Alfred Edward Marks OBE (born Alfred Edward Touchinsky; 28 January 19211 July 1996) was a British actor and comedian. In his 60-year career, he played dramatic and comedy roles in numerous television programmes, stage shows and films. His self-titled television sketch show ran from 1956 to 1961.

Biography

Marks was born as Alfred Edward Touchinsky in

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its ro ...

, London, to

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

parents.Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' He left Bell Lane School at 14 and started in entertainment at the Windmill Theatre. He then served in the RAF as a Flight Sergeant in the Middle East where he arranged concerts for servicemen. He also worked as an auctioneer and engineer. He started in variety at the Kilburn Empire in 1946, and his stage appearances included '' The Sunshine Boys'' and ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

''. He also did comedy work with Peter Sellers and

Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, ...

which later led to the formation (along with writer Spike Milligan) of ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...

'', though Marks did not become a member. His films included ''

The Frightened City ''The Frightened City'' is a 1961 British neo-noir gangster film about extortion rackets and gang warfare in the West End of London. It stars Herbert Lom, John Gregson and a pre-Bond Sean Connery, who plays a burglar called Paddy Damion. He ...

'', '' Scream and Scream Again'' and '' Our Miss Fred''. His television show, '' Alfred Marks Time'', ran for 6 years on ITV. He compered '' Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' and in 1966 he appeared as a narrator in five episodes of the BBC children's television show ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' is a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fair ...

''. Marks also appeared in numerous other television programmes including '' The Good Old Days'', ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Insp ...

'', '' Blankety Blank'', '' The Marti Caine Show'', ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, ser ...

'', '' The Generation Game'', ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

'', '' Minder'', '' Parkinson'', '' The All New Alexei Sayle Show'', The Persuaders! amongst others. In 1965 he appeared in Bill Naughton's '' Spring & Port Wine'' at the Mermaid Theatre, London, playing Rafe, and in 1967, he toured Australia for J. C. Williamson Theatres in that play In 1968, he played the lead in '' The Young Visiters'', a musical version of the turn of the 20th century Daisy Ashford novel (written when she was nine and published as submitted by her with the spelling errors) at the Piccadilly Theatre in London. When he was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in December 1971, he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at London's Garrick Theatre. Marks was a fine bass-baritone and appeared regularly on the BBC TV series 'The Good Old Days'. One of his most memorable renditions was of Kipling's ' The Road to Mandalay', in the version made famous by Peter Dawson. He appeared as "Wilfred Shadbolt" in a video production of the

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

opera '' The Yeomen of the Guard'' in 1982. While on tour in Australia, Marks was appointed the second ''King of Moomba'' (1968) by the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Moomba festival committee. When asked what his qualifications were, he quipped (in full Cockney):

When I was eleven there were rival gangs around a fruit market in the
East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
. And desperately, I always wanted to be a member of the bigger rival gang. One day when I was in my best Easter suit, someone from one of the other gangs said to me 'would you like to be King of the Golden Apples?' 'All right, just sit there on this box and call out Apples, Apples, give me the Golden Apples.' Which innocently I did and they cobbled me with every rotten apple in the market.Craig Bellamy, Gordon Chisholm & Hilary Ericksen (2006
''Moomba – A festival for the people''

Personal life

Marks married actress

Paddie O'Neil Paddie O'Neil (born Adalena Lillian Nail, 1 May 1926 – 31 January 2010) was a British actress and singer.Obituary '' London Independent'', 27 April 2010. The daughter of circus and fairground performers, O'Neil spent her childhood travell ...

in 1952. They remained together until his death. The couple had two children, Gareth (also an actor), and Danielle.

Selected filmography

* ''

Penny Points to Paradise ''Penny Points to Paradise'' is a 1951 comedy feature film. The film was the feature film debut of the stars of ''The Goon Show'', Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers. The film was directed by Tony Young, who later produced '' The ...

'' (1951) - Edward Haynes * ''

Johnny, You're Wanted ''Johnny, You're Wanted'' is a 1956 British crime B-movie, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring John Slater. The film features famous strongwoman Joan Rhodes performing her stage act. It was based on the 1953 BBC television series of the ...

'' (1956) - Marks * '' Desert Mice'' (1959) - Poskett * '' There Was a Crooked Man'' (1960) - Adolf Carter * ''

A Weekend with Lulu ''A Weekend with Lulu'' is a 1961 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Bob Monkhouse, Leslie Phillips, Alfred Marks, Shirley Eaton and Irene Handl. Plot Young couple Timothy (Leslie Phillips) and Deirdre (Shirley Ea ...

'' (1961) - Comte de Grenoble * ''

'' (1961) - Harry Foulcher * ''

She'll Have to Go ''She'll Have to Go'' (released in the United States as ''Maid for Murder'') is a 1962 black and white British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Bob Monkhouse. Plot When cash strapped brothers Francis and Douglas discover thei ...

'' (1962) - Douglas Oberon * '' Scream and Scream Again'' (1970) - Detective Supt. Bellaver * ''

Scramble Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Scramble'' (video game), a 1981 arcade game Music Albums * ''Scramble'' (album), an album by Atlanta-based band the Coathangers * ''Scrambles'' (album) ...

'' (1970) - Mr. Heppelwhite * ''

Hide and Seek Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a popular children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chose ...

'' (1972) - Butcher * '' Our Miss Fred'' (1972) - General Brincker * '' Valentino'' (1977) - Richard Rowland * ''

Fanny Hill ''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure''—popularly known as ''Fanny Hill''—is an erotic novel by English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London,Wagner, "Introduction" ...

'' (1983) - Lecher

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Alfred 1921 births 1996 deaths Male actors from London English Jews English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People from Hillingdon People from Holborn Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century English male actors Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England 20th-century British male singers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force airmen