Sir Guy Standing (1 September 187324 February 1937) was an English actor.

Biography

Standing served in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

throughout the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, reaching the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. He was seconded to

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, but transferred to the Ministry of Information in December 1917. In 1918, he was part of the British War Mission to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. For this service, he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1918 and raised to Knight Commander (KBE) in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Janu ...

. After becoming a noted actor in British and American theatre, he moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s appearing in

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

films. His best-known role is probably that of Colonel Stone, autocratic father of Lieutenant Stone (played by

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1658 to 1659. He was the son of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Following his father ...

), in

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...

's '' Lives of a Bengal Lancer'' (1935). He was the son of

Herbert Standing Herbert Standing (13 November 1846 – 5 December 1923) was a British stage and screen actor and the patriarch of the Standing family of actors. He was the father of numerous children, many of whom had careers in theatre and cinema. Toward the ...

(1846–1923), a noted actor from the stage and in silent films. His brothers Jack Standing, Herbert Standing Jr.,

Percy Standing Percy Standing was an English film actor of the silent era. Selected filmography * '' Life Without Soul'' (1915) * ''My Four Years in Germany'' (1918) * ''To the Highest Bidder'' (1918) * '' Should a Husband Forgive?'' (1919) * ''The Great Da ...

and

Wyndham Standing Charles Wyndham Standing''Silent Film Necrology'', 2nd Edition by Eugene Michael Vazzana, c. 2001 page 497 (23 August 1880 – 1 February 1963) was an English film actor. Early years Standing was born in London, England and died in Los Angele ...

were also actors, as was his first wife Isabelle Urquhart, and his third wife and mother of his three children, Dorothy Hammond (née Plaskitt), his son Guy Standing Jr. and his daughter,

Kay Hammond Dorothy Katherine Standing, Lady Clements (18 February 1909 – 4 May 1980), known professionally as Kay Hammond, was an English stage and film actress. Family Kay Hammond was born in London, England as Dorothy Katherine Standing, the daugh ...

(née Dorothy Katherine Standing) and grandson

John Standing Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934), known professionally as John Standing, is an English actor. Early life Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronal ...

. His son Michael Standing (died 1 December 1984), was the first live

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

commentator for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and first live radio commentator, known particularly for his "Standing on the Corner" slot in ''In Town Tonight''. After a distinguished war record as Head of Outside Broadcasting, he went on to become Director of Variety. In this role he was responsible for commissioning such classics as ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...

'', '' The Navy Lark'', ''

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 radio series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James, Bill Kerr and,at various ...

'' and ''

Round the Horne ''Round the Horne'' is a BBC Radio comedy programme starring Kenneth Horne, first transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The show was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, who wrote the first three series. The f ...

''. His later roles in radio management included the negotiation with the Musicians' Union to provide sufficient airtime for both recorded artists and live orchestras. The agreement he made enabled the start of Radio 1. Michael also wrote ''The Green Book'', a book of rules and principles put into practice by the BBC of

Lord Reith Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

Death

Standing died from a heart attack on 24 February 1937. He was picking up his car from a garage when the attendant asked him how he felt. "Excellent," he replied, "In fact, I never felt better in my life." Standing then fell to the floor, writhing in pain and clutching his chest. He died at Hollywood Emergency Hospital a few minutes later, never having spoken another word. He was interred at

Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery Grand View Memorial Park and Crematory is a historic cemetery located in Glendale, California, in the United States. Established in 1884 as Glendale Cemetery, it changed its name to Grand View Memorial Park in 1919. The cemetery was the focus of ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. Rumours surrounding Standing's death suggested that he had died from the complications of either a black widow spider or rattlesnake bite, but this has been deemed false.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Standing, Guy 1873 births 1937 deaths English male film actors English male stage actors Male actors from London Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Actors awarded knighthoods Royal Navy officers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I 20th-century English male actors Artists' Rifles soldiers Standing family Burials at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery