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) and appeared 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) and Special Branch and Poldark.[1][4] His British television appearances included Danger Man (1961) among others.[5] He also played the title role of 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
- ^ a b c "Wensley Pithey". Archived from the original on 1 March 2017.
- ^ "Wensley Pithey - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie".
- ^ a b "Obituary: Wensley Pithey". Independent.co.uk. 25 November 1993.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Special Branch (1969-74)".
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Danger Man (1960-67) Credits".
- ^ "Filmous".
External links
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| National | |
