George Cole, whose artistic career spans more than sixty years, was born on April 22, 1925 in Tooting, southwest London. From the age of 14, he began to play in the theater, making his debut in the play The White Horse Hotel. An important role in the formation of his performing skills was played by actor Alastair Sim, who became a mentor and senior friend of young Cole. Their friendship lasted for many years, and later they appeared on the screen in the same picture. His first film was Anthony Esquit’s
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George Cole, whose artistic career spans more than sixty years, was born on April 22, 1925 in Tooting, southwest London. From the age of 14, he began to play in the theater, making his debut in the play The White Horse Hotel. An important role in the formation of his performing skills was played by actor Alastair Sim, who became a mentor and senior friend of young Cole. Their friendship lasted for many years, and later they appeared on the screen in the same picture. His first film was Anthony Esquit’s spy thriller The Cottage Surrenders (1941). A few years later, he starred in a small role as a boy in Laurence Olivier's famous Henry V (1944), after which he was drafted into the Air Force. After his demobilization in 1947, Cole continued to play on stage and act in films. Among his best early roles was the obsessive inventor in one of the four novels of the film The Quartet (1948), directed by four English directors Ken Ennakin, Arthur Crabtree, Harold French and Ralph Smart based on the works of Somerset Maugham. Cole's crooked grin and his London accent of true Cockney were the best fit for light, semi-comedic roles. He starred in a variety of comedies, including Laughter in Paradise (1951, dir. Mario Zampi), Beauty from St. Trinian (1953, dir. Frank Launder), which had two sequels in 1956 and in 1958. and The Green Man Hotel (1956, dir. Robert Day).
However, in the acting career of Cole there were much more serious films, and as a result - more serious acting work, such as, for example, Sergeant Roger Morris in the criminal Dramamason, Mark's psychological remasson (1971), who became a girl in the "Manhaller's film" (1971). He also played Flavia in the historical epic Cleopatra directed by Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (1963) and a dog in the joint American-Soviet film The Blue Bird by George Cukor, based on the tale of Maurice Maeterlink (1976). Since the late seventies, the actor worked a lot on television, starring in various series. Of these, the most popular was the comedy series "Girlfriend", which ran from 1979 to 1984 and from 1988 to 1994, in which he played the main role - a small scammer and second-hand car dealer Arthur Daly. He was twice married to actresses - his first wife was Eileen Moore, the second - Penny Morrell.