Nicholas John Smith (5 March 1934 – 6 December 2015) was an English comedian and actor. He appeared 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 ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...

'', playing Mr (Cuthbert) Rumbold, the manager of the fictional Grace Brothers department store.

Early life

Smith, the son of a

chartered surveyor Chartered Surveyor is the description (protected by law in many countries) of Professional ''Members'' and ''Fellows'' of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation (and a number of variations such as " Char ...

, attended a preparatory school and St John's School, Leatherhead. He served with the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

in Aldershot during his national service. He learned to play musical instruments, studied singing and trained as an actor at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

. He then appeared in repertory theatres, on the West End stage, at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

and on Broadway.

Roles

Smith's earliest TV roles were as a non-speaking extra in various ITV programmes. He had his first speaking role in the BBC's ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' serial ''

The Dalek Invasion of Earth ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' is the second serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six week ...

'' (1964). Smith persuaded the serial's director, Richard Martin, to expand the role so that his character, Wells, appeared in three of the serial's six episodes instead of only one or two as originally scripted. This was followed by small roles in many other adventure series, such as '' The Saint'', '' The Avengers'', ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'' and '' Ace of Wands''. In 1969 he appeared in the television period drama '' The First Churchills'' as the historical figure of Titus Oates. In 1971 in the series '' Budgie'' episode "Some Mother's Sons" as Detective Sergeant Clooney.

''Are You Being Served?''

''Are You Being Served?'' began with a

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

in 1972, with Smith playing Mr Cuthbert "Jug Ears" Rumbold, the manager of the menswear and ladieswear departments in a large fictional London store called Grace Brothers. Smith remained with the programme until the end of its run in 1985, as well as appearing in the ''Are You Being Served?'' spin-off film in 1977 and the sitcom's sequel, ''

Grace & Favour ''Grace & Favour'' (known as ''Are You Being Served? Again!'' in the United States) is a British television sitcom that was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC1 from 10 January 1992 to 8 February 1993. It served as a sequel series to ''Are You Being ...

'' (also known as ''Are You Being Served? Again!'' in the United States), in 1992 and 1993. Following the death of

Frank Thornton Frank Thornton Ball (15 January 192116 March 2013), professionally known as Frank Thornton, was an English actor. He was best known for playing Captain Peacock in the TV sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' and its sequel '' Grace & Favour'' (''A ...

on 16 March 2013, Smith was the last surviving member of the original cast of ''Are You Being Served?'' The last surviving principal actor was Mike Berry, who joined the cast beginning in 1981 for series 8 in the role of Mr Spooner following actor

Trevor Bannister Trevor Gordon Bannister (14 August 193414 April 2011) was a British actor. He was best known for having played the womanising and wisecracking junior salesman Mr Lucas in the sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1979, and for his role ...

's departure from the series. He died on 11 April 2025.

Other roles

From September 1972, in contrast to his contemporaneous work in ''Are You Being Served?'', he also had a semi-regular role as PC Jeff Yates in the series ''

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 ...

''. His last appearance as Yates was in February 1975. His film work included appearances in '' Salt and Pepper'' (1968), '' A Walk with Love and Death'' (1969),

''-Project Zero (1969),

The Twelve Chairs ''The Twelve Chairs'' () is a Russian classic satirical picaresque novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, published in 1928. Its plot follows characters attempting to obtain jewelry hidden in a chair. A sequel was published in 1931. The ...

'' (1970), dubbed in an Italian version of ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

'' (1972) directed by

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

, and '' The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother'' (1975) as Hunkston, Sigerson Holmes' servant. He played Mr. Simpkins (a miserable and desperately unattractive leisure centre manager who had rings run around him by two lazy, womanizing Australian criminals who had taken jobs in the leisure centre as a cover for their crimes) in The Sweeney, episode Golden Fleece in 1975. In 1979, he appeared in ''

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

'' as Mr Foster, the headmaster of the school. In 1986 he played Sir John Treymayne in the British tour of ''

Me and My Girl ''Me and My Girl'' is a musical with music by Noel Gay and its original book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose. The story, set in the late 1930s, tells of an unapologetically unrefined Cockney gentleman named Bill Snibson, wh ...

'', a role played in the West End by his ''Are You Being Served?'' co-star Frank Thornton. In 1987 he joined the cast on '' And There's More'' and was paired up with

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress and comedienne, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for ...

for a number of sketches for each episodes as an old couple. He appeared in the TV mini-series ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between January 1843 and July 1 ...

''. In 2005, Smith featured in a supporting role as vicar Clement Hedges in the Academy Award-winning film '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', for which he was nominated for an

Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production The Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production (or Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production) is an Annie Award awarded annually to the best animated feature ...

. In 2008, he appeared as a vicar in ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...

''. In 2010, he appeared in children's TV programme ''

M.I. High ''M.I. High'' is a British action television series produced by Kudos for CBBC and created by Keith Brumpton. The series focused on a team of undercover teenage spies working for the fictional British secret intelligence agency MI9 who had to ...

'' as Professor Quakermass. Smith also wrote music and poetry.

Personal life and death

Smith was the father of actress Catherine Russell. He died on 6 December 2015 following seven weeks of hospitalisation for a head injury from a fall at his home in

Sutton, London Sutton is a town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough, on the lower slopes of the North Downs. It is south-southwest of Charing Cross, one of the fourteen ...

Partial filmography

* '' Partners in Crime'' (1961) - Pawn Shop Assistant * ''

'' (1964, season 2) - Resistant *'' Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines'' (1965) - Fireman (uncredited) *'' Salt and Pepper'' (1968) - Constable *'' The Saint'' - "The Fiction-Makers" (1968) - Bishop *'' A Walk with Love and Death'' (1969) - Pilgrim *''

''- "Project Zero" (1969) - Postmaster. *''

'' (1970) - Actor in Play *''

'' (1972) - Friar *''

'' (1972) - Mr. Rumbold *''

Baxter! ''Baxter!'' is a 1973 drama film directed by Lionel Jeffries and starring Patricia Neal, Jean-Pierre Cassel and Britt Ekland. The film follows a young boy called Roger Baxter who struggles to overcome his speech problem ( rhotacism) and his s ...

'' (1973) - 1st Taxi Driver *'' Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell'' (1974) - Death Wish (uncredited) *''

Village Hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

'' - “The Magic Sponge” (1974) - Brian Good *'' The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother'' (1975) - Hunkston *''

'' (1977) - Mr. Rumbold *''

'' (1992) - Mr. Rumbold *''

'' (1994) - Mr. Spottletoe *'' What Rats Won't Do'' (1998) - Chaplain *'' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' (2005) - Reverend Clement Hedges (voice), Nominated -

*''Every Hidden Thing'' (2006) - Abel

References

External links

* *''Are You Being Served? A Celebration of Twenty-Five Years''. Richard Webber with David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. New York; Welcome Rain, 1998.
Nicholas Smith
(Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Nicholas 1934 births 2015 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male television actors Male actors from Surrey People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead People from Banstead English male stage actors Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in London English male comedians Comedians from Surrey Actors from Reigate and Banstead