From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clive Dunn, OBE
Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones in Dad's Army, 1973
Birth name	Clive Dunn
Born	9 January 1920 (age 87) London, England
Spouse(s)	Priscilla Morgan
Notable roles	Corporal Jones in Dad's Army

Clive Dunn OBE (born 9 January 1920) is a retired English actor, singer and entertainer best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom, Dad's Army.

Born in London, a cousin of actress Gretchen Franklin, Dunn played small film roles from the 1930s onwards. After a break for service in the army in World War II, in the course of which he spent four years in prisoner-of-war camps and labour camps in Austria, he worked for many years in music halls and theatres. In 1956 and 1957, Dunn appeared in The Tony Hancock Show. In the 1960s he made many appearances with Tony Hancock, Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan and Dick Emery, among others, before winning the role of Jones in Dad's Army in 1968.

From an early time his trademark character was that of a doddering old man. This first made an impression in the show Bootsie and Snudge, a spinoff from The Army Game. Dunn played the old dogsbody at a slightly seedy gentlemen's club where the characters Pvt. "Bootsie" Bisley (Alfie Bass) and Sgt. Claude Snudge (Bill Fraser) found work after leaving the Army.

Dunn was actually one of the younger members of the cast, at 48, when he took on the role of the elderly butcher whose military service in earlier wars made him the most experienced member of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard, as well as being the most decrepit.

Dunn's strong Socialist beliefs often caused him to fall out with Arthur Lowe, who was a committed Conservative and played Captain George Mainwaring. In fact, when the series ended and Dunn finally accepted an OBE, after many offers, it was reported that Lowe would only accept a higher-rated honour from the Queen.^[1]

After Dad's Army ended, Dunn capitalised on the role by playing the title character in the children's TV series Grandad, from 1979 to 1984. He had previously had a number one hit single with the song Grandad in 1971, accompanied by a children's choir. The B side of Grandad, I Play The Spoons, also received considerable airplay. After the cancellation of Grandad in 1984, he effectively disappeared from the screen, retiring to Portugal.^[2]

Following the success of the song Grandad, Dunn released several other singles.

• My Lady (Nana) / Tissue Paper & Comb, Columbia, 1971
• Wonderful Lilly / Pretty Little Song, Columbia, 1972
• Let's Take A Walk / Tell Us, Columbia, 1972
• Our Song / She's Gone, EMI, 1973
• Grandad / My Lady (Nana) (reissue), EMI, 1973
• My Old Man / My Own Special Girl, EMI, 1974
• Holding On / My Beautiful England, Reprise, 1976
• Goodnight Ruby / Thank You And Goodnight, Decca, 1977
• Thinking of You This Christmas / 'Arry 'Arry 'Arry, Sky Records, 1978
• There Ain't Much Change From A Pound These Days / After All These Years (with John Le Mesurier), KA Records, 1982.
• Grandad (reissue) / There's No-One Quite Like Grandma, EMI, 1988.

A 2006 article described Dunn as having eye trouble and sometimes being unable to see, but otherwise he appears to be in good health.^[3]

He is, along with Ian Lavender, Bill Pertwee, Frank Williams, Eric Longworth, Pamela Cundell and Colin Bean, who played Private Sponge, one of the few surviving members of the Dad's Army cast. He is married to actress Priscilla Morgan, and they now live in Portugal^[4]

1. ^ Graham McCann "Dad's Army, The Story of a Classic Television Show" ISBN 1-84115-309-5
2. ^ Permission to Speak, Sir? Saga magazine (Feb 1992) accessed 15 Feb 2007
3. ^ Arthur Harris - "Don't Panic, Arthur!" accessed on 15 Feb 2007
4. ^ The Mail - 24 Feb 2007 accessed 3 March 2007

• Clive Dunn at the Internet Movie Database
• Clive Dunn at TV.com
• Don't panic, Arthur!. iccoventry. Retrieved on January 26, 2006.

Major Cast Members of Dad's Army
Arthur Lowe • John Le Mesurier • Clive Dunn • John Laurie • James Beck • Arnold Ridley • Ian Lavender  • Bill Pertwee • Frank Williams  • Edward Sinclair