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Wilfrid Lawson (actor)
Encyclopedia
Wilfrid Lawson was a British
character actor
of stage and screen.
, Bradford and entered the theatre in his late teens, appearing on both the British and American stage throughout his career.
He made his film debut in East Lynne on the Western Front
(1931) and appeared in supporting roles until he took the lead in the 1938 version of The Terror
. That same year saw arguably his most celebrated film role as dustman Alfred P. Doolittle in the successful film version of George Bernard Shaw
's Pygmalion
opposite Leslie Howard
and Wendy Hiller
.
He also had memorable leading roles in Pastor Hall
(1940), as a German village clergyman who denounces the new Nazi regime in 1934; Tower of Terror (1941) as the wild-eyed maniacal lighthouse keeper Wolfe Kristen; and the title role in the prestigious The Great Mr. Handel (1942), a biopic of the 18th century composer, all three showing his broad range. He also made a number of films in America beginning with Ladies in Love
(1936) and including John Ford
's The Long Voyage Home
(1940) alongside John Wayne
.
His last leading role came in 1947 with The Turners of Prospect Road. Because of bouts of alcoholism he became difficult to work with, and throughout the 1950s his roles became increasingly small - even uncredited in some cases. Despite this he still gave memorable performances such as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky's father in King Vidor
's War and Peace
(1956), Ed in Hell Drivers
(1957) and Uncle Nat in Room at the Top (1958), filmed in Lawson's hometown of Bradford.
The 1960s saw something of a career resurgence, beginning with his turn as Black George in Tony Richardson
's acclaimed Tom Jones
(1963) and culminating in two of his most notable latter day performances: The decrepit butler Peacock in The Wrong Box
and the Dormouse in Jonathan Miller
's television adaptation of Alice in Wonderland
(both 1966). The same year saw his death from a heart attack.
His brother was the supporting player Gerald Lawson and his nephew, actor Bernard Fox.
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...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
of stage and screen.
Life and career
He was educated at Hanson Boys' Grammar SchoolHanson School
Hanson School is a comprehensive school in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.-Admissions:Hanson School is situated between Bolton and Five Lane Ends. It is situated in an ethnically-white part of Bradford.-Head teacher:...
, Bradford and entered the theatre in his late teens, appearing on both the British and American stage throughout his career.
He made his film debut in East Lynne on the Western Front
East Lynne on the Western Front
East Lynne on the Western Front is a 1931 British comedy film directed by George Pearson and starring Herbert Mundin, Mark Daly and Alf Goddard...
(1931) and appeared in supporting roles until he took the lead in the 1938 version of The Terror
The Terror (1938 film)
The Terror is a 1938 British crime film directed by Richard Bird and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Linden Travers and Bernard Lee. It was based on a play by Edgar Wallace.The film is also known as Edgar Wallace's The Terror ....
. That same year saw arguably his most celebrated film role as dustman Alfred P. Doolittle in the successful film version of George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Pygmalion
Pygmalion (1938 film)
Pygmalion is a 1938 British film based on the George Bernard Shaw play of the same title, and adapted by him for the screen. It stars Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller....
opposite Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
and Wendy Hiller
Wendy Hiller
Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an Academy Award-winning English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a no-nonsense actress who literally took...
.
He also had memorable leading roles in Pastor Hall
Pastor Hall
Pastor Hall is a 1940 British drama film directed by Ray Boulting and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Nova Pilbeam, Seymour Hicks, among others. The film is based on the play of the same title by German author Ernst Toller who had lived as an emigrant in the United States until his suicide in...
(1940), as a German village clergyman who denounces the new Nazi regime in 1934; Tower of Terror (1941) as the wild-eyed maniacal lighthouse keeper Wolfe Kristen; and the title role in the prestigious The Great Mr. Handel (1942), a biopic of the 18th century composer, all three showing his broad range. He also made a number of films in America beginning with Ladies in Love
Ladies in Love
Ladies in Love is a romantic comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith. Starring Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett and Loretta Young the film revolves around three roommates in exotic Budapest and their comical romantic adventures. Gaynor, Bennett, and Young were billed above the title, with...
(1936) and including John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's The Long Voyage Home
The Long Voyage Home
The Long Voyage Home is an American drama film and directed by John Ford. It features John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, Ward Bond, among others....
(1940) alongside John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
.
