Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1907-04-23
Day of Death
1983-03-27
Place of Birth
Lonavala, India
James Hayter
Biography
James Hayter (23 April 1907 – 27 March 1983) was a British actor. He was born in Lonavala, India, brought up in Scotland and died in Spain. His best remembered film roles include Friar Tuck in the 1952 film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men and Samuel Pickwick in The Pickwick Papers of the same year. His rotund appearance and fruity voice made him a natural choice for such roles. A pupil of Dollar Academy, he became a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, his film career began in 1936 in Sensation, but was interrupted by World War II during which he served in the Royal Armoured Corps. His later career included roles in TV series such as The Forsyte Saga (1967), The Onedin Line and Are You Being Served?. His 1946 television series Pinwright's Progress, shown on the BBC, is recognised as the first real example of the half-hour situation comedy format in the history of British television. He was also the original narrator of the UK television advertisements for Mr. Kipling cakes. In fact, these ads led to his departure from Are You Being Served?; the cake company paid him a significant bonus to withdraw from the series, as they felt his reputation lent an air of dignity to their snack advertisements. In the film Oliver!, he played Mr Jessop the book shop owner. He appeared in scenes when Dodger steals a gentleman's wallet outside the book shop and also when Oliver is in court charged with the robbery. Hayter used to have a tree house in his back garden where he would retire of an evening to learn and practise his lines from his current script. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Hayter, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography (92)
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
2005
The Light Princess
1978
The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones
1976
Burke & Hare
1972
Not Tonight, Darling
1971
The Blood on Satan's Claw
1971
The Firechasers
1971
The Horror of Frankenstein
1970
Song of Norway
1970
David Copperfield
1969
Oliver!
1968
A Challenge for Robin Hood
1967
Stranger in the House
1967
Lawrence of Arabia
1962
