Wensley Pithey  | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 21 June 1914 | 
| Died | 10 November 1993 (aged 79) London, England, UK  | 
Wensley Ivan William Frederick Pithey (21 June 1914 – 10 November 1993) was a South African character actor who had a long stage and film career in Britain.[1][2]
Biography
Pithey was born in Cape Town, South Africa.[1] A graduate of the University of Cape Town where he studied music and drama, he travelled to Britain in 1947.[3] He appeared in various Shakespearean roles in his long career (memorably as Sir Toby Belch) as well as appearing in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie.[3] He also directed and produced plays in the West End and appeared in a range of roles on television including the 1976 drama Edward and Mrs Simpson (as Winston Churchill – a role he also played in the miniseries Ike) as well as Special Branch and Poldark.[1][4] His British television appearances included Danger Man (1961) among others.[5] He also played the title role Detective Superintendent Charlesworth in a number of BBC series including Charlesworth at Large (1958) and its sequel Charlesworth the following year. In 1964 he played a ballistics expert in the BBC series Call the Gun Expert.
Between 1961 and 1976, Pithey appeared in German TV commercials as a fake coffee expert for Tchibo.[6]
Filmography
Film
- The Mark of Cain (1947) as Opera House Attendant (uncredited)
 - London Belongs to Me (1948) as First Warden
 - It's Hard to Be Good (1948) as Vicar (uncredited)
 - Cardboard Cavalier (1949) as Jailer
 - Your Witness (1950) as Alfred
 - Guilt Is My Shadow (1950) as Tillingham
 - The Woman's Angle (1952) (uncredited)
 - Brandy for the Parson (1952) as Circus Owner
 - Father's Doing Fine (1952) as Policeman (uncredited)
 - Lady in the Fog (1952) as Sid - the Barman
 - The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) as A Policeman
 - The Diamond (1954) as Springwell Police Sergeant (uncredited)
 - The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) as Hugo
 - Isn't Life Wonderful! (1954) as Sam
 - Tiger in the Smoke (1956) as Detective Sergeant Pickett
 - You Can't Escape (1956) as Constable Wagstaff
 - Doctor at Large (1957) as Sam - Poacher
 - Kill Me Tomorrow (1957) as Inspector Lane
 - Hell Drivers (1957) as Pop
 - The Long Haul (1957) as Minor Role
 - Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957) as Brigadier (uncredited)
 - Serious Charge (1959) as Police Sergeant
 - Make Mine Mink (1960) as Superintendent (uncredited)
 - The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960) as Chief Constable
 - Snowball (1960) as Jim Adams
 - The Barber of Stamford Hill (1962) as Mr. O
 - The Boys (1962) as Mr. Coulter
 - The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965) as Teacher
 - Oliver! (1968) as Dr. Grimwig
 - Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) as Archduke Franz Ferdinand (uncredited)
 - One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975) as Bromley
 - The Saint and the Brave Goose (1979) as Franklyn
 - Red Monarch (1983) as Voroshilov
 - White Mischief (1987) as Sheridan
 - American Friends (1991) as Cave
 
Television
- Little Women (1950–1951) as Mr. James Laurence
 - Midshipman Barney (1951) as Snarks
 - Sunday Night Theatre (1951–1957) as Multiple roles
 - Robin Hood (1953) as Friar Tuck
 - Wednesday Theatre (1953) as Tom Pascoe
 - A Castle and Sixpence (1954) as Mr. Parsons
 - The Gentle Falcon (1954) as Innkeeper
 - Fabian of the Yard (1956) as Jerry Watson
 - David Copperfield (1956) as Captain Mercier Mr. Tungay
