||
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|09|16|1914|09|16|df=y} | |||
| death_place = London | |||
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| occupation = Actor | |||
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'''Desmond Walter-Ellis''' (16 September 1914 – 16 September 1994) was an English actor. He was active in a range of genres, from classic drama to cabaret, revue and musicals. He played a major part in the development of [[w:BBC Television|BBC Television]] when it restarted after the Second World War. | |||
==Life and career== | ==Life and career== | ||
Walter-Ellis was born in London on 16 September 1914, the son of Valentine Walter-Ellis and his wife Eileen, ''née'' Kerin.<ref name=ww/> He trained for the stage at the [[Old Vic]] and [[Sadler's Wells]] and made his first professional appearance in December 1932. He then acted at the Old Vic, [[Regent's Park Open Air Theatre]], and Sadler's Wells, mostly in the classics. After repertory work, he served in the armed forces during the Second World War.<ref name=ww/> | Walter-Ellis was born in London on 16 September 1914, the son of Valentine Walter-Ellis and his wife Eileen, ''née'' Kerin.<ref name=ww/> He trained for the stage at the [[w:Old Vic|Old Vic]] and [[w:Sadler's Wells|Sadler's Wells]] and made his first professional appearance in December 1932. He then acted at the Old Vic, [[w:Regent's Park Open Air Theatre|Regent's Park Open Air Theatre]], and Sadler's Wells, mostly in the classics. After repertory work, he served in the armed forces during the Second World War.<ref name=ww/> | ||
In the immediate post-war years, Walter-Ellis worked mainly in the fledgling television service. In 1950 a magazine dubbed him "the first actor television star", with "seventy different performances to his credit … romped to favour in television versions of the [[Aldwych farce]]s".<ref>Baily, Kenneth. "Britain's First Television Stars", ''Britannia and Eve'', 1 March 1950, pp. 16–17</ref> His roles – on live television in the early days – included Mr Posket in ''[[The Magistrate (play)|The Magistrate]]'', The Mad Hatter in ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'', Gerald in ''[[Rookery Nook (play)|Rookery Nook]]'', Aubrey in ''[[Tons of Money (play)|Tons of Money]]'' and Captain Absolute in ''[[The Rivals]]''.<ref name=bbc/> | In the immediate post-war years, Walter-Ellis worked mainly in the fledgling television service. In 1950 a magazine dubbed him "the first actor television star", with "seventy different performances to his credit … romped to favour in television versions of the [[w:Aldwych farce|Aldwych farce]]s".<ref>Baily, Kenneth. "Britain's First Television Stars", ''Britannia and Eve'', 1 March 1950, pp. 16–17</ref> His roles – on live television in the early days – included Mr Posket in ''[[w:The Magistrate (play)|The Magistrate]]'', The Mad Hatter in ''[[w:Alice in Wonderland|Alice in Wonderland]]'', Gerald in ''[[w:Rookery Nook (play)|Rookery Nook]]'', Aubrey in ''[[w:Tons of Money (play)|Tons of Money]]'' and Captain Absolute in ''[[w:The Rivals|The Rivals]]''.<ref name=bbc/> | ||
In the 1950s Walter-Ellis was seen in cabaret, revue, pantomime as well as straight dramas. In the Australian tour of ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'' in 1963–1965 he played King Pellinore. In London in 1966 he was Teddy Brewster in ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace (play)|Arsenic and Old Lace]]'' with [[Sybil Thorndike]] and [[Athene Seyler]].<ref name=ww>Herbert, p. 1521</ref> | In the 1950s Walter-Ellis was seen in cabaret, revue, pantomime as well as straight dramas. In the Australian tour of ''[[w:Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'' in 1963–1965 he played King Pellinore. In London in 1966 he was Teddy Brewster in ''[[w:Arsenic and Old Lace (play)|Arsenic and Old Lace]]'' with [[w:Sybil Thorndike|Sybil Thorndike]] and [[w:Athene Seyler|Athene Seyler]].<ref name=ww>Herbert, p. 1521</ref> | ||
On television in the 1960s he was known for starring in the sitcom series ''[[Beggar My Neighbour (TV series)|Beggar My Neighbour]]'', taking over from [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]] as the harassed junior executive.<ref>[https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/beggar_my_neighbour/ "Beggar My Neighbour"], British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 August 2021</ref> His cinema films included ''[[Carry on Admiral]]'' (1957), ''[[The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery]]'' (1966), ''[[Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?]]'' (1969) and ''[[The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer]]'' (1970).<ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba3d0fd47 "Desmond Walter-Ellis"], British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2021</ref> For BBC Radio he repeated his Teddy Brewster in 1973, with Thorndike and Seyler.