Robert Forbes Felton (12 August 1911 – 21 October 1972), known professionally as Felix Felton, was a British film, television, stage and voice actor as well as a radio director, composer and author.

Radio work

In his earlier years Felton considered becoming a professional pianist, a composer or a classical scholar, but instead chose to become an actor. At the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

where he studied Music he was President of the

Oxford University Dramatic Society The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England. Not all student productions at Oxford University ...

. He began his acting career as Bottom in

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pr ...

's production of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

''. He joined

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

in 1934 where he was a producer, actor and director until 1948, producing ''Calling Germany'' in 1943 and directing a

production of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's '' Candida'' in 1946, among others. In 1941 he was a Senior Instructor on the BBC's 'General Broadcasting Technique' course which included

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...

as a student when he joined the BBC's Overseas Service. He resigned from his post at the BBC in 1948 in order to concentrate on a career as a freelance writer and actor. In 1957 he adapted

Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...

's ''

The Eagle of the Ninth ''The Eagle of the Ninth'' is a historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1954. The story is set in Roman Britain in the 2nd century AD, after the building of Hadrian's Wall. Plot Discharged because ...

'' in six episodes for BBC ''

Children's Hour ''Children's Hour'', initially ''The Children's Hour'', was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting. ''Childr ...

'' with himself playing the part of Guern the hunter. In 1961 he also adapted

's '' The Lantern Bearers'' into a six-part series for ''

'' for

; In 1962 he adapted her book '' Dawn Wind'' for radio and himself played the role of Einon Hen. Felton adapted ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set ...

'' into ''Baskervilles Hund'' which was broadcast on Danish radio in January 1964. In 1965, together with Susan Ashman, he adapted '' Quo Vadis'' by

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, espe ...

as a ten part serial for the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

. In this major radio drama production he played the prominent role of

Gaius Petronius Arbiter Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

Acting career

Theatre

Felton's stage appearances included the speaking-role of

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and leg ...

in a concert version of ''

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

'' and broadcast by BBC Radio from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1949, ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in hi ...

'' at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

(1955), ''Nekrassov'' by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...

at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

(1957), and

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

's musical '' Where's Charley?'' with

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia * Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...

in London in 1958.

Film

His film roles included Councillor in '' Lady Godiva Rides Again'' (1951), Foreman of the Jury in '' Night Was Our Friend'' (1951), Dr Slammer 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 ...

'' (1952), Boxing Promoter in '' The Gambler and the Lady'' (1952), Governor in ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' (1953), Closterman in ''

My Death is a Mockery My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

'' (1952), Mr Patch in ''

Our Girl Friday ''Our Girl Friday'' (U.S. title ''The Adventures of Sadie'') is a 1953 British comedy film starring Joan Collins, George Cole, Kenneth More and Robertson Hare. It is about a woman who is shipwrecked with three men on a deserted island. The film ...

'' (1953), Alfred (uncredited) in ''

The Million Pound Note ''The Million Pound Note'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gregory Peck, Ronald Squire, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Jane Griffiths. It is based on the 1893 Mark Twain short story '' The Million Pound Bank Note'' ...

'' (1954), Examiner (uncredited) in '' Doctor in the House'' (1954), '' Man of the Moment'' (1955), Bar customer in ''

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

'' (1955), Police Commissaire in ''

Escapement An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy ...

'' (''The Electronic Monster'' in the USA) (1960), Mayor in ''

It's Trad, Dad! ''It's Trad, Dad!'' (1962), known in the U.S. as ''Ring-A-Ding Rhythm'', is a British musical comedy featuring performances by a variety of Dixieland jazz bands and rock-and-roll singers. The film was one of the first produced by Amicus Produc ...

'' (1962), Dr George Thomas in '' Doctor at Sea'' (1955), Uncle in '' Pacific Destiny'' (1956), Reform Club member (uncredited) in ''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'' (1956), Man in Cinema in '' Just My Luck'' (1957), First Gambler (uncredited) in ''

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll ''The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll'' is a 1960 British horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Paul Massie as Dr. Jekyll, and co-stars Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and David Kossoff. The screenp ...

'' (1960), Farm Patient (uncredited) in '' Doctor in Distress'' (1963), Tetchkinov in '' Licensed to Kill'' (1965), Second Minister in ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

'' (1968), and Cellar Proprietor (uncredited) in ''

The Assassination Bureau ''The Assassination Bureau Limited'' (also known as ''The Assassination Bureau'' in the United States) is a 1969 British Technicolor black comedy adventure film, produced by Michael Relph, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Oliver Reed, Di ...

