Actor, Director, Screenwriter. Born to parents who worked for the Salvation Army, he attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Wimborne and later served in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Royal West African Frontier Force in Burma during World War II. He was the recipient of the Burma Star. Following his return home, he studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his big screen debut with a minor part in the Alfred Hitchcock picture "Stage Fright" (1950). During the early 1950s, he appeared on the London Stage before returning to films, forging a lengthy career of character performances in a broad range of pictures and television programs, among them "The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955), "The Revenge of Frankenstein" (1958), "The Nun's Story" (1959), "Two Way Stretch" (1960), "The Trials of Oscar Wilde" (1960), "The Long Ships" (1964), "The Spy with a Cold Nose" (for which he received a Golden Globe Nomination 1966), "Camelot" (1967) and as 'Grandpa Potts' in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1968). During the 1970s, he gained acclaim as a director and writer with the films "The Railway Children" (1970), "The Amazing Mr. Blunder" (1972), "Wombling Free" (1977) and "The Water Babies" (1978). In 1987, he had a starring role in the Broadway production "Pygmalion".
Actor, Director, Screenwriter. Born to parents who worked for the Salvation Army, he attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Wimborne and later served in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Royal West African Frontier Force in Burma during World War II. He was the recipient of the Burma Star. Following his return home, he studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his big screen debut with a minor part in the Alfred Hitchcock picture "Stage Fright" (1950). During the early 1950s, he appeared on the London Stage before returning to films, forging a lengthy career of character performances in a broad range of pictures and television programs, among them "The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955), "The Revenge of Frankenstein" (1958), "The Nun's Story" (1959), "Two Way Stretch" (1960), "The Trials of Oscar Wilde" (1960), "The Long Ships" (1964), "The Spy with a Cold Nose" (for which he received a Golden Globe Nomination 1966), "Camelot" (1967) and as 'Grandpa Potts' in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1968). During the 1970s, he gained acclaim as a director and writer with the films "The Railway Children" (1970), "The Amazing Mr. Blunder" (1972), "Wombling Free" (1977) and "The Water Babies" (1978). In 1987, he had a starring role in the Broadway production "Pygmalion".
Bio by: C.S.
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