Arthur Bostrom
Encyclopedia
Arthur Bostrom is an English
actor
, most famous for his role as Officer Crabtree
, in the long-running BBC
sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!
.
in Rugby
, and graduated from St Chad's College
, University of Durham. Besides his television
career, he acted on the stage regularly, also being a trained life coach. He lived in Manchester
for a long time.
Bostrom had a recurrent character in 'Allo 'Allo!
, first appearing mid-way through the second series and remaining until the show's finale. Officer Crabtree
was played as an idiotic English
undercover officer, disguised constantly as a French
gendarme
during the Second World War
. Much of the character's humour derived from his supposed inability to pronounce French
words correctly in conversation, which, on an English-language television programme, was represented by ludicrous exaggeration and mispronunciation of ordinary words. For example, "Good Morning" would be pronounced as "Good Moaning!" and, famously, "I was just passing round the corner" would be "I was just pissing roond the corner". Bostrom actually speaks fluent French.
In 2005, Bostrom guest-starred in Dead Man Walking, an audio drama based on the television series Sapphire and Steel. Between December 2007 and January 2008, he continued his pantomime run when he appeared in a production as an ugly sister in Cinderella in Middlesbrough. On 8 January 2008, he appeared in an episode of Big Brother's Big Mouth on E4. He discussed events in the house after introducing the show in the familiar character of Officer Crabtree.
On March 3, 2010 he appeared as a Vicar in the BBC Day Time Soap 'Doctors'.
Bostrom appeared (alongside fellow 'Allo 'Allo! alumnus Sam Kelly
) in the BBC radio dramatisation of The Good Soldier Švejk
by Jaroslav Hasek
in November 2008, playing the part of Wendler.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, most famous for his role as Officer Crabtree
Officer Crabtree
Officer Crabtree is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Allo 'Allo!, which ran from 1982 to 1992; he was played by actor Arthur Bostrom....
, in the long-running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
.
Biography
Bostrom attended Lawrence Sheriff SchoolLawrence Sheriff School
Lawrence Sheriff School is a selective boys' grammar school in Rugby in Warwickshire. The school is named after Lawrence Sheriff, the Elizabethan man who founded Rugby School. The school's name is often shortened to 'LSS', or often just 'Sheriff' by boys at the school. In a recent OFSTED ...
in Rugby
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
, and graduated from St Chad's College
St Chad's College
St Chad's College is a college of the University of Durham in England. One of the smallest of Durham's colleges in terms of student numbers , it has the largest staff, the most extensive college library facilities, and consistently the highest academic results in Durham...
, University of Durham. Besides his television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
career, he acted on the stage regularly, also being a trained life coach. He lived in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
for a long time.
Bostrom had a recurrent character in 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
, first appearing mid-way through the second series and remaining until the show's finale. Officer Crabtree
Officer Crabtree
Officer Crabtree is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom Allo 'Allo!, which ran from 1982 to 1992; he was played by actor Arthur Bostrom....
was played as an idiotic English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
undercover officer, disguised constantly as a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
gendarme
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Much of the character's humour derived from his supposed inability to pronounce French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
words correctly in conversation, which, on an English-language television programme, was represented by ludicrous exaggeration and mispronunciation of ordinary words. For example, "Good Morning" would be pronounced as "Good Moaning!" and, famously, "I was just passing round the corner" would be "I was just pissing roond the corner". Bostrom actually speaks fluent French.
In 2005, Bostrom guest-starred in Dead Man Walking, an audio drama based on the television series Sapphire and Steel. Between December 2007 and January 2008, he continued his pantomime run when he appeared in a production as an ugly sister in Cinderella in Middlesbrough. On 8 January 2008, he appeared in an episode of Big Brother's Big Mouth on E4. He discussed events in the house after introducing the show in the familiar character of Officer Crabtree.
On March 3, 2010 he appeared as a Vicar in the BBC Day Time Soap 'Doctors'.
Bostrom appeared (alongside fellow 'Allo 'Allo! alumnus Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly is an English actor who has appeared in television, radio and theatre.-Career:He has had roles in British sitcoms such as Porridge as Bunny Warren, Allo 'Allo! as Captain Hans Geering leaving after series three, On the Up as Dennis Waterman's chauffeur and We'll Think of Something as Les...
) in the BBC radio dramatisation of The Good Soldier Švejk
The Good Soldier Švejk
The Good Soldier Švejk , also spelled Schweik or Schwejk, is the abbreviated title of a unfinished satirical/dark comedy novel by Jaroslav Hašek. It was illustrated by Josef Lada and George Grosz after Hašek's death...
by Jaroslav Hasek
Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek was a Czech humorist, satirist, writer and socialist anarchist best known for his novel The Good Soldier Švejk, an unfinished collection of farcical incidents about a soldier in World War I and a satire on the ineptitude of authority figures, which has been translated into sixty...
in November 2008, playing the part of Wendler.