Peter Butterworth
Encyclopedia
Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1919 – 16 January 1979) was an English comedy actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in the Carry On series of films. He was also a regular on children's television and radio and appeared in seven early episodes of Doctor Who
in 1965 as the 'The Meddling Monk
'. He is noted as being the first ever recurring Doctor Who villain. He was married to the actress and impressionist Janet Brown.
in the Royal Navy
during the Second World War. He was captured in the Netherlands in 1940 and later escaped through a tunnel
from Dulag luft
, near Frankfurt
, in June 1941, where he covered 27 miles (43 km) over three days before a member of the Hitler Youth
captured him. Afterwards he joked that he could never work with children again. Two other attempts to escape were made during his time there but he never got beyond the campgrounds.
Whilst at Stalag Luft III
he met Talbot Rothwell
, who later went on to write many of the Carry On films
. Rothwell and Butterworth formed a duet and sang in the camp shows, where booing and catcalls covered the sounds of an escape tunnel being dug by other prisoners. Butterworth was one of the vaulters covering for the escapers during the escape portrayed by the book and film The Wooden Horse
. Butterworth later auditioned for the film in 1949 but "didn't look convincingly heroic or athletic enough" according to the makers of the film. To compensate for this the director Jack Lee
, named the character played by Leo Genn
"Peter", after Butterworth.
Having never performed in public before, Butterworth sung a duet with Rothwell, a song which Rothwell called "The Letter Edged In Black". The performance was followed by some comic repartee which, according to his own account, provoked enough boos and hisses to have the desired effect of drowning out the escape party. After the war, Butterworth kept a photo of the concert party line up, something which offered as inspiration to him when starting a career in acting.
Also within the same camp as Butterworth and Rothwell were the future actors Rupert Davies
, and Stratford Johns
and John Casson, who was the son of Lewis Casson
and Sybil Thorndyke.
All five remained very close friends after the war ended and they all appeared on This Is Your Life
when Butterworth was featured in 1975.
film "William comes to town". Guest and Butterworth would become close friends and the two would work on a further seven films together during their careers. His first major success was on Television in the Terry-Thomas
sketch show "How do you view?" in which he played Terry-Thomas chauffeur 'Lockitt'. Butterworth is also known for his successful programmes aimed at children in the 1950s including "Whirligig" and "Butterworth Time". He continued to take small parts in films which became more frequent with time and would go onto appear alongside actors including Sean Connery
, David Niven
and Douglas Fairbanks Jr during his career.
where he played the part of "Doc". He was put in touch with the creator of the series, Peter Rogers
, by his friend Talbot Rothwell
, the writer of Carry On Cowboy and who had written the previous four films. Out of the fourteen actors who were considered to be the "Carry On team", he was the sixth most prolific performer in the series, making sixteen film appearances, two Christmas specials, the television series in 1975 and the west end theatre productions which also toured the country, alongside Sidney James
, Barbara Windsor
, and Kenneth Connor
.
Butterworth appeared in two of the most famous films in the series Carry on Screaming
in 1966 and Carry on up the Khyber
in 1968. It was the latter which established Butterworth as an important member of the Carry on cast of actors. Playing the part of Brother Belcher, a missionary working on behalf of a campaign to save fallen women, he first appears in the film giving a sermon in the market place and becomes somewhat distracted by a pretty native woman who lures him into a back room of a nearby building. The encounter is then caught by Captain Keane and Sergeant Major McNutt (Roy Castle
and Terry Scott
). Brother Belcher is then blackmailed into helping them overthrow The Khasi of Kalabar (played by Kenneth Williams).
