Charles Laurence (10 January 1931 – 13 July 2013) was a British actor and playwright who worked in films and television.
Early life
Charles Laurence was born Carlos Felipes in
Tangiers
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...
when it was an
International zone
An international zone is any area not fully subject to the border control policies of the state in which it is located. There are several types of international zones ranging from special economic zones and sterile zones at ports of entry exe ...
, to a Swiss-Scottish mother and a Gibraltarian father of Spanish-Italian descent. Until the age of seven, he spoke only French and Spanish. He learned English as well when the family moved to England. As a young boy he went to
Taunton School
Taunton School is a co-educational independent school in the county town of Taunton in Somerset in South West England. It serves boarding and day-school pupils from the ages of 13 to 18.
The current headmaster is Lee Glaser, appointed in the aut ...
in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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and then to
RADA
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Se ...
.
Career
In the early 1950s, after a spell at Guildford Repertoire (1953), he appeared in numerous stage plays and comedies in repertoire at the
Oxford Playhouse
Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum.
History
The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Oxfo ...
and the
Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
. In the
West End he appeared in ''Ross'' at the
Haymarket Theatre. In the 1950s and 1960s he appeared in films and on television. He worked as a playwright from 1969 to 1999. He died on 13 July 2013 in St Johns Wood, London.
Work as an actor
*''
Cross Channel'' (1955) - Jean-Pierre Moreau
*''
A Hill in Korea
''A Hill in Korea'' is a 1956 British war film based on Max Catto's 1953 novel of the same name. The original name was ''Hell in Korea'', but it was changed for distribution reasons—except in the US. It was directed by Julian Amyes and prod ...
'' (1956) - Pvt. Kim
*''ITV Play of the Week'': (''The Last Hours'' (1959) and ''The School for Wives'' (1958)) - Hendrik / Horace, Oronte's son
*''Hotel Imperial'' (1960) - Jose da Irala
*''
Dixon of Dock Green
''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...
'' (1962) - Cable
*''Sierra Nine'' (1963) - Brother Jullen
*''The Third Man'' (1964) - The Bell Boy
*''
A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965) - Tallyman
*''199 Park Lane'' (1965) - Nicky
*''Vendetta'' (1966) - Ray
*''
The Magnificent Two
''The Magnificent Two'' is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Morecambe and Wise in the third and final of their 1960s trio of films.
Plot
Two British Action Man travelling salesmen are sent to the South American co ...
'' (1967) - Sharpshooter
*''
Man in a Suitcase
''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of ''Man in ...
'' (1967–1968) - Van Driver / Martin (final film role)
Work as a playwright
*''What’s a Mother For?'' (Jan 1969)
Armchair Theatre
''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968.
The Canad ...
,
ITV (starring
June Whitfield
Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress.
Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy '' Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
and Joe Brown)
*''The Swan Won’t go in the Fridge'' (Oct 1969) Armchair Theatre, ITV (starring
Rosemary Leach
Rosemary Anne Leach (18 December 1935 – 21 October 2017) was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for ''84, Charing Cross Road'' and was nominated for the BAFTA Award fo ...
and
Peter Cellier
Peter Cellier (born 12 July 1928) is an English actor who has appeared in film, stage and television. He is known for his role as Sir Frank Gordon in ''Yes Minister'' and then ''Yes, Prime Minister'' in the 1980s.
Early life
Cellier was born i ...
]
*''Now, Take My Wife'' (1971), a TV series of 6 episodes for the BBC (starring
Sheila Hancock,
Donald Houston
Donald Daniel Houston (6 November 1923 – 13 October 1991) was a Welsh actor whose first two films—'' The Blue Lagoon'' (1949) with Jean Simmons, and '' A Run for Your Money'' (1949) with Alec Guinness—were highly successful. Later in ...
, and Liz Edmiston)
*''Just Harry and Me'' (1971) for
Comedy Playhouse
''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...
,
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. ...
...
*''Snap!'' (1974), a stage comedy (Maggie Smith starred in this; Vaudeville Theatre London)
*''
*''About Alice'' (1998), a stage comedy
*''The Ring Sisters'' (1999), a stage comedy