Desmond Walter-Ellis (16 September 1914 – 16 September 1994) was an English actor. He was active in a range of genres, from classic drama to cabaret, revue and musicals. He played a major part in the development of
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
when it restarted after the Second World War.
Life and career
Walter-Ellis was born in London on 16 September 1914, the son of Valentine Walter-Ellis and his wife
Eileen Ellis, ''née'' Kerin.
[ He trained for the stage at the ]Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
* Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
and Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...
and made his first professional appearance in December 1932. He then acted at the Old Vic, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London.
The theatre
Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary†...
, and Sadler's Wells, mostly in the classics. After repertory work, he served in the armed forces during the Second World War.[
In the immediate post-war years, Walter-Ellis worked mainly in the fledgling television service. In 1950 a magazine dubbed him "the first actor television star", with "seventy different performances to his credit … romped to favour in television versions of the ]Aldwych farce
The Aldwych farces were a series of twelve stage farces presented at the Aldwych Theatre, London, nearly continuously from 1923 to 1933. All but three of them were written by Ben Travers. They incorporate and develop British low comedy styles, ...
s". His roles – on live television in the early days – included Mr Posket in '' The Magistrate'', The Mad Hatter in ''Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'', Gerald in '' Rookery Nook'', Aubrey in '' Tons of Money'' and Captain Absolute in ''The Rivals
''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...
''.[
In the 1950s Walter-Ellis was seen in cabaret, revue, pantomime as well as straight dramas. In the Australian tour of '']Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...
'' in 1963–1965 he played King Pellinore. In London in 1966 he was Teddy Brewster in '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' with Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969.
Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...
and Athene Seyler
Athene Seyler, CBE (31 May 188912 September 1990) was an English actress.
Early life
She was born in Hackney, London; her German-born grandparents moved to the United Kingdom, where her grandfather Philip Seyler was a merchant in London. Athe ...
.[Herbert, p. 1521]
On television in the 1960s he was known for starring in the sitcom series '' Beggar My Neighbour'', taking over from Peter Jones as the harassed junior executive. His cinema films included '' Carry on Admiral'' (1957), ''The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
''The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery'' is a British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, written by Sidney and Leslie Gilliat, and released on 4 April 1966. It is the last of the original series of films based on the '' ...
'' (1966), '''' (1969) and ''The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
''The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer'' is a 1970 British satirical film starring Peter Cook, and co-written by Cook, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, and Kevin Billington, who directed the film. The film was devised and produced by David Frost und ...
'' (1970). For BBC Radio he repeated his Teddy Brewster in 1973, with Thorndike and Seyler.["Desmond Walter-Ellis"]
BBC Genome. Retrieved 6 August 2021
Walter-Ellis died in London on his eightieth birthday, 16 September 1994."Desmond Walter-Ellis"
Ancestry UK. Retrieved 6 August 2021
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter-Ellis, Desmond
1914 births
1994 deaths
20th-century British male actors