Neal Arden (born Arthur Neal Aiston; 27 December 1909 – 4 June 2014) was an English-born

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

who appeared in films, television shows, theatre productions and radio programs. He was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1928, Arden moved to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

and served in the

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' Britis ...

(BSAP). Two years later, he returned to Great Britain to pursue an acting career. His screen debut came in the 1934 film version of '' Princess Charming''. Other films include '' "Pimpernel" Smith'', ''

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

'' and '' The Shakedown''. He also worked in television, appearing in series like ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

'' and ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

''. Arden's most notable role was on 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 ...

radio show '' Housewives' Choice'', as a host for 20 years from 1946. His last acting credit was in 1977.

Later life

Arden also wrote plays and songs. In 2002 he collaborated with lyricist Eddie Lewisohn on an album of songs which were recorded by Paul Hazel. In 2005, he published his autobiography called ''A Man of Many Parts''. In 2003 he retired to

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

with his wife Julia. Arden died on 4 June 2014.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1909 births 2014 deaths Male actors from London British South Africa Police officers English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male radio actors English men centenarians People from Fulham Writers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 20th-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British expatriates in Southern Rhodesia {{England-stage-actor-stub