Percy Herbert (31 July 1920 – 6 December 1992) was an English actor. He worked predominantly from the 1950s into the 1970s and became one of the most recognisable faces in post-war British cinema.

Life and career

Herbert served in the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equi ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and spent four years in the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese prisoner of war camp Changi. After the war, he was helped by Dame

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...

to secure an interview with the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 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 London ...

where he won a scholarship. His acting career began in the theatre, which included working at

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

Company. Beginning in 1954, he went on to make nearly seventy films, often playing soldiers, most notably in ''

The Cockleshell Heroes ''The Cockleshell Heroes'' is a 1955 British Technicolor war film with Trevor Howard, Anthony Newley, Christopher Lee, David Lodge and José Ferrer, who also directed. The film depicts a heavily fictionalised version of Operation Frankton, t ...

'', ''

The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the novel ''The Bridge over the River Kwai'', written by Pierre Boulle. Boulle's novel and the film's screenplay are almost entirely fictional but u ...

'' (for which he also worked as consultant as well as suggesting the use of the well-known "Colonel Bogey March" which the prisoners whistled in the film), '' Sea of Sand'', '' Tunes of Glory'', '' The Guns of Navarone'', '' Guns at Batasi'', ''

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

'' and '' The Wild Geese.'' However, he was equally at home in comedies ('' Barnacle Bill'', '' Casino Royale'', two Carry On films), fantasy (''

One Million Years B.C. ''One Million Years B.C.'' is a 1966 British Adventure film, adventure fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions and Seven Arts Productions, Seven Arts, and is a remake of the 1940 American fantasy f ...

'', '' Mysterious Island''), drama ('' Becket'', '' Bunny Lake is Missing''), and science fiction ('' Quatermass 2'', '' Night of the Big Heat''). He also acted on television; he was a regular on the short-lived American series ''

Cimarron Strip ''Cimarron Strip'' is an American Western television series starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown. The series was produced by the creators of ''Gunsmoke'' and aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Reruns of the original show w ...

'', during a brief foray to Hollywood. Other television work includes ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' when shown on American TV), '' The Saint'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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.

''. Herbert was born in east London, and spent his youth learning to become a boxer at the Repton Boxing club. One of three siblings, he was the middle child. His father left home when he was a young boy and he was brought up by his mother Ann Herbert along with his brother Lawrence and his sister Maisie. During World War II he joined the British Army as a young man and was sent to Singapore via ship to fight in the Pacific. The British ship miscalculated the timing of its entry into harbour, and sailed into Singapore Harbour in broad daylight. The British were immediately bombed by Japanese aircraft and Herbert jumped ship and swam to shore with a broken collar bone. He was picked up by British soldiers and taken to the British Military Hospital, Singapore, where Herbert survived the Alexandra Hospital massacre. He was among 11 soldiers who survived and ultimately were captured and sent to the notorious Japanese Prison Camp at Changi, where he remained as a POW for the duration of the war. He was assigned to work on the Burma Railway and was released from Changi at the end of the war, after which he returned to London. One of the first films he was cast in was

Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic film, epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai, ''The Bridge over the River Kwai'', written by Pierre Boulle. Boulle's novel and the film's screen ...

, which was about British prisoners of the Japanese. David Lean, the producer of the film, paid Herbert a stipend to be a consultant on the film as he had been a POW there and was also cast in the role of Grogan, one of the first roles in which he was cast during his long and varied acting career. Herbert died of a heart attack, aged 72, on the 6th of December 1992 in Broadstairs, Kent, which is on the south coast of England. He was survived by his childhood sweetheart and wife Amy and his two daughters Vanessa and Katrina .

Complete filmography

* ''I Done a Murder'' (1951, TV film) - The Rev. Christopher Spoke * '' The Young Lovers'' (1954) - Richards (uncredited) * ''Montserrat'' (1954, TV film) - Morales * '' The Green Carnation'' (1954) - Casey O'Rourke * '' One Good Turn'' (1955) - "Seen Enough" Boxing Spectator (uncredited) * '' The Night My Number Came Up'' (1955) - R.E.M.E. Sergeant * ''

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 ...

'' (1955) - Soldier (uncredited) * ''

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

'' (1955) - Barman * ''The Gold Express'' (1955) * ''

Timeslip ''Timeslip'' is a British children's television series, children's science fiction television series made by Associated TeleVision, ATV for the ITV (TV network), ITV network, and broadcast in 1970 and 1971. It was first shown on Monday evenings ...

'' (1955) - Assassin (uncredited) * ''

'' (1955) - Marine Lomas * '' Doctor at Sea'' (1955) - Helmsman (uncredited) * '' Lost'' (1956) - Police Constable in Phone Box (uncredited) * ''

Child in the House ''Child in the House'' is a 1956 British drama film directed and written by Cy Endfield and starring Phyllis Calvert, Eric Portman and Stanley Baker. It is based on the 1955 novel ''A Child in the House'' by Janet McNeill. A girl struggles to ...

