Alexander Gauge (29 July 1914 – 29 August 1960) was a British actor best known for playing

Friar Tuck Friar Tuck is one of the legendary Merry Men, the band of heroic outlaws in the folklore of Robin Hood. History The figure of the jovial friar was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th through 17th centur ...

in ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia d ...

'' from 1955 to 1959. Born in a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Mission station in

Wenzhou Wenzhou (pronounced ; Wenzhounese: Yuziou �y33–11 tɕiɤu33–32 ), historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province in the People's Republic of China. Wenzhou is located at the extreme south east o ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

,Biography of Gauge
Gauge was a well-known English character actor. Gauge attended school in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

before moving to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, where he became acquainted with

John Masters Lieutenant Colonel John Masters, DSO, OBE (26 October 1914 – 7 May 1983) was a British novelist and regular officer of the Indian Army. In World War II, he served with the Chindits behind enemy lines in Burma, and became the GSO1 (chief st ...

. He first appeared on the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

stage in 1945. He acted in many of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's plays, and usually played villains in British films, but many considered his forte to be comedy. He was a great hit in the London stage production of ''

The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage rol ...

''.'The Adventures of Robin Hood' website
/ref> Gauge appeared in the films ''

The Interrupted Journey ''The Interrupted Journey'' is a 1949 British thriller film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Valerie Hobson, Richard Todd, Christine Norden and Tom Walls. The railways scenes were shot at Longmoor in Hampshire. The film includes a train cr ...

'' in 1949, and, all in 1952, '' Murder in the Cathedral'', ''

Mother Riley Meets the Vampire ''Mother Riley Meets the Vampire'', also known as ''Vampire Over London'' or ''My Son, the Vampire'', is a 1952 British horror comedy film directed by John Gilling, starring Arthur Lucan and Bela Lugosi that was filmed at Nettlefold Studios. ...

'', with

Old Mother Riley Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act. Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is an ...

and

Béla Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

, and was the flirtatious

Tracy Tupman Tracy Tupman is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's first novel, ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836). Although fat and middle-aged he considers himself a young lover and has an unfortunate amorous entanglement with the spinster Rachael Wardle. ...

in ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

''. He also appeared in the films ''

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

'' (1953), ''

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'' (1954), '' The Green Man'' (1956) and '' The Iron Petticoat'' (1956) starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

. In 1955 he joined the cast of both ''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...

'' (as George, the Prince Regent) and ''

'', as

, a role he played until 1960. In 1959 Gauge starred as Brigadier Wellington-Bull in the series ''

The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull ''The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull'' is a short-lived black-and-white British sitcom starring Alexander Gauge and Valerie Singleton. Written by Austin Melford, only one series of five 30-minute episodes was produced. Cast *Alexander ...

'' alongside

Valerie Singleton Valerie Singleton (born 9 April 1937) is an English television and radio presenter best known as a regular presenter of the popular children's series ''Blue Peter'' from 1962 to 1972. She also presented the BBC Radio 4 '' PM'' programme for t ...

. In 1960, just weeks before his death, he played the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

in the original West End production of '' A Man for All Seasons'' at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and ...

. His last performance was a posthumous appearance in the 1961 film ''

Nothing Barred ''Nothing Barred'' is a 1961 British black and white comedy film directed by Darcy Conyers and starring Brian Rix, Leo Franklyn and Naunton Wayne. Plot Penniless Lord Whitebait (Naunton Wayne) plans to save his dwindling fortunes by opening ...

'' starring

Brian Rix Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix, (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016) was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including ''Dry Rot'', ''Simple Spymen'' and ''One for ...

. Gauge married Phyllis Anne Young in Penzance in 1957. He died aged 46 in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

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in 1960 from an overdose.

