Leon Cortez (27 May 1898 – 31 December 1970) was a British musician and actor who appeared regularly on stage and in films and television in a career that spanned five decades.
Biography
Leon Cortez was born in London as Richard Alfred Chalklin, the son of Alice and Richard Ernest Chalklin, a house decorator.
[London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1932 for Richard Alfred Chalklin] From August 1915 he served in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
and the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
during
World War I
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 ...
. After the War he married Hilda Adelaide Hunt in December 1918
[ and went into cinema management before turning to the stage. He became well known as a Cockney comedian and variety actor and he was regularly heard in his Cockney Coster Band (the act was top of the bill at the Adelphi in ]Slough
Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...
in 1936 and appeared in the 1937 film '' Calling All Stars'')BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
during the late 1930s and early 40s. Cortez also became known for his Shakespearean comedy parodies
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can als ...
. In addition to his frequent film and television roles he continued to work on the stage for much of his life as well as being a regular in pantomime.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 ...
'' (1960–62); ''One Step Beyond One Step Beyond may refer to:
Music
* ''One Step Beyond'' (Dungeon album) or the title song, 2004
* ''One Step Beyond'' (Jackie McLean album), 1963
* '' One Step Beyond...'', an album by Madness, or the title song (see below), 1979
* ''One Ste ...
'' (1961); Dice Player in '' Echo Four Two'' (1961); Lapie in ''Maigret
Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...
'' (1961); ''Citizen James
''Citizen James'' is a BBC sitcom that ran for three series between 24 November 1960 and 23 November 1962. The show featured comedian and actor Sid James and Sydney Tafler with Bill Kerr and Liz Fraser appearing in early episodes. It was initial ...
''; Honest Arthur in ''Suspense
Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...
'' (1963); First Driver / Court Usher in ''Bootsie and Snudge
''Bootsie and Snudge'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV for three series from 1960 to 1963, with a fourth in 1974. The show is a spin-off of ''The Army Game'', a sitcom about soldiers undertaking national service, and follows two of the m ...
'' (1963); Innkeeper in ''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 ...
'' (1963); Mac / Birdie in '' The Saint'' (1964–68); Mr. Crogan in '' Beggar My Neighbour'' (1967); Samuels in ''Out of the Unknown
''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction and horror anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971.
Most episodes of the first three series were dramatisations of s ...
'' (1969); Christofis in '' Christ Recrucified'' (1969); Noony in ''A Cuckoo in the Nest
''A Cuckoo in the Nest'' is a farce by the English playwright Ben Travers. It was first given at the Aldwych Theatre, London, the second in the series of twelve Aldwych farces presented by the actor-manager Tom Walls at the theatre between 1923 ...
'' (1970) and Will in ''Play for Today
''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...
'' (1970). His roles in the 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 ...
comedy series ''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 ...
'' include Henry the Milkman in Museum Piece (1968) and the Small Man in Man Hunt (1969).
His film roles include Townsman (uncredited) in ''Can't Help Singing
''Can't Help Singing'' is a 1944 American musical western film directed by Frank Ryan and starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige, and Akim Tamiroff. Based on a story by John D. Klorer and Leo Townsend, the film is about a senator's daughter who f ...
'' (1944); Lou in '' Strip Tease Murder'' (1961); Grimes in '' Gang War'' (1962); Busker in ''I Could Go On Singing
''I Could Go On Singing'' is a 1963 British-American musical drama film directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Judy Garland in her final film performance alongside Dirk Bogarde, and Jack Klugman. Originally titled ''The Lonely Stage'', the film wa ...
'' (1963); Caretaker in '' Echo of Diana'' (1963) and 'Uncle Marty' in ''Secrets of a Windmill Girl
''Secrets of a Windmill Girl'' is a 1966 British exploitation film directed by Arnold L. Miller and starring Pauline Collins, April WIlding and Renée Houston. It recounts the road to ruin of a young woman who becomes involved with the stripteas ...
'' (1966);
Cortez was about to begin rehearsals for two other television plays when he suddenly died in Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
in East Sussex on 31 December 1970 aged 72.[Richard Alfred Chalklin in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007]
References
External links
Cortez
on Internet Movie Database
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
Film of Leon Cortez And His Coster Band - 'Chords, Cues And Costers' (1936)
- Pathé News
Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as "British Pathé". I ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortez, Leon
1898 births
1970 deaths
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Air Force personnel of World War I
English male stage actors
English male television actors
20th-century English male actors
Male actors from London