Robert Dorning

Robert Dorning (13 May 1913 – 21 February 1989) was a musician, dance band vocalist, ballet dancer and stage, film and television actor. He is known to have performed in at least 77 television and film productions between 1940 and 1988.

Origins

Robert Dorning was born at 108 Croppers Hill in St Helens, Lancashire, England, on 13 May 1913. His father was Robert John Dorning who worked in a local pit as a coal miner haulier and his mother was Mary Elizabeth Dorning, formerly Howard. He was educated at Cowley Grammar School in St Helens, where he also learnt to play violin and saxophone. After leaving school, Dorning studied drama and dance in Liverpool with the intention of becoming a ballet dancer. During the 1930s he had a brief career as a musical comedian in theatre, before choosing acting as his profession.

Film roles

His first known film role was in the crime drama, ''They Came By Night'' (1940). However, his acting career was interrupted by World War II and Dorning served in the RAF. After being demobbed, he utilised his ballet dancing talents when cast as a dancer in '' The Red Shoes'' (1948). During the 1950s he had supporting roles in at least ten films, although one was the well-received prisoner of war film, '' The One That Got Away'' (1957), in which he had the role of Corporal Wilson, the rest were mainly crime dramas. Although his film career was overshadowed by his more prolific television work, towards the end of his career he was cast in a number of notable film productions. These included the Hammer film ''Fanatic'' (1965), ''Cul-de-Sac'' (1966), directed by Roman Polanski, ''Man About the House'' (1974), ''Confessions of a Pop Performer'' (1975), ''Carry On Emmannuelle'' (1978), '' The Human Factor'' (1979), ''Ragtime'' (1981), Agatha Christie's '' Evil Under the Sun'' (1982) and ''Mona Lisa'' (1986).

Television roles

In 1958 Dorning began a lengthy television career appearing in many classic comedies such as ''Hancock's Half Hour'' (1959–60), ''Bootsie and Snudge'' (1960), ''Steptoe and Son'' (1965), ''Wodehouse Playhouse'' (1978), and ''Rising Damp'' (1978). Dorning played Mr. West, the bank inspector, in the classic ''Dad's Army'' episode " Something Nasty in the Vault" (1969) in which a bomb lands on Mainwaring's bank. Writer Jimmy Perry initially envisaged Jon Pertwee as the pompous bank manager and Home Guard officer Captain Mainwaring with Robert Dorning as Sergeant Wilson but eventually gave the roles to Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier respectively.

Dorning also had roles in a number of television soap operas and appeared as two different ''Coronation Street'' characters. He was Edward Wormold in 1965 and Alderman Rogers in an episode in 1972. In addition to this, he also starred alongside Arthur Lowe in the second series of Coronation Street spin-off ''Pardon the Expression'', and a follow up series, '' Turn out the Lights'' as Wally Hunt. He played Tupman in the TV musical '' Pickwick'' for the BBC
...