Thorley Walters

Thorley Walters
Born Thorley Swinstead Walters
(1913-05-12)12 May 1913
Teigngrace, Devon, England
Died 6 July 1991(1991-07-06) (aged 78)
London, England
Occupation actor
Years active 1935-1991

Thorley Walters (12 May 1913[1] – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor.[2] He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO.[3]

Early life

Walters was born in Teigngrace, Devon, the son of Prebendary T. C. Walters of Silverton, Devon.[1]

Career

Films

He featured in three of the St Trinian's films, starting as an army major in Blue Murder at St Trinian's. He later appeared as Butters, assistant to Education Ministry senior civil servant Culpepper-Brown (Eric Barker) in The Pure Hell of St Trinian's and played the part of Culpepper-Brown in The Wildcats of St Trinian's.

In the 1960s he also appeared in several Hammer horror films, including The Phantom of the Opera (1962), Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) and Vampire Circus (1972).[4]

Walters played Sherlock Holmes's sidekick Doctor Watson in four unrelated films: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), The Best House in London (1969), The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975), and Silver Blaze (1977).[5]

Television

Walters' television appearances included The Lotus Eaters and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.[6] Walters was considered for the role of Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army, before the part was assigned to Arthur Lowe[7] - Walters was offered the role by producer David Croft but turned it down.[8]

Personal life

In the DVD commentary to The Man Who Haunted Himself, actor Roger Moore mentioned that co-star Walters lived in Dolphin Square in Pimlico, London in which some scenes of the film were shot.

Walters and Richard Hope-Hawkins visited the ailing Terry-Thomas in Barnes, London in 1989. Walters had starred with Thomas in the Boulting Brother's film Carlton-Browne of the F.O., and was shocked at his appearance (he was ill with Parkinson's disease). That visit resulted in the Terry-Thomas Gala held in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the same year which raised funds to help Thomas live the rest of his life in comfort.

Hope-Hawkins was with Walters and actress Siobhan Redmond when he died in a London nursing home. Actor Ian Bannen gave the main address at his funeral held at Golders Green.[9][10]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Devon Clergyman's Son's Success". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 6 April 1939. p. 8. Retrieved 22 September 2012. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Thorley Walters | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  3. ↑ "Thorley Walters movies, photos, movie reviews, filmography, and biography". AllMovie. 1991-07-07. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  4. ↑ "the actors". British Horror Films. 2005-12-25. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  5. ↑ "The Many Watsons – Marty Feldman & Thorley Walters". Kieran McMullen. 2011-06-21. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  6. ↑ "BBC Four - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tarr Tells His Story". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  7. ↑ Roger Lewis (28 September 2011). "Dad's Army: the show that won't go away". Daily Telegraph.
  8. ↑ McCann, Graham (2001). Dad's Army - The story of a classic television show. London: Fourth Estate. p. 55. ISBN 978-1841153094.
  9. ↑ "Terry-Thomas Tribute". Terry-thomas.info. 1989-04-09. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  10. ↑ Bounder!: The Biography of Terry-Thomas - Graham McCann - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-14.

External links

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