His Carry On appearances portrayed his characters as typically quiet and subtly eccentric. He was often cast as a stooge for another character. In Carry on Screaming he played Detective Constable Slowbotham, the assistant for Detective Sergeant Bung played by Harry H Corbett, or as Citizen Bidet in "Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head" where he was the assistant to Citizen Camembert played by Kenneth Williams
. One of Butterworth's more famous performances was in Carry on Camping
, where he played Joshua Fiddler, the laid back and eccentric camp site manager, who persuades Sid James character to part with most of his money when booking into the camp site. Such was his popularity in the films, and his loyalty to Peter Rogers
and Gerald Thomas
, that Butterworth agreed to play three small roles, in Carry on Again Doctor
, Carry on Loving
and Carry On Henry
. It was agreed that, due to other working and stage commitments, he was unable to take bigger parts, and was specially written in to the films for the roles given to him. The first being in 1969 in Carry on Again Doctor, where he appeared for just three minutes playing an outpatient suffering from a bowel complaint. In 1970, when Talbot Rothwell began writing Carry on Loving
, he was persuaded to make a cameo
in the film as the 'Sinister Client' who inadvertently admits to killing his wife as she refused to eat poisonous mushrooms. A year later, in 1971, he played Charles Earl of Bristol, the father of Bett, played by Barbara Windsor.
Butterworth returned to playing bigger parts within the Carry On films in 1972. In Carry On Abroad
, he played 'Pepe' the manager of an unfinished hotel, who greets his unexpected guests in the guise of the builder, the porter, the receptionist and telephone operator. He spends the first half of the film furiously trying to placate and accommodate them and the last half desperately trying to save the building from a flood, and whilst all this is going on, put up with his nagging wife Hattie Jacques
.
Butterworth remained with the series until the final film, Carry On Emmannuelle
in 1978.
films during the beginning of his career, he also made three appearances in the films of Richard Lester
. He appeared in Lester's film version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
in (1966). Ten years later he appeared consecutively in The Ritz
and Robin and Marian
(1976) alongside Sean Connery
, Richard Harris
, and Audrey Hepburn
. He had an uncredited cameo part in the film version of the musical Oliver!
as a shopkeeper in court, and made a special appearance in an episode of Dad's Army
called The Face on the Poster
. In 1975 he was the subject of an episode of This Is Your Life whereby Eamonn Andrews
surprised him while he was shopping in Selfridges
, London
. Friends who took part in the show included Terry Scott
, Talbot Rothwell
, Jimmy Jewell
John Casson and Rupert Davies
. Butterworth's wife and their two children, Tyler
and Emma were also at the recording. When the Carry on films
finished in 1978, Butterworth began to concentrate on straight roles, taking a small part in the feature film The First Great Train Robbery
with Sean Connery, and the Alan Bennett
play "Afternoon Off" both from 1978. Both productions were released posthumously in 1979 on February 2 and 3 respectively.
after being introduced to one another by Rothwell. Brown later became famous for her impersonations of Margaret Thatcher
on TV
during the 70s and 80s. They had two children. Their son Tyler Butterworth
is an actor and is married to the actress Janet Dibley
. They also had a daughter, Emma (1962–1996), who died aged 34.
In 1979, while The First Great Train Robbery
was on general release, Butterworth was starring as Widow Twankey in the pantomime
Aladdin at the Coventry Theatre. When the show had finished, he went back to his hotel following the successful evening's performance. His failure to return for the following day's matinee show caused alarm, and he was found dead in his room from a heart attack. Out of respect the remainder of the "Aladdin" pantomime's run was cancelled. He is buried in Danehill
Cemetery, in East Sussex
. Following his death the producer of the Carry On Films Peter Rogers called Butterworth "A thoroughly nice bloke and a dear friend".
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
in 1965 as the 'The Meddling Monk
Meddling Monk
The Meddling Monk, or simply The Monk, was a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Played by the British comic actor Peter Butterworth, the character appeared in two stories: as an adversary of the First Doctor.Other than the...
'. He is noted as being the first ever recurring Doctor Who villain. He was married to the actress and impressionist Janet Brown.
War service
Before his acting career started, Butterworth served as a lieutenant commanderLieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during the Second World War. He was captured in the Netherlands in 1940 and later escaped through a tunnel
Escape tunnel
An escape tunnel is a form of secret passage used as part of an escape from siege or captivity. In medieval times such tunnels are usually constructed by the builders of castles or palaces who wish to have an escape route if their domain is under attack...
from Dulag luft
Dulag luft
thumb|right|Sgt. Edward Hill of [[Manchester, England]], freed from five years of captivity at Dulag Luft, by the American Seventh Armored Division, First Army, circa 29 March 1945...
