Gordon James (22 July 1877 – 3 February 1949) was an English actor who became known as the "heavy" in 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, between 1923 and 1933. He also appeared in some twenty films between 1929 and 1942. Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

as Sydney Lynn, he was the brother of

Ralph Lynn Ralph Clifford Lynn (8 March 1882 – 8 August 1962) was an English actor who had a 60-year career, and is best remembered for playing comedy parts in the Aldwych farces first on stage and then in film. Lynn became an actor at the age of 18 ...

, who co-starred in the Aldwych farces with

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

. James appeared alongside his brother in all twelve of the farces. They were two of only three performers to appear in every one of the Aldwych series; the other was

Robertson Hare John Robertson Hare, OBE (17 December 1891 – 25 January 1979) was an English actor, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is remembered by more recent audiences for his performances as the Archdeacon in the popular BBC sitcom, ''All Gas ...

. James's roles were: George McChesney in '' It Pays to Advertise'' (1923, under his real name); Noony in ''

A Cuckoo in the Nest ''A Cuckoo in the Nest'' is a farce by the English playwright Ben Travers. It was first given at the Aldwych Theatre, London, the second in the series of twelve Aldwych farces presented by the actor-manager Tom Walls at the theatre between 1923 ...

'' (1925); Admiral Juddy in '' Rookery Nook''; Death in '' Thark'' (1927); Simon Veal in ''

Plunder Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

'' (1928); Nicholas Ramsbotham in '' A Cup of Kindness'' (1929); Knee in '' A Night Like This'' (1930); Luke Meate in '' Turkey Time'' (1931); Toom in '' Dirty Work'' (1932); Francis in '' Fifty-Fifty'' (1932); and Old Dale in ''

A Bit of a Test ''A Bit of a Test'' is a farce by Ben Travers. It was the last, and least successful, of the series of twelve Aldwych farces that ran in uninterrupted succession at the Aldwych Theatre in London from 1923 to 1933. The play depicts the efforts ...

'' (1933). He made his first screen appearance in the 1929 film ''

Atlantic 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 an ...

'', followed by film versions of the Aldwych farces in the early 1930s (often alongside his brother Ralph), and a variety of other films until 1942. James died in London in 1949."Gordon James"
British Film Institute, accessed 17 February 2013

Filmography

* ''

'' (1929) * '' Tons of Money'' (1930) * ''

'' (1931) * '' Thark'' (1932) * ''

Summer Lightning ''Summer Lightning'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday (publisher), Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title ''Fish Preferred'', and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Her ...

'' (1933) * ''

'' (1933) * '' Dirty Work'' (1934) * '' A Cup of Kindness'' (1934) * ''

Foreign Affaires ''Foreign Affaires'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also features Ralph Lynn, Robertson Hare, Norma Varden and Cecil Parker. The screenplay is by Ben Travers, and the cast included cast members from the Wall ...

'' (1935) * ''

Fighting Stock ''Fighting Stock'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by and starring Tom Walls. It also features Robertson Hare, Lesley Wareing and Herbert Lomas. its plot involves a Brigadier who retires to a country cottage for some quiet fishing, but i ...

'' (1935) * '' Stormy Weather'' (1935) * '' Pot Luck'' (1936) * ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'' (1936) * ''

Love in Exile ''Love in Exile'' is a 1936 British romantic adventure film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Helen Vinson, Clive Brook and Mary Carlisle. Production The film was shot at Isleworth Studios in west London by the independent producer M ...

'' (1936) * '' For Valour'' (1937) * ''

A Spot of Bother ''A Spot of Bother'' is the second adult novel by Mark Haddon, who is best known for his prize-winning first novel ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time''. Like ''Curious Incident'', ''A Spot of Bother'' examines mental health iss ...

'' (1938) * ''

Second Best Bed ''Second Best Bed'' is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Tom Walls and starring Walls, Jane Baxter and Veronica Rose. The screenplay is by Ben Travers, based on an earlier story of his. Walls and Travers had worked together on the Aldwyc ...

'' (1938) * ''

Saloon Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

'' (1940) * ''Now You're Talking'' * '' The Young Mr. Pitt'' (1942)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Gordon 1878 births Male actors from Manchester English male stage actors English male film actors 20th-century English male actors 1949 deaths