'' (1956) - Det. Sgt. Taylor * ''

A Hill in Korea ''A Hill in Korea'' is a 1956 British war film based on Max Catto's 1953 novel of the same name. The original name was ''Hell in Korea'', but it was changed for distribution reasons—except in the US. It was directed by Julian Amyes and pro ...

'' (1956) - Pte. Moon * '' Tiger in the Smoke'' (1956) - Copper * '' Quatermass 2'' (1957) - Gorman * '' The Steel Bayonet'' (1957) - Pte. Clark * ''

'' (1957) - Grogan * '' Night of the Demon'' (1957) - Farmer (deleted from US print) * '' Barnacle Bill'' (1957) - Tommy * '' The Safecracker'' (1958) - Sergeant Harper * ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy thriller film and the twenty-fifth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series, and the fifth and final to star Daniel Craig as fictional British MI6 agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bon ...

'' (1958) - 1st British soldier * '' Sea Fury'' (1958) - Walker * '' Sea of Sand'' (1958) - 'Blanco' White * ''

Idol on Parade ''Idol on Parade'' (also known as ''Idle on Parade'') is a 1959 British comedy film directed by John Gilling and starring William Bendix, Anthony Newley, Sid James and Lionel Jeffries. The screenplay was by John Antrobus, based on the 1958 Willi ...

'' (1959) - Sgt. Hebrides *'' The Square Ring'' (1959) * ''The Hill'' (1959, TV film) - Reuben * '' Serious Charge'' (1959) - Mr. Thompson * '' Deadly Record'' (1959) - Belcher * '' Yesterday's Enemy'' (1959) - Wilson * '' The Devil's Disciple'' (1959) - Edict Sergeant * '' Don't Panic Chaps!'' (1959) - Bolter * '' A Touch of Larceny'' (1960) - (uncredited) * '' The Challenge'' (1960) - Shop Steward * '' There Was a Crooked Man'' (1960) - Prison Warden * '' Tunes of Glory'' (1960) - RSM Riddick * '' The Guns of Navarone'' (1961) - Sgt. Grogan * '' Mysterious Island'' (1961) - Sergeant Pencroft * ''

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...

'' (1962) - Seaman Matthew Quintal * '' The Captive City'' (1962) - Sgt. Maj. Reed * '' Call Me Bwana'' (1963) - First Henchman * '' The Cracksman'' (1963) - Nosher * '' Carry On Jack'' (1963) - Mister Angel, Bo’sun * '' Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow'' (1963) - Dover Castle Jailer * '' Becket'' (1964) - Baron * '' Guns at Batasi'' (1964) - Colour Sgt. Ben Parkin * '' The Counterfeit Constable'' (1964) - L'agent Baxter * ''

Carry On Cleo ''Carry On Cleo'' is a 1964 British historical comedy film, the tenth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, and Jim Dale are present and Connor made his l ...

'' (1964) - Guard (uncredited) * '' Joey Boy'' (1965) - Mad George Long * '' Bunny Lake Is Missing'' (1965) - Policeman at Station * '' Carry On Cowboy'' (1965) - Charlie, the Bartender * ''

'' (1966) - Sakana * ''

'' (1967) - Dolan * '' Mister Ten Per Cent'' (1967) - Inspector Great * '' The Viking Queen'' (1967) - Catus * '' Casino Royale'' (1967) - 1st Piper * '' Night of the Big Heat'' (1967) - Gerald Foster * '' The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' (1969) - Diego * ''

One More Time One More Time may refer to: Film and television * ''One More Time'' (1931 film), a Merrie Melodies cartoon * ''One More Time'' (1970 film), a film by Jerry Lewis * ''One More Time'', a 1974 TV special with Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, and other ...

'' (1970) - Mander * '' Too Late the Hero'' (1970) - Sergeant Johnstone * ''The Other Reg Varney'' (1970, TV film) - Various characters * '' Captain Apache'' (1971) - Moon * '' Man in the Wilderness'' (1971) - Fogarty * '' Doomwatch'' (1972) - Constable Hartwell * Beware My Brethren (1972) - Jim Hudson * '' The Fiend'' (1972) - Commissionaire * '' Up the Front'' (1972) - Cpl. Lovechild * '' Black Snake'' (1973) - Joker Tierney * '' The Mackintosh Man'' (1973) - Taafe * '' Craze'' (1974) - Detective Constable Russet * '' One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing'' (1975) - Mr. Gibbons * ''Metamorphosis Alpha'' (1976, TV film) - Thargon Commander * '' Hardcore'' (1977) - Hubert * '' Valentino'' (1977) - Studio Guard * '' The Wild Geese'' (1978) - Keith * '' The London Connection'' (1979) - Ship's Captain * '' The Sea Wolves'' (1980) - Dennison * ''Rules of Justice'' (1981, TV film) - George Lattimore * ''The Love Child'' (1988) - Maurice

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Percy 1920 births 1992 deaths English male film actors English male television actors British World War II prisoners of war Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers World War II prisoners of war held by Japan British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Military personnel from London Male actors from London