, near Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, in June 1941, where he covered 27 miles (43 km) over three days before a member of the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
captured him. Afterwards he joked that he could never work with children again. Two other attempts to escape were made during his time there but he never got beyond the campgrounds.
Whilst at Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
he met Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Nelson Conn Rothwell, OBE was an English screenwriter.Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot....
, who later went on to write many of the Carry On films
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....
. Rothwell and Butterworth formed a duet and sang in the camp shows, where booing and catcalls covered the sounds of an escape tunnel being dug by other prisoners. Butterworth was one of the vaulters covering for the escapers during the escape portrayed by the book and film The Wooden Horse
The Wooden Horse
The Wooden Horse is a 1950 British Second World War war film starring Leo Genn, Anthony Steel and David Tomlinson and directed by Jack Lee. It is based on the book of the same name by Eric Williams, who also wrote the screenplay....
. Butterworth later auditioned for the film in 1949 but "didn't look convincingly heroic or athletic enough" according to the makers of the film. To compensate for this the director Jack Lee
Jack Lee
Jack Lee is an American songwriter and musician best known for composing the song, "Hanging on the Telephone."-Biography:...
, named the character played by Leo Genn
Leo Genn
- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
"Peter", after Butterworth.
Having never performed in public before, Butterworth sung a duet with Rothwell, a song which Rothwell called "The Letter Edged In Black". The performance was followed by some comic repartee which, according to his own account, provoked enough boos and hisses to have the desired effect of drowning out the escape party. After the war, Butterworth kept a photo of the concert party line up, something which offered as inspiration to him when starting a career in acting.
Also within the same camp as Butterworth and Rothwell were the future actors Rupert Davies
Rupert Davies
Rupert Davies was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon....
, and Stratford Johns
Stratford Johns
Stratford Johns, born Alan Edgar Stratford-Johns, was a popular British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the innovative and long-running BBC police series Z-Cars, created by Troy Kennedy-Martin.-Early life:Johns...
and John Casson, who was the son of Lewis Casson
Lewis Casson
Sir Lewis Thomas Casson MC was a British actor and theatre director and the husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.-Early life:...
and Sybil Thorndyke.
All five remained very close friends after the war ended and they all appeared on This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life (UK TV series)
This Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
when Butterworth was featured in 1975.
Early acting career
Butterworth came to notice after appearing in pantomime shows around the UK and made his first appearance on the big screen in 1948 starting with the Val GuestVal Guest
Val Guest was a British film director, best known for his science-fiction films for Hammer Film Productions in the 1950s, but who also enjoyed a long, varied and active career in the film industry from the early 1930s up until the early 1980s.-Early life and career:He was born Valmond Maurice...
film "William comes to town". Guest and Butterworth would become close friends and the two would work on a further seven films together during their careers. His first major success was on Television in the Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas
Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
sketch show "How do you view?" in which he played Terry-Thomas chauffeur 'Lockitt'. Butterworth is also known for his successful programmes aimed at children in the 1950s including "Whirligig" and "Butterworth Time". He continued to take small parts in films which became more frequent with time and would go onto appear alongside actors including Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
and Douglas Fairbanks Jr during his career.
Carry On films
Butterworth's association with the Carry On series started in 1965 in Carry on CowboyCarry On Cowboy
Carry On Cowboy is the eleventh in the Carry On series of films. It was released in 1965 and was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw...
where he played the part of "Doc". He was put in touch with the creator of the series, Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers was a British film producer.Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper before graduating to scriptwriting religious informational films...
, by his friend Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Nelson Conn Rothwell, OBE was an English screenwriter.Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot....
, the writer of Carry On Cowboy and who had written the previous four films. Out of the fourteen actors who were considered to be the "Carry On team", he was the sixth most prolific performer in the series, making sixteen film appearances, two Christmas specials, the television series in 1975 and the west end theatre productions which also toured the country, alongside Sidney James
Sidney James
Sidney James was a former professional footballer, who played for Huddersfield Town and Hartlepool United. He died in April 1917, when he was killed in action during World War I.-References:...
, Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
, and Kenneth Connor
Kenneth Connor
Kenneth Connor MBE was an English comedy stage, radio, film and TV actor, best known for his appearances in the Carry On films.-Career:...
.
Butterworth appeared in two of the most famous films in the series Carry on Screaming
Carry On Screaming
Carry On Screaming! is the twelfth Carry On film and was released in 1966. It was the last of the series to be distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated before the series moved to The Rank Organisation. It was originally rated in the UK as an 'A' , it is currently rated 'PG'...
in 1966 and Carry on up the Khyber
Carry On up the Khyber
Carry On Up the Khyber is the sixteenth Carry On film, released in 1968. It stars Carry On regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth. Roy Castle makes his only Carry On appearance in the "romantic male lead" part usually played by Jim...
in 1968. It was the latter which established Butterworth as an important member of the Carry on cast of actors. Playing the part of Brother Belcher, a missionary working on behalf of a campaign to save fallen women, he first appears in the film giving a sermon in the market place and becomes somewhat distracted by a pretty native woman who lures him into a back room of a nearby building. The encounter is then caught by Captain Keane and Sergeant Major McNutt (Roy Castle
Roy Castle
Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
and Terry Scott
Terry Scott
Owen John "Terry" Scott was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven Carry On films. He also appeared in BBC1's popular domestic sitcom Terry and June with June Whitfield...
). Brother Belcher is then blackmailed into helping them overthrow The Khasi of Kalabar (played by Kenneth Williams).
His Carry On appearances portrayed his characters as typically quiet and subtly eccentric. He was often cast as a stooge for another character. In Carry on Screaming he played Detective Constable Slowbotham, the assistant for Detective Sergeant Bung played by Harry H Corbett, or as Citizen Bidet in "Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head" where he was the assistant to Citizen Camembert played by Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
. One of Butterworth's more famous performances was in Carry on Camping
Carry On Camping
Carry On Camping is a 1969 comedy film and the seventeenth Carry On film. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth.-Plot:...
, where he played Joshua Fiddler, the laid back and eccentric camp site manager, who persuades Sid James character to part with most of his money when booking into the camp site. Such was his popularity in the films, and his loyalty to Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers was a British film producer.Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper before graduating to scriptwriting religious informational films...
and Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas was an English film director, born in Hull.-Early life:Thomas was training in medicine when the Second World War began. He then served in the British army during the war, in Europe and the Middle East...
, that Butterworth agreed to play three small roles, in Carry on Again Doctor
Carry On Again Doctor
Carry On Again Doctor is the eighteenth Carry On film. It was released in 1969 and was the third to feature a medical theme. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques...
, Carry on Loving
Carry On Loving
Carry On Loving is the twentieth Carry On film, and was released in 1970. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw alongside newcomers Richard O'Callaghan and Jacki Piper . Carry On Loving featured...
and Carry On Henry
Carry On Henry
Carry 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...
. It was agreed that, due to other working and stage commitments, he was unable to take bigger parts, and was specially written in to the films for the roles given to him. The first being in 1969 in Carry on Again Doctor, where he appeared for just three minutes playing an outpatient suffering from a bowel complaint. In 1970, when Talbot Rothwell began writing Carry on Loving
Carry On Loving
Carry On Loving is the twentieth Carry On film, and was released in 1970. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw alongside newcomers Richard O'Callaghan and Jacki Piper . Carry On Loving featured...
, he was persuaded to make a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the film as the 'Sinister Client' who inadvertently admits to killing his wife as she refused to eat poisonous mushrooms. A year later, in 1971, he played Charles Earl of Bristol, the father of Bett, played by Barbara Windsor.
Butterworth returned to playing bigger parts within the Carry On films in 1972. In Carry On Abroad
Carry On Abroad
Carry On Abroad is the twenty-fourth Carry On film, released in 1972. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth and Hattie Jacques. It was the 23rd and final appearance for Charles Hawtrey. June...
