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Atholl Fleming MBE (6 December 1894 – 6 May 1972) was a British actor and an Australian radio personality.


Early life

He was the third of nine children of the Rev R. S. Fleming, a Scottish
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
minister of
Pitlochry Pitlochry (; gd, Baile Chloichridh or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotlan ...
and later
Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
in Kent. After a fall as a child, he became deaf in his right ear. He was educated at the
City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , special ...
. He saw fighting in France during World War I with the
Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...
, notably the Battle of the Somme, and was wounded three times – a shrapnel wound to the head, a bayonet wound in the knee and gas injuries, which left him with a cough for the rest of his life. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London.


Career

After the War, he abandoned a career with the Bank of England for the stage, appearing in a number of
Whitehall farce The Whitehall farces were a series of five long-running comic stage plays at the Whitehall Theatre in London, presented by the actor-manager Brian Rix, in the 1950s and 1960s. They were in the low comedy tradition of British farce, following the ...
s and dramas on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television at Alexandra Palace. He starred in '' People Like Us'' at The Strand in 1929. He toured Australia in 1932 with Dame Sybil Thorndike and Sir
Lewis Casson Sir Lewis Thomas Casson MC (26 October 187516 May 1969) was an English actor and theatre director, and the husband of actress Dame Sybil Thorndike.Devlin, DianaCasson, Sir Lewis Thomas (1875–1969) ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ...
, (playing Dunois in '' St Joan'' and Macduff in '' the Scottish play'') and while in Sydney married fellow company member, Phyllis Best, daughter of Sir Robert Best, a former member of the Australian parliament from Hawthorn, Victoria. Their son Robert Atholl Fleming (later a British television director and producer and MD of Argo Productions,) was born in 1933. Fleming appeared in a number of British films throughout the 1930s most notably as
Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...
in the
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comedy thriller '' Bulldog Jack'' (1935). Before the outbreak of the Second World War he volunteered for duty, but was rejected because of his age and WWI injuries. His Australian father-in-law persuaded him to take his family to Australia. He joined E. J. Tait's touring company, then the
Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...
as actor and drama producer. He was active in the British Drama League and acted as adjudicator for its annual competitions. In 1946 he was a member of the "Radio Players", who performed Max Catto's ''They Walk Alone'' and
Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the po ...
's ''Lover's Leap'' to outstanding reviews. For a time, he was co-producer (with Richard Parry) for Kathleen Robinson's "Whitehall Institute of Dramatic Art", a competitor of
Doris Fitton Dame Doris Alice Lucy Walkden Fitton, (3 November 18972 April 1985) was an Australian actress of stage and film and theatrical director and producer who founded and for 35 years headed The Independent Theatre Ltd. in Sydney, New South Wales. ...
's Independent Theatre. He notably appeared as Gloucester in
John Alden John Alden (c. 1598 - September 12, 1687) was a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, US. He was hired in Sou ...
's 1951 production of
King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...
at
St James' Hall St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones (architect), Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regent ...
in Phillip Street. He was called upon to adjudicate at major drama festivals. As "Mac" he became the central figure in the Australian Broadcasting Commission's 'Children's Session' and, as "Jason", became the leader, to children all over Australia, of the hugely popular Argonauts Club for most of its 31-year run, from 7 January 1941 until 2 April 1972. With his wife Phyllis he visited countless schools and children's hospitals. He became a figure much loved by generations of Australian children.


Honours

He was awarded an MBE on 14 June 1969 for his contribution to broadcasting and his work with children. Fleming loved sport. He was a founder member of the Stage Golfing Society (handicap 7) and the Stage Cricket Club in England. He started the Stage and Radio Cricket Club in Sydney. He was a useful bat, a good slip field and a Machiavellian captain. Atholl Fleming retired in 1969, shortly before the Children's Session and Argonauts Club were closed due to the rise of television. He was one of the best-loved and most respected figures in Australian broadcasting.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Atholl 1894 births 1972 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors Australian radio personalities Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century English male actors Military personnel from London English people of Scottish descent English emigrants to Australia