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Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades.
During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful
novelty record
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...
s "
The Hole in the Ground" and "
Right Said Fred
Right Said Fred are an English pop band formed by brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass in 1989. They are best known for the hit 1991 song " I'm Too Sexy". Their achievements include number 1 hits in 70 countries including one US number 1, o ...
"
and for his appearances in comedy films including ''
Two-Way Stretch
''Two-Way Stretch'', is a 1960 British comedy film, about a group of prisoners who plan to break out of jail, commit a robbery, and then break back into jail again, thus giving them the perfect alibi – that they were behind bars when the ro ...
'' (1960) and the ''
Carry On
Carry On may refer to:
* ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise
*Carry-on luggage or hand luggage, luggage that is carried into the passenger compartment
* ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film
* ''Carry On'' (novel), ...
'' series. His other screen roles include the astronaut Vincent Mountjoy in ''
The Mouse on the Moon
''The Mouse on the Moon'' is a 1963 British comedy film, the sequel to ''The Mouse That Roared''. It is an adaptation of the 1962 novel ''The Mouse on the Moon'' by Irish author Leonard Wibberley, and was directed by Richard Lester. In it, the p ...
'' (1963), Albert Perks in ''
The Railway Children
''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 fil ...
'' (1970), the barman Felix Forsythe in
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's ''
Frenzy
''Frenzy'' is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer was based on the 1966 novel ''Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Squa ...
'' (1972) and the pretentious hotel guest Mr Hutchinson in the ''
Fawlty Towers
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television ...
'' episode "The Hotel Inspectors" (1975). On television, he was a regular and prolific reader for the
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. ...
...
series ''
Jackanory'' from 1966 to 1991, he narrated the children's programme ''
The Wombles
''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recyc ...
''
(1973–1975) and he played the title role in the
CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
series ''
Old Jack's Boat
''Old Jack's Boat'' is a British children's television series that stars Bernard Cribbins as Old Jack, the owner of a multi-coloured boat called ''The Rainbow''. In each episode Jack (Cribbins) tells a story to his dog, Salty. Old Jack's Boat is ...
'' (2013–2015).
In the 1966 film ''
Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.
''Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' is a 1966 British science fiction film directed by Gordon Flemyng and written by Milton Subotsky, and the second of two films based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It stars ...
'', Cribbins portrayed
Tom Campbell, a
companion to
Dr. Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
. 41 years later, he began appearing in
the revival series of ''Doctor Who'' as
Wilfred Mott
Wilfred "Wilf" Mott is a recurring fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', played by Bernard Cribbins. He is the grandfather of the Tenth Doctor's companion Donna Noble, and father of her mother, Syl ...
, the grandfather of regular companion
Donna Noble
Donna Noble (later Donna Temple-Noble) is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a former companion of the Tenth Docto ...
and a temporary companion to the
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...
.
Early life
Bernard Joseph Cribbins was born on 29 December 1928 in the
Derker
Derker is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in north-central Oldham, close to the boundary with Royton.
History
Historically a part of Lancashire, Derker was recorded as a place of residence in 1604 with the name ''Di ...
area of
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
,
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 Lancashi ...
, the son of the cotton weaver Ethel (''née'' Clarkson; 1898–1989) and the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
veteran John Edward Cribbins (1896–1964).
He had two sisters, alongside whom he grew up close to poverty. He described his father as a "
jack of all trades
Jack of all trades may refer to:
*Jack of all trades, master of none, an aphorism
*"Jack of All Trades", a term to reference one with the ability to be proficient in many areas of life
Film and television
*Jack of All Trades (TV series), ''Jack of ...
" who also dabbled in acting. Cribbins left school at the age of 13 and found a job as an
assistant stage manager
Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...
at a local theatre club, where he also took on some small acting roles, and then served an apprenticeship at the
Oldham Repertory Theatre.
In 1947, he began
national service
National service is the system of 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 1939.
The l ...
with the
Parachute Regiment in
Aldershot, Hampshire,
as well as
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
.
Career
Early career
Cribbins made his first
West End theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...
appearance in 1956 at the
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London.
History
It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...
, playing the two Dromios in ''
A Comedy of Errors
''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. ...
'', and co-starred in the first West End productions of ''
Not Now Darling
''Not Now, Darling'' is a 1967 farce written by English playwrights John Chapman and Ray Cooney, first staged at the Richmond Theatre, in Richmond, England prior to a long West End run. The production starred Donald Sinden and Bernard Cribbi ...