, he played 'Pepe' the manager of an unfinished hotel, who greets his unexpected guests in the guise of the builder, the porter, the receptionist and telephone operator. He spends the first half of the film furiously trying to placate and accommodate them and the last half desperately trying to save the building from a flood, and whilst all this is going on, put up with his nagging wife Hattie Jacques
Hattie Jacques
Josephine Edwina Jaques was an English comedy actress, known as Hattie Jacques.Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley on ITMA and later with Tony Hancock on Hancock's Half Hour...
.
Butterworth remained with the series until the final film, Carry On Emmannuelle
Carry On Emmannuelle
Carry On Emmannuelle is the 30th Carry On film, and was released in 1978. This was the last Carry On film to be made until Carry On Columbus in 1992. The film was to be the final Carry On for many regulars including Kenneth Williams , Kenneth Connor , Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth...
in 1978.
Later acting career
Having appeared in many of Val Guest'sVal Guest
Val Guest was a British film director, best known for his science-fiction films for Hammer Film Productions in the 1950s, but who also enjoyed a long, varied and active career in the film industry from the early 1930s up until the early 1980s.-Early life and career:He was born Valmond Maurice...
films during the beginning of his career, he also made three appearances in the films of Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
. He appeared in Lester's film version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A 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....
in (1966). Ten years later he appeared consecutively in The Ritz
The Ritz (film)
The Ritz is a 1976 film directed by Richard Lester based on the play of the same name by Terrence McNally.Actress Rita Moreno who had won a Tony Award for her performance as Googie Gomez in the 1975 Broadway production, and many others of the original cast like Jack Weston, Jerry Stiller, and F...
and Robin and Marian
Robin and Marian
Robin and Marian is a 1976 British/American co-produced romantic adventure period film filmed in Pamplona, Spain starring Sean Connery as Robin Hood, Audrey Hepburn as Lady Marian, Nicol Williamson as Little John, Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Richard Harris as King Richard. It also...
(1976) alongside Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
, and Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
. He had an uncredited cameo part in the film version of 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....
as a shopkeeper in court, and made a special appearance in an episode of Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
called The Face on the Poster
The Face on the Poster
"The Face on the Poster" is the sixth episode of the eighth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army that was originally broadcast on October 10, 1975.-Synopsis:The platoon start a recruiting campaign, and Jones is chosen as the face for the poster...
. In 1975 he was the subject of an episode of This Is Your Life whereby Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...
surprised him while he was shopping in Selfridges
Selfridges
Selfridges, AKA Selfridges & Co, is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store in London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK and was opened on 15 March 1909.More recently, three other stores have been...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Friends who took part in the show included Terry Scott
Terry Scott
Owen John "Terry" Scott was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven Carry On films. He also appeared in BBC1's popular domestic sitcom Terry and June with June Whitfield...
, Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Nelson Conn Rothwell, OBE was an English screenwriter.Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot....
, Jimmy Jewell
Jimmy Jewell
* For the actor see: Jimmy JewelJimmy Jewell was an English association football manager. During his career he coached Norwich City.-References:...
John Casson and Rupert Davies
Rupert Davies
Rupert Davies was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon....
. Butterworth's wife and their two children, Tyler
Butterworth
- People with the surname :* Arthur Butterworth , English composer* Bob Butterworth, former Florida attorney general* Brad Butterworth , yachtsman from New Zealand...
and Emma were also at the recording. When the Carry on films
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....
finished in 1978, Butterworth began to concentrate on straight roles, taking a small part in the feature film The First Great Train Robbery
The First Great Train Robbery
The First Great Train Robbery — known in the U.S. as The Great Train Robbery — is a 1979 film directed by Michael Crichton, who also wrote the screenplay based on his novel The Great Train Robbery...
with Sean Connery, and the Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
play "Afternoon Off" both from 1978. Both productions were released posthumously in 1979 on February 2 and 3 respectively.
Personal life and death
He married the actress and impressionist Janet Brown in 1947 at St. Mary's Church, Bryanaston Square, MaryleboneMarylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
after being introduced to one another by Rothwell. Brown later became famous for her impersonations of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
on TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
during the 70s and 80s. They had two children. Their son Tyler Butterworth
Tyler Butterworth
Tyler Butterworth is an English actor, who has appeared in Rumpole Of The Bailey, Bergerac, Last of the Summer Wine, The Bill, The Darling Buds of May, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and Osborne in the ITV sitcom Fiddlers Three...
is an actor and is married to the actress Janet Dibley
Janet Dibley
Janet Dibley is an English actress. She is best known for her role the 1980s sitcom The Two of Us. She currently appears as Dr...
