Erik Chitty (8 July 1907 in Dover,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

– 22 July 1977 Brent,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

), was an English stage, film and television actor.

Early life

Chitty was the son of a flour miller, Frederick Walter Chitty and his wife Ethel Elsie Assistance née Franklin; they married in 1902. He attended

Dover College , motto_translation = I cannot refuse the task , established = , closed = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , headmaster = Simon Fisher , r_head_label = , r_head ...

and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he was one of the founders of the Cambridge University Mummers, before training at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Se ...

and becoming a professional actor. He then ran his own

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

company in Frinton-on-Sea.

Personal life

Chitty and former actress Hester Bevan married 1936, and they had two daughters and one son. He was also a keen

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

Television career

Early television (1936–1939)

Chitty was an early player in the fledgling BBC television output, which started in November 1936 until it was closed at the beginning of

WWII 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. * ''Pyramus And Thisbe'', 23 July 1937, Snout *''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern'', 2 March 1938, Guildenstern *''Henry IV'' 22 March 1938, "Valet" *''The White Chateau'', 11 November 1938, Trooper of Uhlans/Orderly/Linesman *'' Ednas Fruit Hat'', 27 January 1939, Cousin Sid * ''The Tempest'', 5 February 1939, Boatswain *'' The Unquiet Spirit'', 7 March 1939 "Hall Porter" * ''Katharine and Petruchio'', 12 April 1939, "A Tailor" *''Annajanska, The Bolsjevik Empress'' 2 May 1939, "Stammfest" *''The Day is Gone'', 4 August 1939, Radio announcer's voice *''The Advantages of Paternity'' 12 May 1939, "Brunov"

Television postwar (1946 onwards)

His television credits included a major role as the aged "Mr Smith" in ''

Please Sir! ''Please Sir!'' is a British television sitcom created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and featuring actors John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Penny Spencer, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty and Richard Davies. Produced by London Week ...

'', and multiple appearances in '' Dads Army'', '' Raffles'', '' Doctor Who'', ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...

'', ''

Man About the House ''Man About the House'' is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer that starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy. Six series were broadcast on ITV from 15 August 1973 to 7 A ...

'' and ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television com ...

''. He appeared in the TV musical '' Pickwick'' for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Early life

Personal life

Television career

Early television (1936–1939)

Television postwar (1946 onwards)

Filmography

Notes

References

External links