His last leading role came in 1947 with The Turners of Prospect Road. Because of bouts of alcoholism he became difficult to work with, and throughout the 1950s his roles became increasingly small - even uncredited in some cases. Despite this he still gave memorable performances such as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky's father in King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
's War and Peace
War and Peace (1956 film)
War and Peace is the first English-language film version of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is an American/Italian version, directed by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. The music score was by Nino Rota and the cinematography by Jack Cardiff...
(1956), Ed in Hell Drivers
Hell Drivers (film)
Hell Drivers is a 1957 British film directed by Cy Endfield starring Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, Patrick McGoohan and Sean Connery, produced by the Rank Organisation and Aqua Film Productions.-Plot:...
(1957) and Uncle Nat in Room at the Top (1958), filmed in Lawson's hometown of Bradford.
The 1960s saw something of a career resurgence, beginning with his turn as Black George in Tony Richardson
Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist...
's acclaimed Tom Jones
Tom Jones (film)
Tom Jones is a 1963 British adventure comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling , starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, winning four Academy Awards...
(1963) and culminating in two of his most notable latter day performances: The decrepit butler Peacock in The Wrong Box
The Wrong Box
The Wrong Box is a British comedy film made by Salamander Film Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.The cast includes a...
and the Dormouse in Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
's television adaptation of Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1966 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a BBC television play based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was directed by Jonathan Miller, then most widely known for his appearance in the long-running satirical revue Beyond the Fringe....
(both 1966). The same year saw his death from a heart attack.
His brother was the supporting player Gerald Lawson and his nephew, actor Bernard Fox.
Selected stage performances
- Peer GyntPeer GyntPeer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
- Richard IIIRichard III (play)Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
- The Father (Strindberg play)
- The Lower DepthsThe Lower DepthsThe Lower Depths is perhaps Maxim Gorky's best-known play. It was written during the winter of 1901 and the spring of 1902. Subtitled "Scenes from Russian Life," it depicted a group of impoverished Russians living in a shelter near the Volga. Produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18,...
(1962)
Filmography
- East Lynne on the Western FrontEast Lynne on the Western FrontEast Lynne on the Western Front is a 1931 British comedy film directed by George Pearson and starring Herbert Mundin, Mark Daly and Alf Goddard...
(1931) - Strike It RichStrike It Rich (1933 film)Strike It Rich is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Betty Astell, Davy Burnaby, George K. Gee and Wilfrid Lawson....
(1933) - Turn of the TideTurn of the TideTurn of the Tide is a 1935 British film directed by Norman Walker.It was the first feature film made by J. Arthur Rank.It is set in a North Yorkshire fishing village, and relates the rivalry between two fishing families. The actors included John Garrick, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson speak...
(1935) - Ladies in LoveLadies in LoveLadies in Love is a romantic comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith. Starring Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett and Loretta Young the film revolves around three roommates in exotic Budapest and their comical romantic adventures. Gaynor, Bennett, and Young were billed above the title, with...
(1936) - White Hunter (1936)
- The Man Who Made DiamondsThe Man Who Made DiamondsThe Man Who Made Diamonds is a 1937 British crime film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Noel Madison, James Stephenson and Lesley Brook. A professor invents a way of manufacturing diamonds.-Cast:* Noel Madison ... Joseph* James Stephenson ... Ben...
(1937) - Bank HolidayBank Holiday (film)Bank Holiday is a 1938 British drama film directed by Carol Reed and starring John Lodge, Margaret Lockwood, Hugh Williams and Kathleen Harrison...
(1938) - The TerrorThe Terror (1938 film)The Terror is a 1938 British crime film directed by Richard Bird and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Linden Travers and Bernard Lee. It was based on a play by Edgar Wallace.The film is also known as Edgar Wallace's The Terror ....
(1938) - Yellow SandsYellow Sands (film)Yellow Sands is a 1938 British comedy drama film directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Marie Tempest, Belle Chrystall, Wilfrid Lawson and Robert Newton. A wealthy dying woman's relatives gather, unaware that they have all been cut out of the will...
(1938) - PygmalionPygmalion (1938 film)Pygmalion is a 1938 British film based on the George Bernard Shaw play of the same title, and adapted by him for the screen. It stars Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller....
(1938) - The Gaunt StrangerThe Gaunt StrangerThe Gaunt Stranger is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Sonnie Hale, Wilfrid Lawson, Louise Henry, Alexander Knox and Patrick Barr....
(1938) - Stolen Life (1939)
- Allegheny UprisingAllegheny UprisingAllegheny Uprising is a 1939 film produced by RKO Pictures, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne as pioneers of early American expansion in south central Pennsylvania. Clad in buckskin and a coonskin cap , Wayne plays real-life James Smith, an American coping with British rule in colonial America...
