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John Laurie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Laurie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 March 1897 Dumfries, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, UK |
| Died | 23 June 1980 Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, England, UK |
John Laurie (25 March 1897 - 23 June 1980) was an actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. He is probably most recognisable for his role as Private James Frazer, the gaunt-faced, intense, pessimistic undertaker and Home Guard soldier in the popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 to 1977.
The son of a mill worker, he was a pupil at Dumfries Academy and abandoned a career in architecture to serve in World War I. After the war he trained to become an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and first acted on stage in 1921.
A prolific Shakespearian actor, Laurie spent much of the time between 1922 and 1939, playing Shakespearian parts including Hamlet, Richard III and Macbeth at the Old Vic or Stratford-upon-Avon. He starred in all three of his friend Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare films. During the Second World War, Laurie served in the Home Guard - the only future Dad's Army cast member to do so.
His early work in films included Juno and the Paycock (1930), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. His breakthrough third film was Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935). Other work included the farmer recruit in The Way Ahead (1944), the brothel proprietor in Fanny by Gaslight (1944) and the repugnant Pew in Disney's Treasure Island (1950).
One of his final appearances, looking slightly frail, was in Return to the Edge of the World, directed by Michael Powell in 1978.
| 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 |