Colin Bean (15 April 1926 – 20 June 2009) was an English actor. He was best known for his role as

Private Sponge ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

in the BBC comedy series ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, 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 nor ...

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 ...

, Bean's father played football for local side Wigan Borough, and he attended Wigan Grammar School. Bean's first appearance had been as a shepherd in a school play, and much against paternal intentions, he took up acting professionally until being called up for national service. He served for four years in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

after World War II, spending some time in Japan, and taking the opportunity to continue his acting by joining the

British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, t ...

(BCOF). After graduating from drama school in 1952, he joined the Sheffield Rep as assistant stage manager; regular theatre work followed.

Career

His work in ''

'' came as a result of working at Watford Rep in 1962 under series co-writer

Jimmy Perry James Perry, (20 September 1923 – 23 October 2016)Simon Morgan-Russell, "Perry, James (Jimmy) (1923–2016)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 202available online Retrieved 25 August 2020. was an Engli ...

as the company's

actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...

, in addition to almost 20 years of playing a pantomime dame. His role in ''

'' started off relatively small but grew as the series progressed, in 1997 he said ‘by the time of The Miser's Hoard I’d ended up on the front row of the platoon, it was a lovely feeling. Instead of peering and smirking over Jones’ shoulder, I was on the front line. It was very satisfying.’ His TV appearances were varied, including ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

'', ''

The Gnomes of Dulwich ''The Gnomes of Dulwich'' is a United Kingdom television sitcom originally shown in six episodes from 12 May 1969 to 16 June 1969. Written by Jimmy Perry, the show starred Terry Scott, Hugh Lloyd, John Clive, Leon Thau, Anne de Vigier and L ...

'', ''

The Liver Birds ''The Liver Birds'' is a British sitcom, set in Liverpool, North West England, which aired on BBC1 from April 1969 to January 1979, and again in 1996. The show was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. The two Liverpudlian housewives had met ...

'', 13 episodes of '' Michael Bentine Time'', ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London, t ...

'', and the penultimate episode of ''

Hi-de-Hi! ''Hi-de-Hi!'' is a BBC television sitcom shown on BBC1 from 1 January 1980 to 30 January 1988. Set in 1959 and 1960 in Maplins, a fictional holiday camp, the show was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who also wrote ''Dad's Army'' and ...

'' (1988). Due to his arthritis, in his later years he concentrated on his radio work. He wrote his autobiography, ''Who Do You Think You Are Kidding!'', which was published in 1998 and went into two editions. Though using a wheelchair in his later years, he continued to make sporadic appearances on stage in the North West of England discussing his long acting career. He was also a regular at ''

'' reunions. He continued to live in the Scholes area of his native Wigan until his death, aged 83, in Wigan Infirmary, on 20 June 2009.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Independent''

Obituary in ''The Guardian''

Colin Bean

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bean, Colin 1926 births 2009 deaths 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male writers British Army personnel of World War II British Army soldiers British male comedy actors English male radio actors English male television actors Male actors from Lancashire Military personnel from Lancashire People from Wigan