'', ''There Goes the Bride'' and ''
Run for Your Wife''. In 1960, he starred alongside
Anna Quayle
Anne Veronica Maria Quayle (6 October 1932 – 16 August 2019), known professionally as Anna Quayle, was an English actress. In 1963, she received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in the original product ...
and
Lionel Blair
Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus; 12 December 1928 – 4 November 2021) was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a danc ...
in the revue ''And Another Thing'', written by
Ted Dicks
Edward Dicks (5 May 1928 – 27 January 2012) was an English composer. He is best known for composing the music for the novelty songs " Right Said Fred" and " The Hole in the Ground". They were both Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart in 1962, r ...
and
Myles Rudge
Myles Peter Carpenter Rudge (8 July 1926 – 10 October 2007) was an English songwriter, known for writing the lyrics for novelty songs. His songs " The Hole in the Ground" and " Right Said Fred" were both British Top 10 chart hits in 1962, b ...
.
The show brought Cribbins to the attention of
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British 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 192 ...
head
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
, who signed Cribbins to the label to record a single of a
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
song from the show titled "Folk Song".
Subsequently, Rudge and Dicks were subsequently asked to provide new material for Cribbins; their compositions "
The Hole in the Ground", about an annoyed workman who eventually buries a harasser, and "
Right Said Fred
Right Said Fred are an English pop band formed by brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass in 1989. They are best known for the hit 1991 song " I'm Too Sexy". Their achievements include number 1 hits in 70 countries including one US number 1, o ...
", about three workmen who struggle to move an unspecified heavy and awkward object into or out of a building (later also the
name of a pop novelty band who named themselves after the song), were top ten hits on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in 1962.
The third and final Cribbins single of the year "
Gossip Calypso
"Gossip Calypso" is a novelty calypso song written by Trevor Peacock. It was recorded by Bernard Cribbins and released by EMI on the Parlophone label in 1962. The musical accompaniment was directed by Johnnie Spence, and the producer was George ...
", written by
Trevor Peacock
Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor, screenwriter and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, later becoming known for his Shakespearean roles. Later in his career, he became best known for playing ...
, was another top 30 hit.
Films
Cribbins appeared in films from the early 1950s, mainly comedies. His credits include ''
Two-Way Stretch
''Two-Way Stretch'', is a 1960 British comedy film, about a group of prisoners who plan to break out of jail, commit a robbery, and then break back into jail again, thus giving them the perfect alibi – that they were behind bars when the ro ...
'' (1960) and ''
The Wrong Arm of the Law
''The Wrong Arm of the Law'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Lionel Jeffries, John Le Mesurier and Bill Kerr. It was partly written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson and made by Ro ...
'' (1963) with
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...
, ''
Crooks in Cloisters
''Crooks in Cloisters'' is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Jeremy Summers and starring Ronald Fraser as 'Little Walter', the leader of a gang of forgers, including Barbara Windsor as 'Bikini', Bernard Cribbins as 'Squirts', Melvyn Hayes ...
'' (1964) and three
''Carry On'' films – ''
Carry On Jack
''Carry On Jack'' is a 1964 British comedy film, the eighth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Most of the usual ''Carry On'' team are missing from this film: only Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey appear throughout, wi ...
'' (1963), ''
Carry On Spying
''Carry On Spying'' is a 1964 British spy comedy film, the ninth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It marks Barbara Windsor's first appearance in the series. Series regulars Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, and Jim Dale ...
'' (1964) and ''
Carry On Columbus
''Carry On Columbus'' is a 1992 British comedy film, the 31st and final release in the ''Carry On'' film series (1958–1992). The film was a belated entry to the series, following 1978's ''Carry On Emmannuelle''. It was produced to coincide ...
'' (1992).
His other appearances include the second ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' film ''
Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.
''Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.'' is a 1966 British science fiction film directed by Gordon Flemyng and written by Milton Subotsky, and the second of two films based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It stars ...
'' (1966) as Special Police Constable Tom Campbell; ''
She
She most commonly refers to:
*She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English.
She or S.H.E. may also refer to:
Literature and films
*'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...
'' (1965);''
Casino Royale'' (1967) as Carlton Towers, a British Foreign Office official,
''The Railway Children'' (1970) as Mr Albert Perks, the station porter and the
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
thriller ''
Frenzy
''Frenzy'' is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer was based on the 1966 novel ''Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Squa ...
'' (1972) as Felix Forsythe, the
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
pub landlord. His later films include
''Dangerous Davies – The Last Detective'' (1981),
''Blackball'' (2003) and
''Run for Your Wife'' (2012).
Narration and voice work
Cribbins was the narrator of the British animated children's television series ''
The Wombles
''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recyc ...
