Arthur Mullard
Encyclopedia
Arthur Ernest Mullard, original surname Mullord (c. 19 September 1910 – 11 December 1995) was an English
comedy actor
.
, started work at 14 as a butcher's assistant, and joined the army
at 18. It was in the army that he began boxing
, becoming champion of his regiment. When he left the Army after three years he had a short stint at boxing professionally. This ended after 20 fights over three years, following a knock-out from which he lost his memory.
at Pinewood
and Ealing
film studios, from which he drifted into uncredited bit-parts in British films such as Oliver Twist
(1948), The Lavender Hill Mob
(1951), and The Ladykillers
(1955).
Mullard's face and cockney
accent lent itself to a certain character, and he graduated to more visible roles in comedy films and on television
. It was on television that Mullard made a name for himself, first as a straight man
for Tony Hancock
, Frankie Howerd
and Benny Hill
, then in The Arthur Askey Show
. It was the London Weekend Television
series Romany Jones
, first aired in 1973, which give Mullard his highest profile, playing Wally Briggs, a crafty caravan-dweller.
So popular was Mullard's character that a sequel
- Yus, My Dear
- was broadcast in 1976, in which Wally and his wife Lily (Queenie Watts
) had moved out of their caravan into a council house
. Yus, My Dear was a popular success and Arthur (or "Arfur" as he was widely known) was regularly a guest in other programmes and television commercials.
Mullard and Watts also appeared as a married couple in the film Holiday on the Buses
(1973), the last feature length version of the popular On the Buses comedy series of the time.
He also appeared in Ladies Who Do
(1963), Morgan!
(1966), The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
(1966), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
(1968), and Adventures of a Plumber's Mate
(1978). In 1986, invited by producer Victor Lewis-Smith
, Mullard hosted an edition of Midweek
on BBC Radio 4
to replace regular host Libby Purves
during her temporary absence; the resulting programme was a unique hour of radio.
of the Beatles
' "Yesterday
", jokes and philosophy. More singles followed in the 1970s, including 1974's "Not Now Arthur" / "If I Only Had My Time Again" (BASFBA 1012), and in 1975 "I Only Have Eyes for You
" / "One 'Fing 'N' Annuver" (RCA 2610) with "Yus My Dear" / Arthur" (RCA Z639A) released in 1976.
He entered the UK Singles Chart
in 1978 with "You're the One That I Want
" (PYE 7N 46121) (from the film
, Grease
) with Hylda Baker
(who was in her seventies). A live performance on the BBC TV show Top Of The Pops
was a disaster. Mullard and Baker fluffed the lyrics and seemed confused. Record sales fell. The single was taken from the album, Band On The Trot (Pye PKL 5576).
The single was the last professional success of Mullard's life, and following an uncredited narration on the Glenn Close
-led live action 101 Dalmatians, released in 1996 after his death, he died in his sleep on 11 December 1995, aged 85.
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...
comedy 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...
.
Early life
Mullard was born in a humble background in IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, started work at 14 as a butcher's assistant, and joined the army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
at 18. It was in the army that he began boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, becoming champion of his regiment. When he left the Army after three years he had a short stint at boxing professionally. This ended after 20 fights over three years, following a knock-out from which he lost his memory.
Acting career
Following the end of the Second World War in 1945 he sought work as a stuntmanStunt double
A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
at Pinewood
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
and Ealing
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
film studios, from which he drifted into uncredited bit-parts in British films such as Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (film)
Oliver Twist in film, may refer to:* Oliver Twist , a 1909 silent film adaptation starring Edith Storey as Oliver and William J. Humphrey as Fagin...
(1948), The Lavender Hill Mob
The Lavender Hill Mob
The Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T.E.B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass...
(1951), and The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers
The Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
(1955).
Mullard's face and cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
accent lent itself to a certain character, and he graduated to more visible roles in comedy films and on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. It was on television that Mullard made a name for himself, first as a straight man
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
for Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
, Frankie Howerd
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
and Benny Hill
Benny Hill
Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
, then in The Arthur Askey Show
The Arthur Askey Show
The Arthur Askey Show was a short-lived black-and-white British sitcom starring Arthur Askey that ran for six episodes in 1961. It was written by Dave Freeman...
