Christopher Robin Parkinson (25 October 1929 – 7 May 2022) was an English actor known for his comedy roles. He was the second actor to portray

Monsieur Ernest Leclerc This is a list of all main and recurring characters of BBC television's sitcom Allo 'Allo!'' that ran from 1982 until 1992 and 85 episodes. Overview René Artois René Francois Artois (Gorden Kaye) – The local café proprietor who, whil ...

in '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' (22 episodes: series 7 to 9), after the death of

Derek Royle Derek Royle (7 September 1928 – 23 January 1990) was a British actor born in London, England. He graduated from RADA in 1950. His face was probably better known than his name to British viewers, but he acted in films and TV from the early 196 ...

. He was also the narrator of ''

Button Moon ''Button Moon'' is a British children's television programme broadcast in the United Kingdom in the 1980s on the ITV network. Thames Television produced each episode, which lasted ten minutes and featured the adventures of Mr. Spoon who, in ea ...

''.

Career

Parkinson began his career in December 1957, appearing in ''The Imperial Nightingale'' at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

, then joined the company at the

Belgrade Theatre The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building. Background Coventry was the fastest growing city i ...

in his native Coventry. He made his first film appearance as the jeweller's assistant in ''

Billy Liar ''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popular songs. The semi-comical story is about William Fisher, ...

'' (1963), followed by such titles as '' The Family Way'' (1966), ''

They Came from Beyond Space ''They Came from Beyond Space'' is a 1967 British Eastman Color science fiction film produced by Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, and directed by Freddie Francis. The screenplay was written by Subotsky, based on the 1941 novel '' The Go ...

'' (1967), '' Twisted Nerve'' (1968), ''

Catch Me a Spy ''Catch Me a Spy'' is a 1969 comedy spy thriller novel by George Marton and Tibor Meray. Adaptation In 1971 it was turned into a film of the same name starring Kirk Douglas, Marlène Jobert and Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 ...

'' (1971), '' Alfie Darling'' (1975) and '' George and Mildred'' (1980). His TV appearances included roles in ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'', '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'', '' Terry and June'', '' The Young Ones'', ''

The Kenny Everett Television Show ''The Kenny Everett Television Show'' is a comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC1 from 1981 to 1988. It was presented by its main performer Kenny Everett, who wrote the material with Barry Cryer and Ray Cameron. Later in 1986 they were joined by ...

'', ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'', '' Shelley'', '' The Dick Emery Show'', ''

On The Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast on ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned three spin-off feature films and a stage version. Desp ...

'', ''

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'' is a British sitcom which was broadcast on BBC1 between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit '' The Likely Lads''. It was created and written, as was its prede ...

'' and '' The Liver Birds''. He also played Desmond, the love interest of Miss Jones, in '' Rising Damp'' and a taxi driver in '' The Professionals'' (series 2, episode 8: ''A Stirring of Dust''). In addition, he narrated and provided voices for the ITV television series ''

''.

Personal life and death

Parkinson was born on 25 October 1929 in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, Warwickshire. He attended

King Henry VIII School, Coventry King Henry VIII School is a coeducational independent day school located in Coventry, England, comprising a senior school (ages 11–18) and associated preparatory school (ages 3–11). The senior school has approximately 800 pupils (120 in eac ...

and, after

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

with the

Queen's Royal Lancers The Queen's Royal Lancers (QRL) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1993 and amalgamated with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) on 2 May 2015 to form the Royal Lancers. History The regiment was formed in ...

, the Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. He married Patricia Rogers in 1956 and had three daughters, one of whom, Sarah Parkinson (1962–2003), was a writer-producer of radio and television programmes and was married to comedian

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and somet ...

. Parkinson died on 7 May 2022, aged 92.

References

External links

* 1929 births 2022 deaths Actors from Coventry English male television actors British male comedy actors {{UK-actor-stub