(1939) - Dead Man's ShoesDead Man's Shoes (1939 film)-Cast:* Leslie Banks as Roger de Vetheuil* Joan Marion as Viola de Vetheuil* Geoffrey Atkins as Paul de Vetheuil* Wilfrid Lawson as Lucien Sarrou* Judy Kelly as Michelle Allain* Nancy Price as Madame Pelletier* Walter Hudd as Gaston Alexandri...
(1940) - Pastor HallPastor HallPastor Hall is a 1940 British drama film directed by Ray Boulting and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Nova Pilbeam, Seymour Hicks, among others. The film is based on the play of the same title by German author Ernst Toller who had lived as an emigrant in the United States until his suicide in...
(1940) - The Long Voyage HomeThe Long Voyage HomeThe Long Voyage Home is an American drama film and directed by John Ford. It features John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, Ward Bond, among others....
(1940) - It Happened to One Man (1940)
- The Farmer's WifeThe Farmer's Wife (1941 film)The Farmer's Wife is a 1941 British drama film directed by Norman Lee and Leslie Arliss and starring Basil Sydney, Wilfrid Lawson and Nora Swinburne. It is based on the play The Farmer's Wife by Eden Phillpotts which had previously been adapted by Alfred Hitchcock for a 1929 film.-Cast:* Basil...
(1941) - The Man at the Gate (1941)
- Danny BoyDanny Boy (1941 film)Danny Boy is a 1941 British drama film directed by Oswald Mitchell and starring David Farrar, Wilfrid Lawson, Ann Todd and Grant Tyler. Halliwell's Film and Video Guide describes the film as a "sentimental drama with music; not for the critical."-Cast:...
(1941) - JeannieJeannie (film)Jeannie is a 1941 British romantic comedy film directed by Harold French.-Plot:Jeannie McLean is Scottish girl who finds that she has received an inheritance...
(1941) - Tower of Terror (1941)
- Hard Steel (1942)
- The Night Has EyesThe Night Has EyesThe Night Has Eyes is a 1942 British thriller film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring James Mason, Wilfrid Lawson and Mary Clare. Two young teachers travel to the Yorkshire Moors where their friend disappeared a year before...
(1942)
- The Great Mr. Handel (1942)
- Thursday's Child (1943)
- Fanny by GaslightFanny by Gaslight (film)Fanny by Gaslight was a 1944 British drama film, produced by Gainsborough Pictures, set in the 1870s and adapted from a novel by Michael Sadleir . It was one of its famous period-set "Gainsborough melodramas"...
(1944) - The Turners of Prospect RoadThe Turners of Prospect RoadThe Turners of Prospect Road is a 1947 British drama film directed by Maurice J. Wilson and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Helena Pickard and Maureen Glynne. A pet greyhound wins a major race meeting...
(1947) - Make Me An Officer (1954)
- The PrisonerThe Prisoner (1955 film)The Prisoner is a 1955 drama film directed by Peter Glenville and based on the play by Bridget Boland. The film stars Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins.-Cast:* Alec Guinness as The Cardinal* Jack Hawkins as The Interrogator* Wilfrid Lawson as The Jailer...
(1955) - An Alligator Named DaisyAn Alligator Named DaisyAn Alligator Named Daisy is a 1955 British comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Donald Sinden, Jeannie Carson, James Robertson Justice, Diana Dors, Roland Culver and Stanley Holloway.-Plot:...
(1955) - Now and ForeverNow and Forever (1956 film)Now and Forever is a 1956 British drama film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Janette Scott, Vernon Gray and Kay Walsh. It is based on the play The Orchard Walls by R.F. Delderfield...
(1956) - War and PeaceWar and Peace (1956 film)War and Peace is the first English-language film version of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is an American/Italian version, directed by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. The music score was by Nino Rota and the cinematography by Jack Cardiff...
(1956) - Doctor at LargeDoctor at Large (film)Doctor at Large is a 1957 British comedy film, the third installment of the Doctor in the House series. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Donald Sinden, and James Robertson Justice.-Cast:* Dirk Bogarde as Dr. Simon Sparrow...
(1957) - Miracle in SohoMiracle in SohoMiracle in Soho is a 1957 British drama film directed by Julian Amyes and starring John Gregson, Belinda Lee and Cyril Cusack. The film depicts the lives of the inhabitants of a small street in Soho and the romance betweena local road-builder and the daughter of Italian immigrants.-Main cast:* John...
