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John Le Mesurier
Life Time
5 April 1912 - 15 November 1983
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John Le Mesurier was born on 5 April 1912 in Bedford. His grandfather and father were lawyers, and after graduating from high school in Dorset, he first followed in their footsteps, working some time in a law firm. However, when he turned 20, he decided to become an actor and entered the school of dramatic art, under the guidance of the famous theater actress Fay Compton. Subsequently, he played in various repertory theaters and touring companies and his career was interrupted only with the outbreak
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John Le Mesurier was born on 5 April 1912 in Bedford. His grandfather and father were lawyers, and after graduating from high school in Dorset, he first followed in their footsteps, working some time in a law firm. However, when he turned 20, he decided to become an actor and entered the school of dramatic art, under the guidance of the famous theater actress Fay Compton. Subsequently, he played in various repertory theaters and touring companies and his career was interrupted only with the outbreak of World War II, which he finished as a captain in the northwest of India. Returning to acting, thanks to numerous small roles in film and television, Le Mesurier by the late fifties became a very recognizable face in British cinema. Being a fairly versatile actor, he still preferred comedy to all genres - he played in the comedy films of the Bowling brothers "Private Way" (1956), "I'm OK, Jack" (1959), "Carlton Brown - Diplomat" (1959), and in the early sixties took part in the television show of his friend, comedian Tony Hancock and starred in a couple of films with his participation. Most of his characters, as a rule, were nervous, restless and fussy priests, military, businessmen and fathers of families.
Most of all Le Mesurier was remembered by the audience thanks to the role of Sergeant Arthur Wilson, part-time bank clerk and former school teacher in the humorous television series "Daddy's Army" (1968-1977) about members of the voluntary militia in the forties. In 1972, for the role of diplomat Adrian Harris in the spy drama The Traitor (1971, Alan Bridges), the actor was awarded the British Academy of Film and Television Award. During his life, John Le Mesurier starred in more than one hundred and fifty films, although often his appearance on the screen rarely went beyond the episode. His films include The Battle of the River La Plata (1956, Michael Powell, Emerick Pressburger), The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960, John Gillermin), The Pink Panther (1964, directed by Blake Edwards), The Wrong Box (1966, directed by Brian Forbes), The Italian Robbery (1969, directed by Peter Collinson), and Jabberwaukee (1977, directed by Terry Gilliam). In 1981, together with actors Ian Holm and Michael Hordern, he participated in the recording of a radio play based on Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings on the BBC. He was married several times, including to comedian Hattie Jacques, who bore him two children. He died on November 15, 1983 in Ramsgate, Kent. After Le Mesurier's death, his autobiography "The Working Actor" was published.
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