Alec Bregonzi (21 April 1930,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
– 4 June 2006) was an
English actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...
who appeared in a number of stage and television roles.
Bregonzi began his career as a professional actor in 1955 in
repertory theatre in
Farnham, then in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...
,
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...
and
Leatherhead, amongst other places. Work in the West End followed, in
Tennessee Williams's ''
Camino Real
Camino may refer to:
Places
*Camino, California, United States, a census-designated place
*Camino, Piedmont, Italy, a town
*Camino, Veneto, Italy, a town
People
*Jaime Camino (1936–2015), Spanish film director and screenwriter
*Renae Camino ...
'', where he played two parts and understudied
Ronnie Barker.
In 1957, Bregonzi appeared in ''
Hancock's Half Hour
''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James; the radio version also co-starred, ...
'' for the first time. He went on to appear in 22 of the 63 television episodes
Tony Hancock made for
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced t ...
. In 1958, Bregonzi toured with Hancock, and they performed the famous "Budgerigar" sketch together on tour and in the
Royal Variety Performance and on television (in
Christmas Night with the Stars
''Christmas Night with the Stars'' is a television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 (with the exception of 1961, 1965 and 1966). The show was hosted each year by a leading star of BBC TV and featured specially made s ...
). They toured together again in 1961.
Duncan Wood, the television director of ''Hancock's Half Hour'' recommended Bregonzi to other directors, so that he also appeared in 1950s/60s shows starring
Benny Hill,
Charlie Drake,
Arthur Askey,
Ted Ray,
Frankie Howerd,
Harry Worth,
Jimmy Logan, and
Alan Melville
Alan Melville (19 May 1910 – 18 April 1983) was a South African cricketer who played in 11 Tests from 1938 to 1949. He was born in Carnarvon, Northern Cape, South Africa and died at Sabie, Transvaal.
Early life and cricket career
Melville w ...
, among others.
Later on, Bregonzi worked with comedians
Cannon and Ball,
Kenny Everett,
Hale and Pace,
Little and Large,
Kelly Monteith
Kelly Norton Monteith (October 17, 1942 – January 1, 2023) was an American comedian, actor, writer and producer. He was best known for writing and starring in the BBC comedy show ''Kelly Monteith''.
Early life
Kelly Norton Monteith was bor ...
, and on half a dozen occasions in the television series ''
The Two Ronnies'' (with
Ronnie Barker and
Ronnie Corbett) and ''
Filthy Rich and Catflap'' (1987, with
Rik Mayall,
Adrian Edmondson and
Nigel Planer). In 'straight' television, he appeared in ''
The Recruiting Officer'' (''
Play of the Month'', 1973), ''
The Mayor of Casterbridge'' (1978), ''
Don Camillo'' (1981), ''
Great Expectations'' (1981), ''
The Barchester Chronicles'' (1982), ''
Mapp & Lucia'' (1986), ''
London's Burning'' (1988), ''
A Royal Scandal'' (1997), and ''
Happiness
Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia.
...
'' (2001), his last screen role.
Bregonzi read viewers' letters for BBC TV's ''
Points of View'', hosted by
Robert Robinson and later
Barry Took, which led to a radio series ''
Joke By Joke'', compiled by Took. He also appeared in radio comedy with
Kenneth Connor,
Richard Briers and others. In 1995-1997, he played the voice parts of several characters in the puppet series ''
The Treacle People
''The Treacle People'' is a stop motion animated children's television programme shown on CITV in the United Kingdom from 3 May 1996 to 25 July 1997 and was reran on Channel 4 in the 2000s. It had two series, each with 13 episodes. In a similar ...
''.
He appeared in several films, including the French film ''
L'Etincelle'' (1986), which he regarded as his best film part. Bregonzi's extensive acting work included television commercials, both in the UK and abroad. A great opera fan, he was frequently to be seen in the audience at fringe London opera productions.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bregonzi, Alec
1930 births
2006 deaths
English male radio actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors