Arthur Malet (24 September 1927 – 18 May 2013) was an English actor. He was known for his films '' Mary Poppins'' (1964), ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

'' (1978), '' The Secret of NIMH'' (1982), and ''Hook'' (1991). His last film role was '' The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue'' (1998), in which he voiced Mr. Ages.

Life and career

Vivian Arthur Rivers Malet was born on 24 September 1927 in Lee-on-the-Solent,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England, the son of Henry Guy Rivers Malet and Olga Muriel Balfour; a scion of the Malet baronets. He emigrated to the United States in the 1950s, changed his forename to Arthur, began acting onstage, and won two Drama Desk Awards in 1957. He came to prominence in 1960s films, often playing characters much older than his real age, such as Mr. Dawes, Jr., in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' Mary Poppins'' (1964), and King Eidilleg in Disney's 1985 animated film '' The Black Cauldron''. He played undertaker Ted Ulam in

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (July 21, 1926 – January 20, 2024) was a Canadian filmmaker. He was known for directing films which addressed topical Social issue, social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects acces ...

's 1967 film '' In the Heat of the Night'', and Joe Fenwick in a 1972 episode of '' Columbo'', "Dagger of the Mind". He went on to play a village elder in

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

's '' Young Frankenstein'' in 1974, the graveyard keeper in John Carpenter's ''

'' in 1978, a houseman in the 1984 film '' Oh God, You Devil'', Tootles in 1991's ''

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

'', and Owen Owens in the 1992 film '' Toys''. His appearances on television included episodes of '' The Donna Reed Show'', '' The Rifleman'', '' Adventures in Paradise'', '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' ("The McGregor Affair"; originally aired 23 November 1964), ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' (S10E16’s “Run Sheep, Run” in 1964), '' Bewitched'' ("The Trial and Error of Aunt Clara"; originally aired 2 February 1967), ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'' and ''

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''. In 1965 he appeared as murder victim Ralph Day in the '' Perry Mason'' episode, "The Case of the Golden Venom". He played a vagrant who claimed to have stolen Aunt Bea's pin on '' The Andy Griffith Show'' in 1966. In 1969 Malet appeared as the night clerk on the TV series '' The Virginian'' in the episode titled "Journey to Scathelock". In 1995, he portrayed Charles Randolph in '' A Little Princess''. In 1997, he did voice work in '' Anastasia''. He voiced the character of "Mr. Ages" in '' The Secret of NIMH'' in 1982 and reprised the role in '' The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue'' in 1998. Malet had a regular role on the short-lived 1983 television adaptation of the film ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

''.

Death

Malet died on 18 May 2013 at age 85, in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, USA.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malet, Arthur 1927 births 2013 deaths Actors from Gosport Drama Desk Award winners English emigrants to the United States English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors Male actors from Hampshire 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors