Geoffrey Forbes Lumsden (26 December 1914 – 4 March 1984) was a British

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to ...

who had a lengthy career on television. Lumsden was born in London in 1914 and attended

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, independent, day and boarding school in the English public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school ...

, where he was a contemporary of

Denton Welch Maurice Denton Welch (29 March 1915 – 30 December 1948) was a British writer and painter, admired for his vivid prose and precise descriptions. Life Welch was born in Shanghai, China, to Arthur Joseph Welch, a wealthy British rubber merchant, ...

. By the time he had left school, both his parents had died. While living with his uncle he reluctantly trained as an engineer at a colliery. It was at the colliery that he first became interested in acting when he organised concerts for the workforce, and won a scholarship to train at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

while still working there. In 1938, he married Judith Cope. Working in

repertory theatre A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

, his theatrical career was interrupted by

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

during which he served in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. Returning to the theatre after the war, he became a

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and appeared on various TV shows and films. In 1947, he married Helen A. Syme at

Cuckfield Cuckfield ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, on the southern slopes of the Weald. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester. Nearby town ...

in Sussex. On

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

he appeared as Sir Francis Getliffe in '' The Affair'' at the Henry Miller Theatre (1962) and as Major Hugh Beresford Maitland in ''

Hostile Witness A hostile witness, also known as an adverse witness or an unfavorable witness, is a witness at trial whose testimony on direct examination is either openly antagonistic or appears to be contrary to the legal position of the party who called t ...

'' at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, the Music Box Theatre was desi ...

(1966). He wrote and starred in the 1958

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

'' Caught Napping'' in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

. It was later revived in 1978 starring

Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 36 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom ''Dad' ...

Bill Pertwee William Desmond Anthony Pertwee, (21 July 1926 – 27 May 2013) was a British comedy actor. He played the role of Chief ARP Warden Hodges in the sitcom ''Dad's Army''. Early life Pertwee was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on 21 July 1926 ...

and Edward Evans. His best known role was as

Captain Square ''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 for ...

in ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'', the pompous commander of the Eastgate platoon of the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or military reserve force, reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the America ...

, who is a rival of

Captain Mainwaring Captain George Mainwaring () is a fictional Home Guard captain, first portrayed by Arthur Lowe in the BBC television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. In the 2016 movie he is played by Toby Jones and in the 2019 remake of three missing episodes he is ...

. Other TV appearances included '' Rookery Nook'', ''

Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs Downstairs may refer to: Television *Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971 TV series), a British TV series broadcast on ITV from 1971 to 1975 *Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' ...

'', ''

It Ain't Half Hot Mum ''It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'' is a BBC television sitcom about a Royal Artillery concert party based in Deolali in British India and the fictional village of Tin Min in Burma, during the last months of the Second World War. It was written by Jimm ...

'' and '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson''. Lumsden died in London in 1984, aged 69.>https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/geoffrey-lumsden-101615 His uncles were the first-class cricketers

Oswald Oswald may refer to: People * Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name * Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canter ...

and William Lumsden.

Selected screen credits

Selected stage credits

* ''

The Iron Duchess ''The Iron Duchess'' is a 1957 comedy play by the British writer William Douglas Home. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Brighton before transferring to the Fortune Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 83 performances from the 14 March ...

'' by

William Douglas Home William Douglas Home (3 June 1912 – 28 September 1992) was a British dramatist and politician. Early life Douglas-Home (he later dropped the hyphen from his surname) was the third son of Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home, and Lady Lili ...

(1957) * '' Caught Napping'' by Geoffrey Lumsden (1959) * ''

Aunt Edwina ''Aunt Edwina'' is a 1959 comedy play by the British writer William Douglas Home. It premiered at Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne before beginning a run of 101 performances in London between 3 November 1959 and 6 February 1960 initially at ...

'' by

(1959)

References

External links

* * British male television actors 1914 births 1984 deaths 20th-century British male actors People educated at Repton School British Army personnel of World War II Royal Scots officers {{UK-tv-actor-1910s-stub