. It was the London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
series Romany Jones
Romany Jones
Romany Jones is a British sitcom made by LWT, It starred Arthur Mullard and Queenie Watts as Wally and Lily Briggs and was broadcast between 1973 and 1975, The show was originally designed as a vehicle for James Beck , involving the comic misadventures of two layabout families living on a caravan...
, first aired in 1973, which give Mullard his highest profile, playing Wally Briggs, a crafty caravan-dweller.
So popular was Mullard's character that a sequel
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
- Yus, My Dear
Yus, My Dear
Yus, My Dear is a British situation comedy which ran for nineteen episodes over two series in 1976 featuring Arthur Mullard and Queenie Watts in the lead roles, it was written by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe...
- was broadcast in 1976, in which Wally and his wife Lily (Queenie Watts
Queenie Watts
Queenie Watts was an English actress and singer of film and television....
) had moved out of their caravan into a council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
. Yus, My Dear was a popular success and Arthur (or "Arfur" as he was widely known) was regularly a guest in other programmes and television commercials.
Mullard and Watts also appeared as a married couple in the film Holiday on the Buses
Holiday on the Buses
Holiday on the Buses is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Bryan Izzard and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the third spin-off film from the ITV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded the films On the Buses and Mutiny on the Buses...
(1973), the last feature length version of the popular On the Buses comedy series of the time.
He also appeared in Ladies Who Do
Ladies Who Do
Ladies Who Do 1963 British comedy film starring Peggy Mount, Robert Morley and Harry H. Corbett.-Cast:*Peggy Mount as Mrs. Cragg*Robert Morley as Colonel Whitforth*Harry H. Corbett as James Ryder*Miriam Karlin as Mrs. Higgins...
(1963), Morgan!
Morgan!
Morgan! is a 1966 comedy film made by the British Lion Films Corporation...
(1966), The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery
The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery is a British comedy film set in the fictional St Trinian's School, released in 1966, three years after the Great Train Robbery had taken place...
(1966), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
(1968), and Adventures of a Plumber's Mate
Adventures of a Plumber's Mate
Adventures of a Plumber's Mate is a 1978 British sex comedy film starring Christopher Neil as Sid South. Following on from Adventures of a Taxi Driver and Adventures of a Private Eye, this was the final of the trilogy which attempted to occupy the same market position as the better-known and more...
(1978). In 1986, invited by producer Victor Lewis-Smith
Victor Lewis-Smith
Victor Lewis-Smith is a British satirist, producer, critic and prankster. He is known for his sarcasm and biting criticism.-Radio and recordings:...
, Mullard hosted an edition of Midweek
Midweek (BBC Radio 4)
Midweek is a British weekly radio magazine series broadcast on BBC Radio 4 it is aired on Wednesday at 09.00 and is repeated later the same day at 21.00...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
to replace regular host Libby Purves
Libby Purves
Libby Purves OBE is a British radio presenter, journalist and author. A diplomat's daughter, she was educated at convent schools in Israel, Bangkok, South Africa and France, and then Beechwood Sacred Heart School in Tunbridge Wells.Purves won a scholarship to St Anne's College, Oxford, where she...
during her temporary absence; the resulting programme was a unique hour of radio.
Pop songs
In 1967, Mullard recorded "I Love You, You Love Me" / "Was It Something I Said" on the Maquerade label (MA5001). This was followed the same year by an album Arthur Mullard of London (MQ 2003) The LP included Mullard's coverCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Yesterday
Yesterday (song)
"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. The song first hit the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. The song remains popular today with more than 1,600 cover versions, one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded...
", jokes and philosophy. More singles followed in the 1970s, including 1974's "Not Now Arthur" / "If I Only Had My Time Again" (BASFBA 1012), and in 1975 "I Only Have Eyes for You
I Only Have Eyes for You
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a popular song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler....
" / "One 'Fing 'N' Annuver" (RCA 2610) with "Yus My Dear" / Arthur" (RCA Z639A) released in 1976.
He entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1978 with "You're the One That I Want
You're the One That I Want
"You're the One That I Want" is a song written by John Farrar for the 1978 film version of the musical Grease. It was performed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John....
" (PYE 7N 46121) (from the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
) with Hylda Baker
Hylda Baker
Hylda Baker was a British comedienne, actress and music hall star.-Early life and career:Baker was born in Farnworth, near Bolton, Lancashire, the first of seven children. Her father, Harold Baker, was a painter and signwriter, who also worked part-time in the music halls as a comedian...
(who was in her seventies). A live performance on the BBC TV show Top Of The Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
was a disaster. Mullard and Baker fluffed the lyrics and seemed confused. Record sales fell. The single was taken from the album, Band On The Trot (Pye PKL 5576).
The single was the last professional success of Mullard's life, and following an uncredited narration on the Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
-led live action 101 Dalmatians, released in 1996 after his death, he died in his sleep on 11 December 1995, aged 85.
Personal life
Mullard continued to live in a council maisonnette in Islington after his film and television success and to spend much of his leisure time in local pubs. In a newspaper interview after his death, Arthur Mullard's daughter, Barbara, claimed he had sexually abused her for years and had driven her mother to suicide.Selected filmography
- The Long MemoryThe Long MemoryThe Long Memory is a 1952 film directed by Robert Hamer and based on the 1951 novel of the same name by Howard Clewes. A crime thriller filmed on the North Kent Marshes on the Thames Estuary and the dingy backstreets of Gravesend its bleak setting and grim atmosphere have led to its acclaim as a...
(1952) - The Long HaulThe Long Haul (1957 film)The Long Haul is a 1957 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Victor Mature, Gene Anderson, Patrick Allen and Diana Dors. An American ex-servicemen settles in Britain with his English wife and becomes a lorry driver in Liverpool where he begins a relationship with the girlfriend of...
(1957) - The Bank RaidersThe Bank RaidersThe Bank Raiders is a 1958 British crime film directed by Maxwell Munden and starring Peter Reynolds, Sandra Dorne and Lloyd Lamble.-Cast:* Peter Reynolds as Terry Milligan* Sandra Dorne as Della Byrne* Sydney Tafler as Bernie Shelton...
(1958) - Two-Way StretchTwo-Way StretchTwo-Way Stretch, sometimes titled Nothing Barred, is a 1960 British comedy film, about a group of prisoners who plan to break out of jail, commit a robbery, and then break back into jail again, thus giving them the perfect alibi – that they were behind bars when the robbery occurred...
(1960) - And the Same to YouAnd the Same to YouAnd the Same to You is a 1960 film directed by George Pollock. It stars Brian Rix and William Hartnell.-Cast:*Brian Rix as Dickie 'Dreadnought' Marchant*William Hartnell as Walter 'Wally' Burton*Leo Franklyn as Rev...
(1960) - Postman's KnockPostman's Knock (film)Postman's Knock is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Spike Milligan, Barbara Shelley, John Wood and Warren Mitchell. A country postman is transferred to London, where he manages to foil a major robbery.-Cast:...
(1962) - The Wrong Arm of the LawThe Wrong Arm of the LawThe Wrong Arm of the Law is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Lionel Jeffries, John Le Mesurier and Bill Kerr...
(1963) - The Counterfeit ConstableThe Counterfeit ConstableThe Counterfeit Constable is a 1964 French comedy film directed by Robert Dhéry andPierre Tchernia and starring Ronald Fraser, Diana Dors and Arthur Mullard. Its French title is Allez France!. A French rugby supporter in England for a match at Twickenham is knocked out and loses two teeth...
(1964) - Gonks Go BeatGonks Go BeatGonks Go Beat is a 1965 British science fiction/musical fantasy film, directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring Kenneth Connor and Frank Thornton...
(1965) - Crooks and CoronetsCrooks and CoronetsCrooks and Coronets is a 1969 British crime comedy film and/or heist movie written and directed by Jim O'Connolly. It starred Telly Savalas, Edith Evans, Warren Oates, Cesar Romero and Harry H...
(1969)