. They also had a daughter, Emma (1962–1996), who died aged 34.
In 1979, while The First Great Train Robbery
The First Great Train Robbery
The First Great Train Robbery — known in the U.S. as The Great Train Robbery — is a 1979 film directed by Michael Crichton, who also wrote the screenplay based on his novel The Great Train Robbery...
was on general release, Butterworth was starring as Widow Twankey in the 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...
Aladdin at the Coventry Theatre. When the show had finished, he went back to his hotel following the successful evening's performance. His failure to return for the following day's matinee show caused alarm, and he was found dead in his room from a heart attack. Out of respect the remainder of the "Aladdin" pantomime's run was cancelled. He is buried in Danehill
Danehill, East Sussex
Danehill is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles north-east of Haywards Heath and on the edge of the Ashdown Forest...
Cemetery, in East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. Following his death the producer of the Carry On Films Peter Rogers called Butterworth "A thoroughly nice bloke and a dear friend".
Partial filmography
- William Comes to TownWilliam Comes to TownWilliam Comes to Town is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring William Graham and Garry Marsh. It was based on the Just William series of novels by Richmal Crompton. It served as a loose sequel to 1947 film Just William's Luck. It is also known by the alternative title...
(1948) - The Adventures of JaneThe Adventures of JaneThe Adventures of Jane was a 1949 British comedy film directed by Edward G. Whiting. It is the film version of the stage show based on the comic strip 'Jane'. It was written by Alfred G. Goulding and Con West. The cast included Chrystabel Leighton-Porter, who played Jane, and Michael Hogarth, who...
(1949) - Murder at the WindmillMurder at the WindmillMurder at the Windmill , titled Mystery at the Burlesque in the U.S., is a British crime film directed by Val Guest, and featuring Garry Marsh, Jon Pertwee, and Peter Butterworth....
(1949) - Miss Pilgrim's ProgressMiss Pilgrim's ProgressMiss Pilgrim's Progress is a 1950 British black-and-white film by producer Nat Cohen....
(1950) - The Body Said No!The Body Said No!The Body Said No! is a 1950 British comedy crime film directed by Val Guest and starring Michael Rennie, Yolande Donlan and Hy Hazell.-Cast:* Michael Rennie - The Body* Yolande Donlan - Mikki Brent* Hy Hazell - Sue* Jon Pertwee - Watchman...
(1950) - Night and the CityNight and the CityNight and the City is a film noir based on the novel by Gerald Kersh, directed by Jules Dassin, and starring Richard Widmark and Gene Tierney. Shot on location in London, the plot evolves around an ambitious hustler whose plans keep going wrong....
(1950) - Paul Temple's TriumphPaul Temple's TriumphPaul Temple's Triumph is a 1950 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley, Dinah Sheridan and Jack Livesey. It was the third in the series of Paul Temple films. Temple is on the trail of a gang of international criminals trying to steal atomic secrets.-Cast:* John...
(1950) - Old Mother RileyOld Mother RileyOld Mother Riley was a music hall act which originally ran from about 1934 to 1954 played by Arthur Lucan, then from 1954 to 1977 by Roy Rolland....
"Jungle Treasure" (1951) - Mister Drake's DuckMister Drake's DuckMister Drake's Duck is a 1951 British science fiction comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Yolande Donlan, Jon Pertwee, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Reginald Beckwith. Mr Drake, a farmer, discovers that his hens have started laying radioactive eggs.-Cast:* Douglas...
(1951) - Circle of DangerCircle of DangerCircle of Danger is a 1951 British thriller film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Ray Milland, Patricia Roc and Naunton Wayne. An American travels to England to discover the truth behind his brother's death during the Second World War...
(1951) - Appointment with VenusAppointment with VenusAppointment with Venus is a novel by Jerrard Tickell published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1951, leading to a film adaptation the same year...
