Hugh Morton (28 June 1903 – 11 July 1984) was an English actor, best known for his work on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

for which he made more than 3,000 broadcasts, beginning in the 1920s. His career spanned more than sixty years and also included theatre, cinema and television.

Life and career

Morton was born in

Ivybridge Ivybridge is a town and civil parish in the South Hams, in Devon, England. It lies about east of Plymouth. It is at the southern extremity of Dartmoor, a National Park of England and Wales and lies along the A38 "Devon Expressway" road. The ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, the son of a naval officer. The family was from the upper classes; its members included Morton's first cousin,

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

, who became British

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

in the 1950s. Morton was educated at Haileybury and

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

, studied at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

, and secured his first professional engagement in a touring company run by Violet and Irene Vanbrugh. According to Morton's obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', his cinema career began in the days of silent films. He was frequently cast in supporting roles as judges, bank managers or butlers. On stage he took over the role of Captain Hook in ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' from Alastair Sim and appeared with

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation an ...

in a long-running comedy, ''The Love Racket''. On radio he was the first actor to play the title role in the long-running '' Paul Temple'' series, and a regular member of the team of ''

It's That Man Again ''It's That Man Again'' (commonly contracted to ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran for twelve series from 1939 to 1949. The shows featured Tommy Handley in the central role, a fast-talking figure, around whom the other ch ...

'', '' Life with the Lyons'' and ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The radio series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James, Bill Kerr and,at various ...

''. In these and other programmes he made more than 3,000 broadcasts. Character roles on television included the Bishop in the 1978 '' Wodehouse Playhouse'' episode 'The Smile that Wins'. Morton married the broadcaster Monica Strachey in 1938."Hugh Morton", ''The

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'', 22 November 1938, p. 5 He died in London at the age of 81.

Filmography

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Hugh 1903 births 1984 deaths 20th-century English male actors Male actors from Devon Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors English male radio actors