Naunton Wayne | |
|---|---|
 Wayne in The Lady Vanishes , 1938 | |
| Born | Henry Wayne Davies 22 June 1901 Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales |
| Died | 17 November 1970 (aged 69) Tolworth, Greater London, England |
| Years active | 1932–1969 |
Naunton Wayne (born Henry Wayne Davies, [1] 22 June 1901 – 17 November 1970), was a Welsh character actor, born in Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales. [2] He was educated at Clifton College. His name was changed by deed poll in 1933. [3]
His first London stage roles were in Streamline at the Palace in 1934 and in 1066 and All That at the Strand in 1935 (where he provided comic continuity for other performers). [4] His first full role was as Norman Weldon in Wise Tomorrow at The Lyric in 1937. He played Mortimer Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Strand for four years. [5] He was a leading member of The Stage Golfing Society. [6]
In 1949, he starred in Young Wives' Tale, at the Savoy Theatre.
From November 1956 he appeared in the long-running farce The Bride and the Bachelor at the Duchess Theatre.
He became best known for his role as a supporting character, Caldicott, in the 1938 film version of The Lady Vanishes , [7] a role he repeated in three further films, alongside Basil Radford as his equally cricket-obsessed friend, Charters. The two would go on to appear in other films together, often playing similar characters. [8] [9] Their other joint credits include Night Train to Munich (1940), Crook's Tour (1941), Millions Like Us (1943), Dead of Night (1945), Quartet (1948), It's Not Cricket (1949), and Passport to Pimlico (1949). [10]
Wayne also appeared alone in other films including the Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) and Obsession (1949). [11]
Wayne married Gladys Dove, a concert pianist, in 1927 and they had two sons, Peter and John. [12]
Wayne died in Tolworth, in the county of Surrey on 17 November 1970, at the age of 69. [7]
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the sequence include Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Whisky Galore! (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955). Hue and Cry (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and Barnacle Bill (1957) the last, although some sources list Davy (1958) as the final Ealing comedy. Many of the Ealing comedies are ranked among the greatest British films, and they also received international acclaim.
The Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Stanley Holloway, Naunton Wayne, George Relph and John Gregson. The screenplay concerns a group of villagers trying to keep their branch line operating after British Railways decided to close it. The film was written by T. E. B. Clarke and was inspired by the restoration of the narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales, the world's first heritage railway run by volunteers. "Titfield" is an amalgamation of the names Titsey and Limpsfield, two villages in Surrey near Clarke's home at Oxted.
Henry James Hayter was a British actor of television and film. He is best remembered for his roles as Friar Tuck in the film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) and as Samuel Pickwick in the film The Pickwick Papers (1952), the latter earning him a BAFTA Award for Best British Actor nomination.
Arthur Basil Radford was an English character actor who featured in many British films of the 1930s and 1940s.
Night Train to Munich is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1939 short story Report on a Fugitive by Gordon Wellesley, the film is about an inventor and his daughter who are kidnapped by the Gestapo after the Nazis march into Prague in the prelude to the Second World War. A British secret service agent follows them, disguised as a senior German army officer pretending to woo the daughter over to the Nazi cause.
William Finlay Currie was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television. He received great acclaim for his roles as Abel Magwitch in the British film Great Expectations (1946) and as Balthazar in the American film Ben-Hur (1959).
Michael Hugh Medwin, OBE was an English actor and film producer.
Horace Raymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs as the pragmatic family solicitor Sir Geoffrey Dillon.
George Relph, CBE was an English actor. He acted in more than a dozen films, and also many plays. He served in the British Army in the First World War, and was shot in the leg, hindering his return to acting. But Relph eventually got back on stage, and his career continued. His son, Michael, became a producer in the British film industry. His last role was Tiberius in the 1959 film version of Ben Hur which was released five months before Relph's death.
Arthur Howard was an English stage, film and television actor.
Charters and Caldicott started out as two supporting characters in the 1938 Alfred Hitchcock film The Lady Vanishes. The pair of cricket-obsessed characters were played by Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford. The characters were created by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. The duo became very popular and were used as recurring characters in subsequent films and in BBC Radio productions. Charters and Caldicott have also been played by other actors, and they eventually had their own BBC television series.
Crook's Tour is a 1940 British comedy spy film directed by John Baxter featuring Charters and Caldicott. It is adapted from a BBC radio serial of the same name.
Wilfred William Dennis Shine was a British theatre, film and television actor. Shine was born into a family of theatre actors; among others, Shine's father, mother, grandmother, two uncles and an aunt had worked in theatre. His father Wilfred Shine was a theatre actor who also appeared in films during the 1920s and the 1930s. Bill Shine made his film debut in 1929, since which he appeared in over 160 films and television series. Towards the end of his career, he was best known for playing Inventor Black on children's television series Super Gran. In series two, episode four, of Mrs Thursday, 'The Duke and I', (1967), he played the Duke of Midlothian.
Charles Goldner was an Austrian-born actor who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s. Born in Vienna, Austria, on 7 December 1900, he made his screen debut in the 1940 film Room for Two and went on to appear in Brighton Rock, No Orchids for Miss Blandish, Bond Street and The Captain's Paradise. His stage work included starring in the 1954 Broadway musical The Girl in Pink Tights. He died on 15 April 1955 in London, England.
John Kenneth George Melford Smith was a British stage, film and television actor.
Rhodri Henry Hughes was a Welsh theatre, film and television actor, who appeared in over 80 films between 1932 and 1961.
Ewan Roberts was a Scottish stage, film and television actor. On stage from 1935, his theatre work included a season with the Old Vic, in 1946-1947. In 1949 he appeared at the Adelphi Theatre in Castle in the Air. Between 1954 and 1956 he played the part of Inspector Ames in the TV series Colonel March of Scotland Yard, starring Boris Karloff. It premiered at 7.45pm on Saturday 24 September 1955 on the newly opened ITV London station Associated Television.
Hal Osmond was a British stage, film and television actor. He played Anselm in The Adventures of Robin Hood episode "Errand of Mercy" (1956).
Norman Pierce was a British actor. He was born in Southport, Lancashire. He died in Helions Bumpstead, Essex, England on 22 March 1968 at the age of 67. He played pub landlords and barmen in a number of different films.
Arthur Lovegrove was a British actor and playwright. His comedy Goodnight Mrs Puffin starring Irene Handl, ran for 3 years in London's West End, from 1961.
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