Peter Cecil Bull, (21 March 1912 – 20 May 1984) was a British actor who appeared on the stage and in supporting roles in such films as '' The African Queen'', '' Tom Jones'' and '' Dr. Strangelove''. Peter Bull wrote twelve books.

Biography

Pre-war

He was the fourth and youngest son of William Bull, later Sir William Bull, 1st Baronet, Member of Parliament for

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

. Bull was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

. His first professional stage appearance was in '' If I Were You'' at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1933.

War service

He was a friend of

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...

, whom he first met at during training in 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 later . He served as an officer in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

, later commanding Landing Craft (Flak) 16 in the Mediterranean. He achieved the rank of lieutenant commander and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Post-war

Returning to acting after the war, he narrated and had a small role in '' Scrooge'' (1951) and portrayed the captain of the ship that

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

's and

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

's characters set out to destroy, whom they persuade to marry them just before they are to be executed, in '' The African Queen'' (1951). Bull was the first actor to portray Pozzo in the English-language version of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

's ''

Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...

'' when it opened on 3 August 1955. Bull's performance as the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Ambassador, Alexi de Sadesky, in '' Dr. Strangelove'' (1964) is probably the best known of his many film and TV appearances. He was cast as Thwackum, one of Blifil's two tutors, in the 1963 film '' Tom Jones''. In the 1970s, he ran a small shop just off Notting Hill Gate, selling zodiac-related items. Bull was an avid collector of

teddy bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

s. He published a number of books about them, including ''Bear With Me'' and ''The Teddy Bear Book'', as well as a book on his adventures on the Greek islands of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

and Paxos, where he owned a house, ''It isn't all Greek to me'', illustrated by Roger Furse. He was also the author of a non-fiction book about his experiences during the Second World War as commander of a Tank Landing Craft (LCT), ''To Sea in a Sieve'' (1956), the best-selling ''I Say, Look Here!: The Rather Random Reminiscences of a Round Actor in the Square'' (1965) and several memoirs and collections of his letters. Peter Bull died of a heart attack in London on 20 May 1984 at 72 years of age.

Partial filmography

Theatrical appearances

Data from Peter Bull and Sheridan Morley (ed.) 985 * ''If I were You'' (début), ''As You Desire Me'', ''Escape Me Never'', London 1933 * ''Escape Me Never'', New York (1935) * Founder and manager of Perranporth Summer Theatre, 1936–1939 * ''The Boy David'', London, 1936 * ''Judgement Day'', London, 1939 * '' The Lady's Not for Burning'', London, 1948 * ''Pericles'', London, ''The Lady's Not for Burning'', New York, 1950 * ''Figure of Fun'', London, 1951 * ''Under the Sycamore Tree'', London, 1952 * ''Second Best Bed'', ''The Man with Expensive Tastes'', London, 1953 * '' The Dark is Light Enough'', London, 1954 * ''

'', London, 1955 * ''The Restless Heart'', ''Man of Distinction'', London, 1957 * ''Luther'', London, Paris, 1961 * ''Pickwick'', London, ''Luther'', New York, 1963 * ''Pickwick'', New York, 1965 * ''Black Comedy'', New York, 1967

Published works

* ''To Sea in a Sieve'' (1956) * ''Bulls in the Meadow'' (1957) * ''I Know the Face But...'' (1959) * ''Not on Your Telly'' (1961) * ''I Say Look Here'' (1965) * ''It Isn't All Greek to Me'' (1967) * ''Bear with me'' (1969) * ''The Teddy Bear Book'' (1970) * ''Life Is a Cucumber'' (1973) * ''Peter Bull's Book of Teddy Bears'' (1977a) * ''A Hug of Teddy Bears'' (1984) * ''Bull's Eyes: The Selected Memoirs of Peter Bull'' (1986)

Footnotes

Bibliography

* *

External links

* *
Peter Bull at Find-A-Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bull, Peter 1912 births 1984 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy officers of World War II English male film actors Male actors from London People educated at Winchester College 20th-century English male actors Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Younger sons of baronets