Known For
Acting
Born
Apr 23, 1907
Died
Mar 27, 1983
Place of Birth
Lonavala, India
Credits
105 titles
James Hayter
Biography
James Hayter (23 April 1907 – 27 March 1983) was a British actor. He was born in Lonavala, India, brought up in Scotland and died in Spain. His best remembered film roles include Friar Tuck in the 1952 film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men and Samuel Pickwick in The Pickwick Papers of the same year. His rotund appearance and fruity voice made him a natural choice for such roles. A pupil of Dollar Academy, he became a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, his film career began in 1936 in Sensation, but was interrupted by World War II during which he served in the Royal Armoured Corps. His later career included roles in TV series such as The Forsyte Saga (1967), The Onedin Line and Are You Being Served?. His 1946 television series Pinwright's Progress, shown on the BBC, is recognised as the first real example of the half-hour situation comedy format in the history of British television. He was also the original narrator of the UK television advertisements for Mr. Kipling cakes. In fact, these ads led to his departure from Are You Being Served?; the cake company paid him a significant bonus to withdraw from the series, as they felt his reputation lent an air of dignity to their snack advertisements. In the film Oliver!, he played Mr Jessop the book shop owner. He appeared in scenes when Dodger steals a gentleman's wallet outside the book shop and also when Oliver is in court charged with the robbery. Hayter used to have a tree house in his back garden where he would retire of an evening to learn and practise his lines from his current script. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Hayter, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
Mr. Percival Tebbs (archive footage) (uncredited)
The World of Hammer
Self (archive footage)
The Light Princess
Owl (voice)
The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones
Briggs
Father Brown
Sir Aaron Armstrong
Are You Being Served?
Mr. Tebbs
Burke & Hare
Dr. Selby
The Onedin Line
Captain Webster
Not Tonight, Darling
Mr. Finlay / grocer owner
The Blood on Satan's Claw
Squire Middleton
The Firechasers
Inspector Herman
The Horror of Frankenstein
Bailiff
Song of Norway
Butler to Berg
The Adventures of Don Quick
Hendenno
Wicked Women
Dr. Macrae
David Copperfield
Porter
The Flaxton Boys
Nathan
Oliver!
Mr. Jessop
A Challenge for Robin Hood
Friar Tuck
Stranger in the House
Harry Hawkins
The World of Wodehouse
Smithers
Lawrence of Arabia
Sheik in Arab Council (uncredited)
Out of the Fog
Daniels
Go to Blazes
Pipe Smoker
The Avengers
Ticket Collector
You'll Never See Me Again
Joe Alden
The Boy and the Bridge
Tugboat Skipper
The 39 Steps
Mr Memory
The Captain's Table
Chief Engineer Earnshaw
I Was Monty's Double
Sgt. Adams
Fair Game
Mr Shaw
The Big Money
Mr Frith
Gideon's Day
Robert Mason
Sail Into Danger
Monty
The Heart Within
Grandfather Willard
Huntingtower
Dickson McCunn
Carry On Admiral
Sir Henry Tomkinson (uncredited)
Mañana...
Silvestre
Seven Waves Away
'Cookie' Morrow
It's a Wonderful World
Bert Fielding
Armchair Theatre
Bert Taylor
Port Afrique
Nino
Keep It Clean
Mr. Bouncenboy
Touch and Go
Kimball
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Tom the Miller
Land of the Pharaohs
Mikka
Beau Brummell
Mortimer
Mark Saber
Longhair Smith
The Awakening
The Chief
For Better, for Worse
Plumber