Ian Fleming (born Ian Macfarlane; 10 September 1888 – 1 January 1969) was an Australian character actor with credits in over 100 British films. One of his best known roles was playing Dr Watson in a series of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

films of the 1930s opposite Arthur Wontner's Holmes. Fleming also played a number of supporting roles in many classic British films of the era, including ''

Q Planes ''Q Planes'' (known as ''Clouds Over Europe'' in the United States) is a 1939 British comedy film, comedy spy film starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. Olivier and Richardson were a decade into their fifty-year friends ...

'' (1939), '' Night Train to Munich'' (1940), '' We Dive at Dawn'', ''

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp ''The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' is a 1943 British romantic-war film written, produced and directed by the British film-making team of Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and ...

'' (both 1943) and '' Waterloo Road'' (1945). He also appeared regularly in the films of musical comedian

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

. He also acted on stage, appearing as Robert Harley in the Norman Ginsbury's historical work '' Viceroy Sarah'' in the West End. Fleming's later career included appearances in many television series of the 1950s and 1960s, such as '' Fabian of the Yard'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Educated Evans'', ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'', ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'', '' The Forsyte Saga'' and ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

''.

Partial filmography

Film

* '' Second to None'' (1927) as Brian Douglas * '' The Ware Case'' (1928) as Michael Adye * '' The Devil's Maze'' (1929) as Derek Riffington * '' The School for Scandal'' (1930) as Joseph Surface * '' The Sleeping Cardinal'' (1931) as Dr. Watson * '' The Missing Rembrandt'' (1932) as Dr. Watson * '' Lucky Girl'' (1932) as Lord Henry * '' Called Back'' (1933) as Dr Carter * '' After Dark'' (1933) as Henry Lea * '' The Third Clue'' (1934) as Mark Clayton * '' School for Stars'' (1935) as Sir Geoffrey Hilliard * '' The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes'' (1935) as Dr. Watson * '' Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle'' (1935) as Henry Norman * '' The Riverside Murder'' (1935) as Henry Sanders * '' The Crouching Beast'' (1935) as Major Abbott * '' Prison Breaker'' (1936) as Stephen Shand * '' Excuse My Glove'' (1936) as Boxing Match Commentator * '' Jump for Glory'' (1937) as Coroner * '' Racing Romance'' (1937) as Martin Royce * '' Darby and Joan'' (1937) as Sir Ralph Ferris * '' Silver Blaze'' (1937), ( (aka''Murder at the Baskervilles'') as Dr. Watson * '' Dial 999'' (1938) as Sir Edward Rigg * '' If I Were Boss'' (1938) as Mr Biltmore * '' Double or Quits'' (1938) as Sir Frederick Beal * '' The Nursemaid Who Disappeared'' (1939) as Sir Egbert Lucas * '' The Good Old Days'' (1939) (lost) as Lord Wakely * ''

The Lion Has Wings ''The Lion Has Wings'' is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda film, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film ...

'' (1939) * '' Men Without Honour'' (1939) as Frank Hardy * ''

'' (1939) as Air Minister * '' Three Silent Men'' (1940) as Pennington * '' It Happened to One Man'' (1940) * '' Night Train to Munich'' (1940) * '' Jeannie'' (1941) * '' They Flew Alone'' (1942) as Secretary * '' Let the People Sing'' (1942) as United Plastics Barrister * '' We Dive at Dawn'' (1943) * ''

'' (1943) * '' Waterloo Road'' (1945) * '' I Didn't Do It'' (1945) as Chief Inslector Twyning * '' They Knew Mr. Knight'' (1946) as Higgs * '' George in Civvy Street'' (1946) as Uncle Shad * '' Appointment with Crime'' (1946) as Prisoner Governor * '' Quartet'' (1948) as Ralph * ''

Hammer the Toff ''Hammer the Toff'' is a 1952 British B movie, second feature crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley (actor), John Bentley and Patricia Dainton. The film was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the ...

'' (1952) as Doctor Lancaster * '' Wings of Danger'' (1952) as Talbot * '' The Voice of Merrill'' (1952) as Dr Forrest * '' Black Orchid'' (1953) as Coroner * '' Park Plaza 605'' (1953) as Colonel Santling * '' Eight O'Clock Walk'' (1954) as Jury Member * '' The Embezzler'' (1954) as Doctor (uncredited) * '' High Flight'' (1957) as Bishop * '' Innocent Meeting'' (1958) as Garside * '' Your Money or Your Wife'' (1960) as The Judge * '' Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons'' (1960) as Lawyer * '' Return of a Stranger'' (1961) as Meecham * '' The Lamp in Assassin Mews'' (1962) as Albert Potts * ''

Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

'' (1962) as Lord Chancellor * '' River Rivals'' (1967)

Television

* '' Fabian of the Yard'' * ''

'' * ''

'' * '' Educated Evans'' * ''

'' * '' The Forsyte Saga'' (TV serial, 1967) as Lord Fontenoy * ''

'' (1967)

Selected stage appearances

* '' The Berg'' by Ernest Raymond (1929) * '' Viceroy Sarah'' by Norman Ginsbury (1935) as Robert Harley in the West End * '' The Blue Goose'' by Peter Blackmore (1941) * ''

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

'' by Campbell Christie (1950)

References

External links

* 1888 births 1969 deaths Australian male film actors Male actors from Melbourne Australian expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom {{film-actor-stub