Terry Scott (born born Owen John Scott; 4 May 1927 – 26 July 1994) was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven of the '' Carry On films''. He is also well known for appearing in the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

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 ...

s '' Happy Ever After'' and '' Terry and June'' with

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television and film actress. Whitfield's big break was a lead in the radio comedy '' Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme ...

Early life

Scott was born and brought up in

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, and educated at Watford Field Junior School and Watford Grammar School for Boys. He was the youngest of three children, and the only surviving son after his brother Aubrey died when Scott was six.'' The Unforgettable'', ITV1, 22 September 2010 After

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

at the end of 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 ...

, he briefly studied accounting.

Career

Scott began his acting career with appearances on radio shows such as '' Workers Playtime'', which were followed by appearances on television. He gained an opportunity to perform in

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

when he joined the Whitehall Theatre Company. With

Bill Maynard Walter Frederick George Williams (8 October 1928 – 30 March 2018), better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in '' ...

he appeared at Butlin's Holiday Camp in

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021 ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

and partnered him in the TV series '' Great Scott - It's Maynard!''. During the 1960s he appeared alongside Hugh Lloyd in '' Hugh and I'' (1962–1967). They both appeared as Ugly Sisters in pantomime at The London Palladium; Scott reappeared in later years in the same role alongside Julian Orchard. Scott and Lloyd later appeared in '' Hugh and I Spy'' (1968) and, as

gnome A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

s, in the sitcom '' The Gnomes of Dulwich'' (1969). Scott's novelty record "My Brother" (written by Mitch Murray, and released in 1962 on

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

) was based on a schoolboy character (he dressed in school uniform to sing it on TV). In the 1970s he had a role in TV commercials for Curly Wurly caramel bars, in which he again appeared dressed as a schoolboy, with short trousers and cap. He repeated this performance several times on BBC TV's long-running variety show '' The Good Old Days''. Scott had played a small role in the very first of the '' Carry On films'' series of films, '' Carry On Sergeant'' in 1958. In 1968 he returned to the series with a role in ''

Carry On Up the Khyber ''Carry On Up the Khyber'' is a 1968 British comedy film, the 16th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It stars ''Carry On'' regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter But ...

'' (1968), playing main roles in six of the later films. Scott starred alongside

in several series of the comedy '' Happy Ever After'' and its successor '' Terry and June''. They had first worked together making a series of the sketch show ''Scott On'' (1968). They also featured in supporting roles together (as a couple) in the film version of '' Bless This House''. Although both Scott and Whitfield made several ''Carry On'' appearances, they never appeared in the same film. From 1981 to 1992, Scott was the

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

of Penfold the

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian ...

in the

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

'' Danger Mouse''.

Personal life and death

Scott suffered from ill health for several years in the latter part of his life. In 1979, he had a life-saving operation after a brain haemorrhage. He also suffered from creeping

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

and had to wear a neck brace. Scott was also diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 1987 and besides voicing Penfold, gradually wound down his performing career. He died from its effects at his family home in

Witley Witley is a village in the civil parish of Witley and Milford in the Waverley (borough), Waverley district in Surrey, England. It is centred south west of the town of Godalming and southwest of Guildford. The land is a mixture of rural (ran ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, on 26 July 1994, at the age of 67. He said of his last illness: "I know it would be better to give up the booze, fags and

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

, but life would be so boring, wouldn't it?" When '' Terry and June'' ended in 1987, Scott suffered a nervous breakdown. The breakdown was in part brought on by his public confession that he had indulged in a series of affairs since his marriage to dancer Margaret Peden in 1957. The couple had four daughters.

Filmography

Discography

*"Don't Light The Fire 'Til After Santa's Gone" / "My Brother", Parlophone R 4967 (December 1962)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Terry 1927 births 1994 deaths Butlins Redcoats Deaths from cancer in England English male film actors English male comedians English male television actors English male voice actors People educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys Male actors from Watford 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English comedians British novelty song performers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Comedians from Hertfordshire Royal Navy sailors Military personnel from Hertfordshire