Humphrey Lestocq (23 January 1919 – 29 January 1984) was a British actor, best known for his roles in '' Angels One Five'' (1952) and '' The Long Shadow'' (1961), and guest appearances in the television series '' The Avengers''. Lestocq shot to fame as Flying Officer Kyte in the BBC radio wartime comedy '' Merry-Go-Round'' (1944–1948), which later evolved into ''

Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'' was a comedy show broadcast from 1944 to 1950 and 1951 to 1954 by BBC radio and in 1950–51 by Radio Luxembourg. It was written by and starred Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne as officers in a fictional RAF stati ...

''. He was also one of the presenters on the TV series ''

Whirligig A whirligig is an object that spins or whirls, or has at least one part that spins or whirls. It can also be a pinwheel, spinning top, buzzer, comic weathervane, gee-haw, spinner, whirlygig, whirlijig, whirlyjig, whirlybird, or simply a whirly ...

'', the first children's programme to be broadcast live from the BBC's Lime Grove Studios. It ran from 1950 to 1956. Calling himself "H.L.", he was the stooge of the puppet Mr. Turnip, voiced by

Peter Hawkins Peter John Hawkins (3 April 1924 – 8 July 2006) was a British actor. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the most sought-after voice artists for radio and television, becoming a regular face and voice around the Soho-based cir ...

. Lestocq's catchphrases were "Goody, Goody Gumdrops" and "Jolly D", and Mr. Turnip's was "Lawky, Lawky, Lum".

Family

He was born Humphrey Lestocq Gilbert on 23 January 1919 in Chiswick, London, England. His parents were George Marx Gilbert and May Frances née Wooldridge, married 1911 in Brentford (Chiswick). They had three sons, George (1912), Maurice (1913), and Humphrey. He married Dallas E Edwards in 1943. They had two children – Michael (1945), and Patricia (1947). That marriage finished and Gilbert lived in

common-law marriage Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civil ...

with Mary Barnard Bilton until his death. After retiring from acting, he ran a fishing fleet from

Rye Harbour Rye Harbour is a village located on the East Sussex coast in southeast England, near the estuary of the River Rother: it is part of the civil parish of Icklesham and the Rother district. Rye Harbour is located some two miles (3.2 km) down ...

, East Sussex. He was an avid collector of English silver coins. He died on 29 January 1984 in London. Gilbert's mother came from a large family around Brentford, London. Her father was

William Lestocq William Lestocq (born Lestock Boileau Wooldridge; 1852 – 16 October 1920) was a British theatre manager, playwright, and actor.(20 October 1920)William Lestocq (obituary) ''New York Tribune''(20 October 1920)William Lestocq is Dead ''The Evening ...

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lestocq, Humphrey 1919 births 1984 deaths English male film actors English male television actors English male radio actors 20th-century English male actors People from Chiswick Male actors from London