<ref name=bbc>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/20/20?q=Desmond+Walter-Ellis#top "Desmond Walter-Ellis"], BBC Genome. Retrieved 6 August 2021</ref> | On television in the 1960s he was known for starring in the sitcom series ''[[w:Beggar My Neighbour (TV series)|Beggar My Neighbour]]'', taking over from [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]] as the harassed junior executive.<ref>[https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/beggar_my_neighbour/ "Beggar My Neighbour"], British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 August 2021</ref> His cinema films included ''[[Carry on Admiral]]'' (1957), ''[[The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery]]'' (1966), ''[[Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?]]'' (1969) and ''[[The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer]]'' (1970).<ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba3d0fd47 "Desmond Walter-Ellis"], British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2021</ref> For BBC Radio he repeated his Teddy Brewster in 1973, with Thorndike and Seyler.<ref name=bbc>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/20/20?q=Desmond+Walter-Ellis#top "Desmond Walter-Ellis"], BBC Genome. Retrieved 6 August 2021</ref> | ||
Walter-Ellis died in London on his eightieth birthday, 16 September 1994.<ref>[https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1904/images/46452_B294818-00233?treeid=&personid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=FjI181&_phstart=successSource&pId=24036219 "Desmond Walter-Ellis"], Ancestry UK. Retrieved 6 August 2021</ref> | Walter-Ellis died in London on his eightieth birthday, 16 September 1994.<ref>[https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1904/images/46452_B294818-00233?treeid=&personid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=FjI181&_phstart=successSource&pId=24036219 "Desmond Walter-Ellis"], Ancestry UK. Retrieved 6 August 2021</ref> | ||
Revision as of 11:18, 15 October 2022
{{Infobox person | name = | image = Desmond Walter-Ellis.jpg< | alt = | caption =
| birth_date = 16 September 1914 | birth_place = London | death_date = 16 September 1994 (aged 80) Desmond Walter-Ellis (16 September 1914 – 16 September 1994) was an English actor. He was active in a range of genres, from classic drama to cabaret, revue and musicals. He played a major part in the development of BBC Television when it restarted after the Second World War.
Life and career
Walter-Ellis was born in London on 16 September 1914, the son of Valentine Walter-Ellis and his wife Eileen, née Kerin.[1] He trained for the stage at the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells and made his first professional appearance in December 1932. He then acted at the Old Vic, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, and Sadler's Wells, mostly in the classics. After repertory work, he served in the armed forces during the Second World War.[1]
In the immediate post-war years, Walter-Ellis worked mainly in the fledgling television service. In 1950 a magazine dubbed him "the first actor television star", with "seventy different performances to his credit … romped to favour in television versions of the Aldwych farces".[2] His roles – on live television in the early days – included Mr Posket in The Magistrate, The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, Gerald in Rookery Nook, Aubrey in Tons of Money and Captain Absolute in The Rivals.[3]
In the 1950s Walter-Ellis was seen in cabaret, revue, pantomime as well as straight dramas. In the Australian tour of Camelot in 1963–1965 he played King Pellinore. In London in 1966 he was Teddy Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace with Sybil Thorndike and Athene Seyler.[1]
On television in the 1960s he was known for starring in the sitcom series Beggar My Neighbour, taking over from Peter Jones as the harassed junior executive.[4] His cinema films included Carry on Admiral (1957), The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery (1966), Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969) and The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970).[5] For BBC Radio he repeated his Teddy Brewster in 1973, with Thorndike and Seyler.[3]
Walter-Ellis died in London on his eightieth birthday, 16 September 1994.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Herbert, p. 1521
- ^ Baily, Kenneth. "Britain's First Television Stars", Britannia and Eve, 1 March 1950, pp. 16–17
- ^ a b "Desmond Walter-Ellis", BBC Genome. Retrieved 6 August 2021
- ^ "Beggar My Neighbour", British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 August 2021
- ^ "Desmond Walter-Ellis", British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2021
- ^ "Desmond Walter-Ellis", Ancestry UK. Retrieved 6 August 2021
Sources
- Herbert, Ian, ed. (1977). Who's Who in the Theatre (sixteenth ed.). London and Detroit: Pitman Publishing and Gale Research. ISBN 978-0-273-00163-8.