(1957) - Hell DriversHell Drivers (film)Hell Drivers is a 1957 British film directed by Cy Endfield starring Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, Patrick McGoohan and Sean Connery, produced by the Rank Organisation and Aqua Film Productions.-Plot:...
(1957) - The Naked TruthThe Naked Truth (1957 film)The Naked Truth is a 1957 British film comedy starring Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas and Dennis Price. Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton and Joan Sims also appear...
(1957) - Tread Softly StrangerTread Softly StrangerTread Softly Stranger is a 1958 British crime drama directed by Gordon Parry and starring Diana Dors, George Baker and Terence Morgan. The film was shot in black-and-white in film noir style, and its setting in a gritty working industrial town in northern England mirrors the kitchen sink realism...
(1958) - Room at the Top (1959)
- Expresso BongoExpresso BongoExpresso Bongo, a 1958 West End musical and a 1959 film, was a satire of the music industry. It was first produced on the stage at the Saville Theatre, London on 23 April 1958. Its book was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Julian More, with music by David Heneker and Monty Norman, also the...
(1959) - Over the OddsOver the OddsOver the Odds is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Michael Forlong and starring Marjorie Rhodes, Glenn Melvyn, Cyril Smith, Esma Cannon and Thora Hird and Wilfrid Lawson. A bookmaker struggles to cope with his two mother-in-laws...
(1961) - The Naked EdgeThe Naked EdgeThe Naked Edge is a 1961 thriller film starring Gary Cooper and Deborah Kerr. The movie was a British-American co-production distributed by United Artists, directed by Michael Anderson and produced by George Glass and Walter Seltzer with Marlon Brando Sr. as executive producer...
(1961) - Nothing BarredNothing BarredNothing Barred is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Darcy Conyers and starring Brian Rix, Leo Franklyn and Naunton Wayne.-Main cast:* Brian Rix - Wilfred Sapling* Leo Franklyn - Barger* Naunton Wayne - Lord Whitebait* Charles Heslop - Spankworth...
(1961) - Postman's KnockPostman's Knock (film)Postman's Knock is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Spike Milligan, Barbara Shelley, John Wood and Warren Mitchell. A country postman is transferred to London, where he manages to foil a major robbery.-Cast:...
(1962) - Go to BlazesGo to Blazes (1962 film)Go to Blazes is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Michael Truman and starring Dave King, Robert Morley, Norman Rossington, Daniel Massey, Dennis Price, Maggie Smith, David Lodge. It also featured Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier, later to feature prominently in Dad's Army...
(1962) - Tom JonesTom Jones (film)Tom Jones is a 1963 British adventure comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling , starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, winning four Academy Awards...
(1963) - The Wrong BoxThe Wrong BoxThe Wrong Box is a British comedy film made by Salamander Film Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.The cast includes a...
(1966) - The Viking QueenThe Viking QueenThe Viking Queen is a 1967 Hammer Films adventure film set in ancient Britain.-Synopsis:To honour her father's dying wish, Queen Salina shares the rule of Icena with Justinian, a fair and just Roman. This displeases the bloodthirsty Druids on one side and the more hard-line Romans on the other...
(1967)
Television & radio
- Tales from Dickens
- BBC Sunday-Night Theatre
- The Stone Faces by J. B. PriestleyJ. B. PriestleyJohn Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
with Luise RainerLuise RainerLuise Rainer is a former German film actress. Known as The "Viennese Teardrop", she was the first woman to win two Academy Awards, and the first person to win them consecutively. She was discovered by MGM talent scouts while acting on stage in Austria and Germany and after appearing in Austrian...
(broadcast 1957) - ITV Play of the Week
- Armchair TheatreArmchair TheatreArmchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
- Hancock (ATV, 1963)
- Espionage
- Cluff
- Z Cars
- Theatre 625
- Danger ManDanger ManDanger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- The Likely LadsThe Likely LadsThe Likely Lads was a black-and-white British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966...
- The Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
(Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1966 film)Alice in Wonderland is a BBC television play based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was directed by Jonathan Miller, then most widely known for his appearance in the long-running satirical revue Beyond the Fringe....
) - Three SistersThree Sisters (play)Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
(Chekhov) BBC Home Service Radio 1965. Directed by John Tyneman. Cast included Paul ScofieldPaul ScofieldDavid Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
, Ian McKellenIan McKellenSir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, Lynn RedgraveLynn RedgraveLynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
and Jill Bennett.