Partial filmography

* ''

'' (1949) as Jerves Wilding (film debut) * '' Flesh and Blood'' (1951) as Coutts * '' Murder in the Cathedral'' (1951) as King Henry II * ''

'' (1952) as Police Constable (uncredited) * '' Penny Princess'' (1952) as MacNabb the Lawyer (uncredited) * ''

'' (1952) as Tracy Tupman * ''

The Great Game The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...

'' (1953 film) as Ben Woodhall * ''

'' (1953) as Tetzel * ''

The Square Ring ''The Square Ring'' is a 1953 British tragi-comic drama, directed by Basil Dearden and made at Ealing Studios. It stars Jack Warner, Robert Beatty and Bill Owen. The film, based on a stage play by Ralph Peterson, centres on one night at a f ...

'' (1953) as 2nd Wiseacre * ''

House of Blackmail ''House of Blackmail'' is a 1953 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Mary Germaine, William Sylvester and Alexander Gauge. Its plot follows a soldier and his girlfriend, who become mixed up with a blackmailer. Cast * Mary ...

'' (1953) as Markham * '' Counterspy'' (1953) as Smith * '' Will Any Gentleman...?'' (1953) as Mr. Billing * ''The Blazing Caravan'' (1954, Short) as Mr. Buxton * '' Fast and Loose'' (1954) as Hankin * ''

Double Exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be i ...

'' (1954) as Denis Clayton * ''

Dance, Little Lady ''Dance, Little Lady'' is a 1954 British drama film directed by Val Guest and starring Terence Morgan, Mai Zetterling, Guy Rolfe and Mandy Miller. The film was made by independent producer George Minter and distributed by his Renown Pictures. I ...

'' (1954) as Joseph Miller * ''

The Golden Link ''The Golden Link'' is a 1954 British police drama film directed by Charles Saunders, starring André Morell, Patrick Holt, Thea Gregory and Jack Watling. It was produced by Guido Coen under his Kenilworth Film Productions, featuring a screenp ...

'' (1954) as Arnold Debenham * ''

'' (1954) as Newspaper Man (uncredited) * ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'' (1954, TV) as Jabez Wilson * '' Tiger by the Tail'' (1954) as Fitzgerald * ''Mystery on Bird Island'' (1954) as Bronson * '' Before I Wake'' (1955) as Police Sergeant * ''

The Hornet's Nest ''The Hornet's Nest'' is a 2014 American documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed by David Salzberg and Christian Tureaud. The film follows two journalists, Mike Boettcher and Carlos Boettcher (a father and son), embedded with a gro ...

'' (1955) as Mr. Arnold * '' Reluctant Bride'' (1955) as Humbold * '' No Smoking'' (1955) as Wellington-Simpson * ''Handcuffs, London'' (1955) as Nicholas Bardwill * '' The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel'' (1955-1956) as The Prince Regent * ''

'' (1955-1959, TV) as

* ''

Port of Escape ''Port of Escape'' is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Tony Young and starring Googie Withers, John McCallum, Bill Kerr and Joan Hickson. Plot Two sailors, one Australian and one American, are kicked off their ship when it docks in Lo ...

'' (1956) as Inspector Levins * '' The Iron Petticoat'' (1956) as Senator Howley * '' Breakaway'' (1956) as MacAllister * '' The Green Man'' (1956) as Chairman * ''

The Passionate Stranger ''The Passionate Stranger'' (U.S. ''A Novel Affair'') is a 1957 British drama film, directed by Muriel Box and starring Margaret Leighton and Ralph Richardson. It uses the film within a film device, with the "real" part of the plot shot in bl ...

'' (1957) as Master of Ceremonies at Dance * ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten ...

'' (1959, TV) as Coffier * ''Les canailles'' (1960) as Chalmers * ''

'' (1961) as Traffic Policeman (final film)

References

External links

*
Gauge and The Adventures of Robin HoodGauge on the New York Times website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauge, Alexander 1914 births 1960 deaths English male film actors English male television actors British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century English male actors Deaths from brain tumor Deaths from cancer in England