(1951) - Saturday IslandSaturday IslandSaturday Island is a 1952 British romantic war film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Linda Darnell, Tab Hunter, Donald Gray and John Laurie, Lloyd Lamble and Peter Butterworth....
(1952) - Penny PrincessPenny PrincessPenny Princess is a 1952 British Technicolor comedy written and directed by Val Guest for his own production company, Conquest Productions. The film stars his future wife Yolande Donlan, who was Guest's production company partner, and features Reginald Beckwith, the other partner in Conquest...
(1952) - Will Any Gentleman...?Will Any Gentleman...?Will Any Gentleman...? is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring George Cole, Veronica Hurst, Jon Pertwee and William Hartnell. A young man is hypnotised into leading a more fulfilling life. It was based on a play by Vernon Sylvaine.-Cast:* George Cole as Henry...
(1953) - The Gay DogThe Gay DogThe Gay Dog is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Wilfred Pickles, Petula Clark and Megs Jenkins. A family acquire ownership of a greyhound which they plan to enter into a race.-Cast:* Wilfred Pickles - Jim Gay...
(1954) - Tom ThumbTom thumb (film)Deliberately uncapitalised, tom thumb is a 1958 fantasy-musical film directed by George Pal and released by MGM. It was based on the fairy tale of the same name...
(1958) - The Spider's WebThe Spider's Web (1960 film)The Spider's Web is a 1960 British mystery film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Glynis Johns, John Justin, Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hulbert...
(1960) - Murder, She SaidMurder, She SaidMurder, She Said is a murder mystery film directed by George Pollock, loosely based on the novel 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie...
(1961) - The Day the Earth Caught FireThe Day the Earth Caught FireThe Day the Earth Caught Fire is a British science fiction disaster film starring Edward Judd, Leo McKern and Janet Munro. It was directed by Val Guest and released in 1961....
(1961) - She'll Have to GoShe'll Have to GoShe'll Have to Go is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Bob Monkhouse.-Cast:* Bob Monkhouse - Francis Oberon* Alfred Marks - Douglas Oberon...
(1962) - Kill or Cure (1962)
- Doctor in DistressDoctor in Distress (film)Doctor in Distress is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, James Robertson Justice, and Samantha Eggar. It was the fifth film in the Doctor Series...
(1963) - A Home of Your OwnA Home of Your OwnA Home of Your Own is a 1964 British comedy film which is a brick-by-brick account of the building a young couple’s dream house. From the day when the site is first selected, to the day – several years and children later – when the couple finally move in, the story is a noisy but wordless comedy of...
(1964) - The Amorous Adventures of Moll FlandersThe Amorous Adventures of Moll FlandersThe Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders is a 1965 British historical comedy film directed by Terence Young and starring Kim Novak, Richard Johnson and Claire Ufland...
(1965) - Carry On CowboyCarry On CowboyCarry On Cowboy is the eleventh in the Carry On series of films. It was released in 1965 and was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw...
(1966)
- Carry On Screaming! (1966)
- 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) - Don't Lose Your HeadDon't Lose Your HeadDon't Lose Your Head is the thirteenth Carry On film . It features regular team members Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims. French actress Dany Robin makes her only Carry On appearance in Don't Lose Your Head. It was released in 1966...
(1966) - Ouch!Ouch!Ouch! is the fourth studio album by Lake, released in 1980 in Germany and 1981 in the USA. It is the first album to be released following the departure of three members of the band from their peak period, Detlef Petersen, Geoffrey Peacey, and Martin Tiefense, who were replaced by Frank Hieber,...
(1967) - Follow That CamelFollow That CamelFollow That Camel is the fourteenth Carry On film and was released in 1967. Like its predecessor Don't Lose Your Head, it does not have the words "Carry On" in its original title...
(1967) - Carry On DoctorCarry On DoctorCarry On Doctor is the fifteenth film in the Carry On series. It is the second in the series to have a medical theme. Frankie Howerd makes the first of his two appearances in the film series. He stars alongside regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Bernard Bresslaw...