 - Play of the Week (1956–1967) as Multiple roles
 - Assignment Foreign Legion (1957) as Captain Mercier
 - Overseas Press Club – Exclusive! (1957) as Father Tsouderos
 - Mister Charlesworth (1957) as Det. Chief Insp. Charlesworth
 - Nicholas Nickleby (1957) as Vincent Crummles
 - Shadow Squad (1957) as Inspector Smith
 - Big Guns (1958) as Det. Supt. Charlesworth
 - Caxton's Tales (1958) as Mortimer Benson
 - The Diary of Samuel Pepys as Viscount Brouncker
 - The Firm of Girdlestone (1958) as Dr. Dimsdale
 - The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1958) as James Collins
 - Ivanhoe (1958) as Earl of Pembroke
 - Charlesworth at Large (1958) as Det. Supt. Charlesworth
 - Armchair Theatre (1958–1960) as Multiple roles
 - The Last Chronicle of Barset (1959) as Mr. Walker
 - Charlesworth (1959) as Det. Supt. Charlesworth
 - Probation Officer (1960) as Mr. Moffat
 - Yorky (1960) as Fred Piggott
 - The Larkins (1960) as George Potter
 - Somerset Maugham Hour (1960) as Willem
 - Persuasion (1960–1961) as Mr. Musgrove
 - No Hiding Place (1961) as Joe Smith
 - Dixon of Dock Green (1961) as Paul Wigram
 - Danger Man (1961) as Senor Lazar
 - Here's Harry (1961) as Police Chief
 - Boyd Q.C. (1961) as Mr. Wodhurst
 - Deadline Midnight (1961) as Frederick Hall
 - Sir Francis Drake (1961) as Davey Preston
 - Jacks and Knaves (1961) as Chief Inspector
 - BBC Sunday-Night Play (1961) as Col. Von Schwendi
 - Zero One (1962) as Unknown role
 - The Scales of Justice (1962) as Mr. Robbins
 - Playbox (1962–1963) as Barrington Blizard, QC
 - Suspense (1963) as Bradwell
 - Man of the World (1963) as President Ruschek
 - The Saint (1963) as Insp. Claude Teal
 - Teletale (1963) as Prof. Bür-Malottke
 - The Plane Makers (1964) as Bill Ingram
 - Sergeant Cork (1964) as Bill Ingram
 - Call the Gun Expert (1964) as Robert Churchill
 - Love Story (1964) as Jack Wightman
 - Gideon's Way (1964) as Supt. Bill Hemmingway
 - The Airbase (1965) as Mr. Swearingen
 - The Sullavan Brothers (1965) as Corcoran
 - Blackmail (1965) as Eric Palmer
 - Mrs Thursday (1966) as George Dunrich
 - City '68 (1967–1968) as Alderman Sankey
 - Her Majesty's Pleasure (1968) as Governor
 - Callan (1969) as Det. Insp. Charwood
 - Special Branch (1969) as Det. Supt. Eden
 - Nearest and Dearest (1970) as Leonard Longbottom
 - The Main Chance (1970) as Lord Bennett
 - Doomwatch (1972) as Dr. Ericson
 - The Adventurer (1972) as Nicholas
 - Coronation Street (1972–1974) as Wilfred Perkins
 - Sykes (1973) as Multiple roles
 - Zodiac (1974) as Inspector Duggan
 - Poldark (1975) as Jeffrey Clymer
 - Beasts (1976) as Mr. Liversedge
 - Premiere as Chief Insp. Lymington
 - The Devil's Crown (1978) as Saladin
 - Edward and Mrs. Simpson (1978) as Winston Churchill
 - Return of the Saint (1979) as Franklyn
 - Ike (1979) as Winston Churchill
 - The Old Curiosity Shop (1979–1980) as The Single Gentleman
 - The Gentle Touch (1982) as Dr. Quesne
 - Number 10 (1983) as Edward VII
 - Love and Marriage (1984) as Owen Merrick
 - Howards' Way (1986) as George Johnson
 - In Sickness and in Health (1987) as Equerry
 - Blind Justice (1988) as Sir Charles Bingham
 - Lipstick on Your Collar (1993) as Elderly Gentleman
 
References
- 1 2 3 "Wensley Pithey". Archived from the original on 1 March 2017.
 - ↑ "Wensley Pithey - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie".
 - 1 2 "Obituary: Wensley Pithey". Independent.co.uk. 25 November 1993.
 - ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Special Branch (1969-74)".
 - ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Danger Man (1960-67) Credits".
 - ↑ "Filmous".
 
