Arthur Leslie Scottorn Broughton (8 December 1899 – 30 June 1970), better known as Arthur Leslie, was a British

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, best known for original character of

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...

Jack Walker Jack Walker (19 May 1929 – 17 August 2000) was a British industrialist and businessman. Walker built his fortune in the steel industry, amassing a personal fortune of £600 million. He then went on to become the owner and benefactor of Black ...

in television soap ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

''.

Early life

Leslie was born in

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road bypasses the town on the line ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, but moved to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

at an early age. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served on board various

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s in the north of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Career

His first job was in 1916 at the Old Queen's Theatre in

Farnworth Farnworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southeast of Bolton, 4.3 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and northwest of Manchester. Historically in Lancashire, Farnworth lies on the River Ir ...

, and he also had a spell as actor-director at the Hippodrome theatre in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington ...

. Leslie's best known role is as

, genial landlord of the

Rovers Return Inn The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional pub in the long-running British soap opera '' Coronation Street''. The Rovers Return occupies a corner of the fictional Coronation Street and Rosamund Street set location in the show. The pub was built by ...

in television soap ''

''. Jack ran the pub alongside his wife Annie (played by

Doris Speed Doris Speed, MBE (3 February 1899 – 16 November 1994) was an English actress, best known for her role as landlady of the Rovers Return Inn Annie Walker on ''Coronation Street'', a role she played from the programme's first episode in 1960 un ...

). The Walkers were extremely popular characters, and both Leslie and Speed were much liked and respected by fellow cast members. Jack appeared in the show from the second episode on 14 December 1960 until his last appearance on 24 June 1970. In addition to acting, Leslie was also a

, and wrote under the name "Arthur S. Broughton". One such play, ''Welcome Little Stranger'', enjoyed success in repertory theatre.

Death

On 30 June 1970, six days after his last appearance on ''Coronation Street'', Leslie died suddenly of a heart attack whilst on holiday in Cardigan,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. His character, Jack Walker, was the first character to be written out of the soap following the death of the actor who played them, by means that he suffered the same fate. Out of respect for Leslie's family, Jack's funeral took place off-screen, and his death (unlike those of future characters who were written out for the same reason) was presented as a known fact to the main characters from the beginning of the episode broadcast on 8 July 1970, and did not dominate the storyline.

considered leaving the programme as well, but was persuaded to stay, which she did until 1983. Leslie is buried in the churchyard of St Stephen on-the-Cliffs in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

. He was survived by his wife of 45 years, Betty Powell, and their son, actor Tony Broughton, who would go on to appear in several episodes of ''Coronation Street''.

References

External links

* * English male stage actors 1899 births 1970 deaths English male soap opera actors Royal Navy personnel of World War I {{UK-tv-actor-1890s-stub