'' from 1973 to 1975 and also played the character of the Water Rat in a
BBC radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
adaptation of ''
The Wind in the Willows
''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...
''.
[ He was the celebrity storyteller in more episodes of '' Jackanory'' than any other personality,] with a total of 114 appearances between 1966 and 1991. He also narrated the audio tape of the Antonia Barber
Antonia Barber (real name Barbara Anthony; 10 December 1932 - 4 April 2019), was an English author of books for children and adults. Barber resided in Kent and Mousehole, Cornwall. Her book ''The Mousehole Cat'' was adapted as an animated film a ...
book '' The Mousehole Cat''. From 1974 to 1976, Cribbins narrated ''Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings
''Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings'' is a British children's animated series about the adventures of a young boy named Simon, who has a magic blackboard. Things that Simon draws on the chalkboard become real in the Land of Chalk Drawings, whic ...
.''
In the 1960s Cribbins provided the voice of the character Tufty in RoSPA
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is a British charity that aims to save lives and prevent life-changing injuries which occur as a result of accidents. In the past, it has successfully campaigned on issues of road safet ...
road safety films. He also provided the voice of Buzby, a talking cartoon bird that was the mascot for the Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
. He also appeared in advertisements for Hornby
Hornby may refer to:
Places In England
* Hornby, Lancashire
* Hornby, Hambleton, village in North Yorkshire
* Hornby, Richmondshire, village in North Yorkshire Elsewhere
* Hornby, Ontario, community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canad ...
model trains. In 1978, he provided one of two voiceovers in the electricity safety public information film
Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...
Play Safe. The other voice artist was Brian Wilde
Brian George Wilde (13 June 1927 – 20 March 2008) was an English actor, best known for his roles in television comedy, most notably Mr Barrowclough in '' Porridge'' and Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst in ''Last of the Summer Wine''. His lugubrious ...
; Wilde voiced the owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
and Cribbins voiced the robin. In 1981, Music for Pleasure released a ''Swallows and Amazons
''Swallows and Amazons'' is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome and first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, ...
'' audio book on tape cassette, read by Cribbins, abridged by Edward Phillips.
Cribbins also provided the voiceover work for ''A Passion For Angling'', starring Chris Yates and Bob James (1993). In 1996, he played Puddleglum the marshwiggle in Brian Sibley's BBC Radio adaptation of C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
's ''The Silver Chair
''The Silver Chair'' is a children's fantasy novel by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1953. It was the fourth published of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956); it is volume six in recent editions, which are seq ...
''. In 2013, he played Old Bailey in the radio adaptation of ''Neverwhere
''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was d ...
'', dramatised by Dirk Maggs
David George Dirk Maggs (born St. Helier, Jersey, February 1955) is a British freelance writer and director. During his career as a Senior Producer in BBC Radio he made radio drama adopting a cinematic-sounding approach, combining filmic story c ...
and in 2015 he was among an ensemble cast in an audio production of ''The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'', in which he played the White Cobra.
Television
Cribbins was the star of the ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
series ''Cribbins'' (1969–70). His other TV appearances include '' The Avengers'' (1968), ''Fawlty Towers
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television ...
'' (1975, as the spoon salesman Mr Hutchinson who is mistaken by the character Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty is the main character of the 1970s British sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'', played by John Cleese. The proprietor of the hotel Fawlty Towers, he is a cynical and misanthropic snob, desperate to belong to a higher social class. His attemp ...
for a hotel inspector), ''Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd. '' (1980), '' Shillingbury Tales'' (1980) and its spin-off '' Cuffy'' (1983).[ Besides voicing ''The Wombles'', Cribbins was a regular on BBC children's television in the 1970s as host of performance panel game ''Star Turn'' and ''Star Turn Challenge''.
These programmes concluded with Cribbins narrating a detective story as recurring character "Ivor Notion", with a script usually by ]Johnny Ball
Johnny Ball (born Graham Thalben Ball; 23 May 1938) is an English television personality, a populariser of mathematics and the father of BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball.
Early life
Ball was born in Bristol and attended Kingswood Primary School on th ...
but sometimes by Myles Rudge
Myles Peter Carpenter Rudge (8 July 1926 – 10 October 2007) was an English songwriter, known for writing the lyrics for novelty songs. His songs " The Hole in the Ground" and " Right Said Fred" were both British Top 10 chart hits in 1962, b ...
, the co-writer of his Top 10 singles. He starred in the 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. ...
...
's 1975 Christmas production ''Great Big Groovy Horse'', a rock opera based on the story of the