'' (1969).

Television

Television roles included the Archbishop of Rheims in '' Saint Joan'' for '' BBC Sunday-Night Theatre'' (1951), Lord Cantlemere in ''

The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone" is one of 12 Sherlock Holmes short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle in ''The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes'' (1927). It was first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom in October 1921, and w ...

'' (1951), Soames the butler in ''The Great Detective'' (1953), Louis XVIII in ''The Lost King'' (1958), Aylmer - Member of Drug Cartel in ''H. G. Wells' Invisible Man'' (1958), ''

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), Mr. Petheridge in '' Dixon of Dock Green'' (1962), '' Maigret'' (1962), Demaris in '' Ghost Squad'' (1964), Major Culcao in "The Third Bullet" episode of '' Crane'' (1964), Dr. Grimesby Roylott in ''

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 ...

'' (1964), Philip Clewes in an episode of ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction ...

'' (1965), Abram Gobseck in '' The Rise and Rise of Cesar Birotteau'' (1965), Colonel Krauss in '' The Good Soldier Schweik'', St. Laurent in ''

The Troubleshooters ''The Troubleshooters'' (titled ''Mogul'' for the first series) is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. It recounted events in an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. Th ...

'' (1966), Alderman Adam Sweater in ''

The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists ''The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists'' (1914) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Irish house painter and sign writer Robert Noonan, who wrote the book in his spare time under the pen name Robert Tressell. Published after Tressell's death fr ...

'' (1967), an episode of ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...

'' (1968), and Richard Warde in ''

The Shadow of the Tower ''The Shadow of the Tower'' is a historical drama that was broadcast on BBC2 in 1972. It was a prequel to the earlier serials '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' and ''Elizabeth R'' and featured several actors who had appeared in them (but in new r ...

'' (1972).

Voice actor

As a voice actor he played the Mayor in the radio adaptation of S. G. Hulme Beaman's book '' Toytown'' for BBC's ''

'' in the 1930s,Felton
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

and provided various voices in the first radio series of ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

'' in 1955 and 1956 for the BBC. He was the

Ghost of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Present is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit fr ...

in the 1971 animated film ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

'' and in the same year he narrated the BBC Radio 4 programme ''What Did You Do in the War Felix?'', concerning the work of

BBC Radio Bristol BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC's local radio station serving Bristol, Bath and North & North East Somerset. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Bristol. According to RAJAR, the stati ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

.''What Did You Do in the War Felix?'' (1971) from the BBC Archive website
/ref> He wrote two orchestral suites which were played by the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphon ...

and other orchestras. Felix Felton died in London in 1972 aged 61.

Filmography

*'' Lady Godiva Rides Again'' (1951) - Councillor *'' Night Was Our Friend'' (1951) - Foreman of the Jury *''

My Death Is a Mockery My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

'' (1952) - Closterman *''

'' (1952) - Dr. Slammer *'' The Gambler and the Lady'' (1952) - Boxing Promoter (scenes deleted) *''

'' (1953) - Governor *''

'' (1953) - Mr. Patch *''

'' (1954) - Alfred (uncredited) *'' Doctor in the House'' (1954) - Examiner (uncredited) *''

'' (1955) - The Business Man *'' Doctor at Sea'' (1955) - Dr George Thomas *'' Man of the Moment'' (1955) - Foreign Office File Seeker (uncredited) *'' Pacific Destiny'' (1956) - Uncle *'' The Weapon'' (1956) - Oscar Smithson *''

'' (1956) - Reform Club Member (uncredited) *'' Just My Luck'' (1957) - Man in Cinema *''

'' (1958) - Police Commissaire *''

'' (1960) - First Gambler (uncredited) *''

'' (1962) - Mayor *'' Doctor in Distress'' (1963) - Health Farm Patient (uncredited) *'' Licensed to Kill'' (1965) - Tetchkinov *''

'' (1968) - Minister #2 *''

'' (1969) - Beer Cellar Proprietor (uncredited) *''Up in the Air'' (1969) - Sir Humphrey

Publications

*''The Radio-Play - Its Technique and Possibilities'', Sylvan Press (1949) *''Thomas Love Peacock'', Allen and Unwin (1973)

References

External links

*
Profile of Felton an aveleyman.comFelton on The Swedish Film DatabaseFelton
on the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, Felix 1911 births 1972 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors English male voice actors 20th-century English male actors