(1967) - Prudence and the PillPrudence and the PillPrudence and the Pill is a 1968 British comedy film made by Twentieth Century-Fox. It was directed by Fielder Cook and Ronald Neame and produced by Kenneth Harper and Ronald J. Kahn from a screenplay by Hugh Mills, based on his own novel...
(1968) - Carry On... Up the Khyber (1968)
- Carry On CampingCarry On CampingCarry On Camping is a 1969 comedy film and the seventeenth Carry On film. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott, Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth.-Plot:...
(1969) - Carry On Again DoctorCarry On Again DoctorCarry On Again Doctor is the eighteenth Carry On film. It was released in 1969 and was the third to feature a medical theme. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques...
(1969) - Carry On LovingCarry On LovingCarry On Loving is the twentieth Carry On film, and was released in 1970. It features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw alongside newcomers Richard O'Callaghan and Jacki Piper . Carry On Loving featured...
(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) - A Class by HimselfA Class by HimselfA Class by Himself was a British sitcom, which aired from 1971 to 1972. The half-hour series was made by Harlech Television and starred John Le Mesurier of Dad's Army fame as Lord Bleasham.-Cast:*John Le Mesurier - Lord Bleasham...
(1971) - Bless This HouseBless This House (film)Bless This House is a 1972 British comedy film and a spin off from the television sitcom Bless This House.-Cast:The film starred many of the main stars from the TV series but some were missing and were replaced.*Sid James as Sid Abbot...
(1972) - Carry On AbroadCarry On AbroadCarry On Abroad is the twenty-fourth Carry On film, released in 1972. The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth and Hattie Jacques. It was the 23rd and final appearance for Charles Hawtrey. June...
(1972) - Not Now Darling (1973)
- Carry On GirlsCarry On GirlsCarry On Girls is the 25th Carry On film, released in Britain in 1973. The film is notable for being the first not to feature either Kenneth Williams or Charles Hawtrey. Williams was appearing in a West End play, My Fat Friend. Hawtrey had been dropped from the series the year before...
(1973) - Carry On DickCarry On DickCarry On Dick was the 26th Carry On film. It was released in 1974 and marked the end of an era for the series. It featured the last appearances of Sid James and Hattie Jacques although both would make a further appearance in the Carry On Laughing TV series...
(1974) - Carry On BehindCarry On BehindCarry On Behind is the twenty-seventh Carry On film and was released in 1975. The film was the first not to feature Sid James since Follow That Camel seven years previously. It was also the first not to be scripted by Talbot Rothwell since Carry On Cruising 13 years previously. James was busy...
(1975) - Robin and MarianRobin and MarianRobin and Marian is a 1976 British/American co-produced romantic adventure period film filmed in Pamplona, Spain starring Sean Connery as Robin Hood, Audrey Hepburn as Lady Marian, Nicol Williamson as Little John, Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Richard Harris as King Richard. It also...
(1976) - The RitzThe Ritz (film)The Ritz is a 1976 film directed by Richard Lester based on the play of the same name by Terrence McNally.Actress Rita Moreno who had won a Tony Award for her performance as Googie Gomez in the 1975 Broadway production, and many others of the original cast like Jack Weston, Jerry Stiller, and F...
(1976) - Carry On EnglandCarry On EnglandCarry On England is the 28th Carry On film. It was released in 1976 and featured Carry On regulars Kenneth Connor, Jack Douglas, Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth. It was second and final Carry On film for Windsor Davies, Diane Langton, and Peter Jones, while Patrick Mower, Judy Geeson and Melvyn...
(1976) - Odd Man Out (1977)
- Carry On EmmannuelleCarry On EmmannuelleCarry On Emmannuelle is the 30th Carry On film, and was released in 1978. This was the last Carry On film to be made until Carry On Columbus in 1992. The film was to be the final Carry On for many regulars including Kenneth Williams , Kenneth Connor , Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth...
(1978) - The First Great Train RobberyThe First Great Train RobberyThe First Great Train Robbery — known in the U.S. as The Great Train Robbery — is a 1979 film directed by Michael Crichton, who also wrote the screenplay based on his novel The Great Train Robbery...
(1979)