John Bluthal
Encyclopedia
John Bluthal is a Polish
-born British
film and television actor, mostly in comedy. He is best known for his work with Spike Milligan
and for his roles in the television series Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width
and The Vicar of Dibley
.
, of Jewish descent. He emigrated to Australia
with his family in 1938 at the age of nine. He studied drama at the University of Melbourne
, and visited England
, during which time he appeared in pantomime
. He worked in repertory theatre in Melbourne
and was also involved in broadcasting and schools broadcasting. He appeared in drama on ABC
radio, and variety, including The Shell Hour and Gaslight Music Hall, which he devised, produced and starred in.
for BBC television and also in the long-running UK TV series Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width
where he played Manny Cohen, a Jewish tailor in business with an Irishman in London. Also in the early 1960s, he provided the voice for Commander Zero in the television puppet series Fireball XL5
. He appeared in the role of Fagin
in the musical Oliver!
at New Theatre, London. He has made dozens of film and TV shows since he came to England in 1959.
Bluthal also worked with Spike Milligan
over several years. He appeared as several characters in Milligan and John Antrobus
' stage play The Bed-Sitting Room, which opened at the Mermaid Theatre
on 31 January 1963. He also worked with Milligan on the television series Q and its radio counterpart The Milligan Show. Beyond The Bed-Sitting Room, he had previously worked with Milligan in the radio comedy series The Idiot Weekly
and The Omar Khayyam Show
. Bluthal is a man of many voices, like Milligan's former radio colleague Peter Sellers
, and he was used somewhat like Sellers in Milligan's later work.
Some of his other television appearances include: The episode "Sykes and A Bath", broadcast on 25 January 1961, in series three of Sykes and A...
, 'Allo 'Allo!
, Hancock
, Minder
, The Avengers
, Rumpole of the Bailey
, Jonathan Creek
, Lovejoy
, Bergerac
, and Inspector Morse
, as well as appearing as "Major Cheeseburger", in The Goodies'
episode "Clown Virus". He also appeared on the Australian comedy/satire series The Mavis Bramston Show
and as "Enzo Pacelli" in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
comedy television series Home Sweet Home
.
In 1975, Bluthal took the part of Richard Armitage, described as "an Orthodox London Jew", in The Melting Pot. This was a sitcom written by Spike Milligan
and Neil Shand, which was cancelled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast. Bluthal also appeared as "Chalky", a hospital patient, in the episode "I Gotta Horse" of the comedy television series Doctor Down Under
(the Australian series of the British comedy television series Doctor in the House — which also starred Robin Nedwell
as Dr. Duncan Waring and Geoffrey Davies
as Dr. Dick Stuart-Clark).
His films appearances include: The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965), three Carry On
films, two of the Doctor
films, and also The Beatles
' films A Hard Day's Night
(1964) and Help!
(1965), dual roles in Casino Royale
(1967), and appearing in two of the Pink Panther films. Bluthal also played several characters in The Great McGonagall (1974), by Spike Milligan and Joseph McGrath
, based on the life of William McGonagall. He portrayed an Egyptologist in the year 1914 for the first part of the film The Fifth Element
(1997) and Karl, using a wheelchair, in Dark City (1998). He also appeared in the comedy, Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns
(2000).
His latest appearances have been in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley
as the fastidious minutes-taker Frank Pickle and the 2004 film Love's Brother
.
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film and television actor, mostly in comedy. He is best known for his work with Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
and for his roles in the television series Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width
Never Mind The Quality Feel The Width
Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width was a British television sitcom first broadcast in 1967 as a single play in the Armchair Theatre anthology series, later becoming a series of half-hour episodes, which ran until 1971...
and The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
.
Early life
Bluthal was born in Galicia, PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, of Jewish descent. He emigrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with his family in 1938 at the age of nine. He studied drama at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, and visited England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, during which time he appeared in pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
. He worked in repertory theatre in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and was also involved in broadcasting and schools broadcasting. He appeared in drama on ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
radio, and variety, including The Shell Hour and Gaslight Music Hall, which he devised, produced and starred in.
Career
In 1960 he came to England again and appeared in Citizen JamesCitizen James
Citizen James was a BBC sitcom that ran for three series between 24 November 1960 and 1962. The show featured comedian and actor Sid James , Bill Kerr, Liz Fraser and Sydney Tafler...
for BBC television and also in the long-running UK TV series Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width
Never Mind The Quality Feel The Width
Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width was a British television sitcom first broadcast in 1967 as a single play in the Armchair Theatre anthology series, later becoming a series of half-hour episodes, which ran until 1971...
where he played Manny Cohen, a Jewish tailor in business with an Irishman in London. Also in the early 1960s, he provided the voice for Commander Zero in the television puppet series Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5 is a science fiction-themed children's television show following the missions of spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol...
. He appeared in the role of Fagin
Fagin
Fagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".-Character:Born...
in the musical Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
at New Theatre, London. He has made dozens of film and TV shows since he came to England in 1959.
Bluthal also worked with Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
over several years. He appeared as several characters in Milligan and John Antrobus
John Antrobus
John Antrobus is an English playwright and script writer. He has written extensively for stage, screen, TV and radio, including the epic World War II play, Crete and Sergeant Pepper at the Royal Court...
' stage play The Bed-Sitting Room, which opened at the Mermaid Theatre
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
on 31 January 1963. He also worked with Milligan on the television series Q and its radio counterpart The Milligan Show. Beyond The Bed-Sitting Room, he had previously worked with Milligan in the radio comedy series The Idiot Weekly
The Idiot Weekly
The Idiot Weekly was a radio programme made by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.-Background:Transcriptions of the Goon Show were broadcast on Australian radio from late 1955. When Spike Milligan visited his parents in Woy Woy in 1958, the Australian Broadcasting Commission signed him for a...
and The Omar Khayyam Show
The Omar Khayyam Show
Spike Milligan made wrote and performed in three series of the radio comedy program The Idiot Weekly for the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1958-1962. Six episodes were remade by the BBC in 1963 as The Omar Khayyam Show....
. Bluthal is a man of many voices, like Milligan's former radio colleague Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, and he was used somewhat like Sellers in Milligan's later work.
Some of his other television appearances include: The episode "Sykes and A Bath", broadcast on 25 January 1961, in series three of Sykes and A...
Sykes and A...
Sykes and a... is a black-and-white British sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques that aired on BBC1 from 1960 to 1965. It was written by Eric Sykes, Johnny Speight, John Antrobus and Spike Milligan...
, 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
, Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
, Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
, The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
, Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
, Lovejoy
Lovejoy
Lovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...
, Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
, and Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
, as well as appearing as "Major Cheeseburger", in The Goodies'
The Goodies (TV series)
The Goodies is a British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by BBC 2 from 1970 until 1980 — and was then broadcast by the ITV company LWT for a year, between 1981 to 1982.The show was...
episode "Clown Virus". He also appeared on the Australian comedy/satire series The Mavis Bramston Show
The Mavis Bramston Show
The Mavis Bramston Show was a popular and award-winning Australian TV satirical sketch comedy series of the mid-1960s.-Introduction:The tremendous impact that The Mavis Bramston Show had in Australia in the mid-1960s was heightened because of its unique place in the history of the Australian TV...
and as "Enzo Pacelli" in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
comedy television series Home Sweet Home
Home Sweet Home (TV series)
Home Sweet Home is a 1980 Australian comedy television series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Thames Television.The series was created by Vince Powell, and produced by Michael Mills...
.
In 1975, Bluthal took the part of Richard Armitage, described as "an Orthodox London Jew", in The Melting Pot. This was a sitcom written by Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
and Neil Shand, which was cancelled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast. Bluthal also appeared as "Chalky", a hospital patient, in the episode "I Gotta Horse" of the comedy television series Doctor Down Under
Doctor Down Under
Doctor Down Under is a Australian television comedy series based on a set of books by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of Doctors. The series follows directly from its predecessor Doctor on the Go, and was produced by the Seven Network in association with the Paul Dainty...
(the Australian series of the British comedy television series Doctor in the House — which also starred Robin Nedwell
Robin Nedwell
Robin Nedwell was an English actor. He is best remembered for his role as Duncan Waring in the television comedy series Doctor in the House and its sequels...
as Dr. Duncan Waring and Geoffrey Davies
Geoffrey Davies
Geoffrey Davies is a British actor. The son of an accountant, he was educated at Grammar School and studied at Art College to be a commercial artist before becoming an actor...
as Dr. Dick Stuart-Clark).
His films appearances include: The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965), three Carry On
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
films, two of the Doctor
Doctor in the House
Doctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
films, and also The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' films A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
(1964) and Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
(1965), dual roles in Casino Royale
Casino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
(1967), and appearing in two of the Pink Panther films. Bluthal also played several characters in The Great McGonagall (1974), by Spike Milligan and Joseph McGrath
Joseph McGrath (film director)
Joseph 'Apocalypse' McGrath , sometimes referred to as "'Apocalypse'" Joe McGrath or Croisette Meubles, is a Scottish film director and screenwriter best remembered for his two films, Casino Royale and The Magic Christian . McGrath frequently collaborated with Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers...
