Leon Cortez (27 May 1898 – 31 December 1970) was a British musician and actor who appeared regularly on stage and in films and television in a career that spanned five decades.
Biography
Leon Cortez was born in London as Richard Alfred Chalklin, the son of Alice and Richard Ernest Chalklin, a house decorator.
[London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1932 for Richard Alfred Chalklin] From August 1915 he served 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 ...
and the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After the War he married Hilda Adelaide Hunt in December 1918
[ and went into cinema management before turning to the stage. He became well known as a Cockney comedian and variety actor and he was regularly heard in his Cockney Coster Band (the act was top of the bill at the Adelphi in Slough in 1936 and appeared in the 1937 film '']Calling All Stars Calling All Stars may refer to:
*Calling All Stars (1934 musical), a 1934 Broadway musical
*Calling All Stars (1937 musical)
''Calling All Stars'' is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Smith and starring Arthur Askey, Evely ...
'')BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
during the late 1930s and early 40s. Cortez also became known for his Shakespearean comedy parodies
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
. In addition to his frequent film and television roles he continued to work on the stage for much of his life as well as being a regular in pantomime.Dixon of Dock Green
''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...
'' (1960–62); '' One Step Beyond'' (1961); Dice Player in '' Echo Four Two'' (1961); Lapie in ''Maigret
Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...
'' (1961); ''Citizen James
''Citizen James'' is a BBC sitcom that ran for three series between 24 November 1960 and 23 November 1962. The show featured comedian and actor Sid James and Sydney Tafler with Bill Kerr and Liz Fraser appearing in early episodes. It was initial ...
''; Honest Arthur in '' Suspense'' (1963); First Driver / Court Usher in ''Bootsie and Snudge
''Bootsie and Snudge'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV for three series from 1960 to 1963, with a fourth in 1974. The show is a spin-off of '' The Army Game'', a sitcom about soldiers undertaking national service, and follows two of the m ...
'' (1963); Innkeeper in ''Richard the Lionheart
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
'' (1963); Mac / Birdie in ''The Saint
The Saint may refer to:
Fiction
* Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations:
** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...
'' (1964–68); Mr. Crogan in '' Beggar My Neighbour'' (1967); Samuels in ''Out of the Unknown
''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...
'' (1969); Christofis in '' Christ Recrucified'' (1969); 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 ...
'' (1970) and Will in '' Play for Today'' (1970). His roles in the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' (1966);
Cortez was about to begin rehearsals for two other television plays when he suddenly died in
in East Sussex on 31 December 1970 aged 72.