John Le Mesurier (born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 1912 – 15 November 1983) was an English actor who performed in many mediums of

light entertainment Light entertainment encompasses a broad range of television and radio programming that includes comedies, variety shows, game shows, quiz shows and the like. In Great Britain In the early days of the BBC virtually all broadcast entertainment wou ...

, including film, radio and theatre. Le Mesurier's career spanned from 1934 until his death in 1983. He is best remembered for his role as

Sergeant Arthur Wilson Sergeant Arthur Wilson is a fictional Home Guard platoon sergeant and bank chief clerk, first portrayed by John Le Mesurier in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. Background Wilson was born in 1887, and is carefree, cheerful and well-s ...

in the BBC situation comedy '' Dad's Army'', between 1968 and 1977. Le Mesurier made his professional stage debut in September 1934 in '' Dangerous Corner'' at the Palladium Theatre in Edinburgh under his birth name, and appeared on television for the first time four years later as Seigneur de Miolans in the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

broadcast of "The Marvellous History of St Bernard". The broadcast was adapted from a 15th-century manuscript by Henri Ghéon. After wartime service as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...

, Le Mesurier returned to acting and made his radio debut on 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 a March 1947 broadcast of ''Escape or Die''. He continued working in television roles throughout his career, but it was his portrayal in the BBC television play '' Traitor'', of a character loosely based on Kim Philby, which earned him the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actor This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actor. The Best Actor award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until 1962, when Rupert Davies won for his performance in ''Maig ...

in 1972. In 1948, Le Mesurier worked on his first film, '' Death in the Hand'', a mystery in which he played the character Jack Mottram. He went on to appear in over 100 films, including ''

Private's Progress ''Private's Progress'' is a 1956 British comedy film based on the novel by Alan Hackney. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey. Plot During the Second World War, young undergrad ...

'' (1955), '' I'm All Right Jack'' (1959), '' The Punch and Judy Man'' (1962), '' Carlton-Browne of the F.O.'' (1959), '' The Pink Panther'' (1963), ''

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines ''Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines; Or, How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes'' is a 1965 British period comedy film that satirizes the early years of aviation. Directed and co-written by Ken Annakin, the film ...

'' (1965), and '' The Italian Job'' (1969). He always appeared in supporting roles. Le Mesurier took a relaxed approach to acting, saying: "I'm a jobbing actor ... as long as they pay me I couldn't care less if my name is billed above or below the title". He was known for playing "an indispensable figure in the gallery of second-rank players which were the glory of the British film industry in its more prolific days". Le Mesurier died in November 1983 from a stomach haemorrhage; his last words before slipping into a coma were: "It's all been rather lovely." '' The Guardian'' noted that Le Mesurier gave the impression of an "inimitable brand of bewildered persistence under fire which emade his own", while

Philip Oakes Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

considered that Le Mesurier single-handedly "made more films watchable, even absorbing than anyone else around".

Selected stage credits

Television

Selected radio broadcasts

Filmography

Discography

Albums Singles

Notes and references

Bibliography

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External links

''John Le Mesurier''
at the British Film Institute * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Mesurier, John Discographies of British artists Male actor filmographies British filmographies