, based on the life of William McGonagall. He portrayed an Egyptologist in the year 1914 for the first part of the film The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
(1997) and Karl, using a wheelchair, in Dark City (1998). He also appeared in the comedy, Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns
Fovou tous Ellines
Fovou tous Ellines is a film directed by John Tatoulis.Filmed in Australia and the island of Crete, Greece it is a romantic comedy / drama, that stars Lakis Lazopoulos, alongside Zoe Carides, Claudia Buttazzoni and John Bluthal.-Summary:Maria, a woman who is obsessed with tracking down the man who...
(2000).
His latest appearances have been in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
as the fastidious minutes-taker Frank Pickle and the 2004 film Love's Brother
Love's Brother
Love's Brother is a 2004 film written and directed by Jan Sardi.-Main cast:*Giovanni Ribisi - Angelo Donnini*Adam Garcia - Gino Donnini*Joe Petruzzi - Zio Luigi*Amelia Warner - Rosetta*Silvia De Santis - Connie*Barry Otto - Father Alfredo-Plot:...
.
Selected filmography
- The Mouse on the MoonThe Mouse on the MoonThe Mouse on the Moon is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of the novel The Mouse on the Moon by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. It was directed by Richard Lester and served as the sequel to The Mouse That Roared. In it, the people of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a microstate, attempt space...
(1963) - This Is My StreetThis Is My StreetThis Is My Street is a 1964 British drama film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Ian Hendry, June Ritchie, Avice Landone, John Hurt and Meredith Edwards. A bored housewife living in a suburban house begins an affair with the lodger, a salesman...
(1964) - Carry On SpyingCarry On SpyingCarry On Spying is a 1964 film, the ninth movie in the Carry On film series. It marks Barbara Windsor's first appearance in the series. Series regulars Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Jim Dale are present. Bernard Cribbins makes the second of his three Carry On appearances...
(1964), The Head Waiter - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
(1966) - A Ghost of a Chance (1968)
- Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the RiverDon't Raise the Bridge, Lower the RiverDon't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River is a British made comedy film produced by Walter Shenson starring Jerry Lewis and was released on July 12, 1968 by Columbia Pictures. It was based on Max Wilk's novel of the same name with the original Connecticut locale moved to Swinging London and...
(1968) - The Bliss of Mrs. BlossomThe Bliss of Mrs. BlossomThe Bliss of Mrs. Blossom is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath. The screenplay by Alec Coppel and Denis Norden was adapted from a play by Coppel that was based on a short story by Josef Shaftel, who served as the film's producer.-Plot:...
(1968) - A Talent for LovingA Talent for LovingA Talent for Loving is a British-American comedy Western film directed by Richard Quine, and based on the 1961 parodic Western novel A Talent for Loving, or The Great Cowboy Race by Richard Condon, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Richard Widmark and Cesar Romero.-Cast:*Richard...
(1969) - Doctor in TroubleDoctor in TroubleDoctor in Trouble is a 1970 British comedy film, the last of the long-running Doctor in the House series of British comedy films. It was directed by Ralph Thomas it stars Leslie Phillips as a doctor who gets accidentally trapped on an outgoing cruise ship while it begins a round the world trip...
(1970) - Carry On HenryCarry On HenryCarry On Henry is the 21st of the Carry On series and was released in 1971. It tells a fictionalised story involving Sid James as Henry VIII, who chases after Barbara Windsor's character Bettina. James and Windsor feature alongside other regulars Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry...
(1971), Royal Tailor - Digby, the Biggest Dog in the WorldDigby, the Biggest Dog in the WorldDigby, the Biggest Dog in the World is a 1973 British children's film starring Jim Dale, and directed by Joseph McGrath. A large supporting cast of British movie stalwarts includes Spike Milligan, Angela Douglas, Norman Rossington, Milo O'Shea, Dinsdale Landen and Victor Spinetti...
(1973) - Just One More TimeJust One More TimeJust One More Time is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Maurice Hamblin and starring John Hamill, Sue Longhurst and Claire Russell. While his wife is at work, an artist has to fend off the advances of his neighbours. It is also known as The Over-Amorous Artist.-Cast:* John Hamill ... Alan...
(1974) - The IrishmanThe IrishmanThe Irishman is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author Elizabeth O'Conner.The novel deals with the experiences of Paddy Doolan, an Irish teamster, and his sons in the Gulf Country in the north of Australia.-Film Adaptation:...
(1978) - Superman IIISuperman IIISuperman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and...
(1983) - LabyrinthLabyrinth (film)Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
(1986) - The Fifth ElementThe Fifth ElementThe Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
(1997) - Dark City (1998)
External links
- John Bluthal – TV.com
- John Bluthal – BBC Comedy Guide