Atholl Fleming
Encyclopedia
Atholl Fleming was a British
actor and an Australia
n radio personality.
He was the third of nine children of R. S. Fleming, a Scottish Baptist
minister of Beckenham
in Kent
. After a fall as a child, he became deaf in his right ear. He saw fighting in France during World War I with the Royal West Kent Regiment, notably the Battle of the Somme, and was wounded three times - a shrapnel wound, a bayonet wound and gas injuries.
After the War, he abandoned a career with the Bank of England
for the stage, appearing in a number of Whitehall farce
s and dramas on BBC
television at Alexandra Palace. He starred in People Like Us
at The Strand in 1929. He toured Australia in 1932 with Dame Sybil Thorndike
and Sir Lewis Casson
,,(playing Dunois in St Joan and Macduff in the Scottish play) and while in Sydney married fellow company member, Phyllis Best, daughter of Sir Robert Best
of Hawthorn, Victoria
. Their son Robert was born in 1933. Fleming appeared in a number of British films throughout the 1930s most notably as Bulldog Drummond
in the Jack Hulbert
comedy thriller Bulldog Jack
(1935).
With the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for duty but was rejected on grounds of ill health. Blackouts meant the virtual closure of London theatres so he took the opportunity in 1939 to bring his wife back to see her parents. He joined E.J Tait's touring company then the Australian Broadcasting Commission as actor and drama producer. He was active in the British Drama League and acted as adjudicator for its annual competitions. In 1946 he was a member of the "Radio Players", who performed Max Catto
's They Walk Alone and Philip Johnson
's Lover's Leap to outstanding reviews. For a time, he was co-producer (with ichard Parry) for Kathleen Robinson's "Whitehall Institute of Dramatic Art", a competitor of Doris Fitton
's Independent Theatre
. He notably appeared as Gloucester in John Alden
's 1951 production of King Lear
at St James' Hall
in Phillip Street.
He was called upon to adjudicate at major drama festivals.
As 'Mac', he co-hosted the Australian Broadcasting Commission's 'Children's Session' and, as Jason, became the central figure in its hugely popular Argonaut's Club
for most of its 31 year run, from 7 January 1941 until 2 April 1972. With his wife Phyllis he visited countless schools and children's hospitals. He became a much loved figure by generations of Australian children.
He was awarded an MBE
for his contribution to broadcasting and his work with children.
Fleming loved sport. He was a founder member of the Stage Golfing Society (handicap 7) and the Stage Cricket Club in England. He started the Stage and Radio Cricket Club in Sydney. He was a useful bat, a good slip field and a Machiavellian captain.
Atholl Fleming retired in 1969, shortly before the Argonaut's Club and the Children's Session, because of the advance of television, were closed. He was one of the best loved and most respected figures in Australian broadcasting.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor and an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n radio personality.
He was the third of nine children of R. S. Fleming, a Scottish Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister of Beckenham
Beckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. After a fall as a child, he became deaf in his right ear. He saw fighting in France during World War I with the Royal West Kent Regiment, notably the Battle of the Somme, and was wounded three times - a shrapnel wound, a bayonet wound and gas injuries.
After the War, he abandoned a career with the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
for the stage, appearing in a number of Whitehall farce
Whitehall farce
Whitehall farce is a descriptive term applied to a series of improbable events that caused grief at the time to everyone involved but could—perhaps only with distance or hindsight—be considered comical....
s and dramas on 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...
television at Alexandra Palace. He starred in People Like Us
Frank Vosper
Frank Vosper was a British actor and playwright.-Stage:Vosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for playing urbane villains....
at The Strand in 1929. He toured Australia in 1932 with Dame Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
and Sir Lewis Casson
Lewis Casson
Sir Lewis Thomas Casson MC was a British actor and theatre director and the husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.-Early life:...
,,(playing Dunois in St Joan and Macduff in the Scottish play) and while in Sydney married fellow company member, Phyllis Best, daughter of Sir Robert Best
Robert Best (Australian politician)
Sir Robert Wallace Best KCMG was an Australian politician.Born in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood to Irish immigrants, and raised in Kyneton, Best was educated at Templeton's School, Fitzroy. He left school at 13 and became a clerk in a printing office and then worked for a solicitor where...
of Hawthorn, Victoria
Hawthorn, Victoria
Hawthorn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara...
. Their son Robert was born in 1933. Fleming appeared in a number of British films throughout the 1930s most notably as Bulldog Drummond
Bulldog Drummond
Bulldog Drummond is a British fictional character, created by "Sapper", a pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile , and the hero of a series of novels published from 1920 to 1954.- Drummond :...
in the Jack Hulbert
Jack Hulbert
John Norman "Jack" Hulbert was a British actor, specialising primarily in comedy productions.-Biography:Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, he was the elder and more successful brother of Claude. He was educated at Cambridge and appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He...
comedy thriller Bulldog Jack
Bulldog Jack
Bulldog Jack is a 1935 film produced by Gaumont International, directed by Walter Forde, and starring Jack Hulbert, Fay Wray, Ralph Richardson; it also starred Atholl Fleming as Bulldog Drummond....
(1935).
With the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for duty but was rejected on grounds of ill health. Blackouts meant the virtual closure of London theatres so he took the opportunity in 1939 to bring his wife back to see her parents. He joined E.J Tait's touring company then the Australian Broadcasting Commission as actor and drama producer. He was active in the British Drama League and acted as adjudicator for its annual competitions. In 1946 he was a member of the "Radio Players", who performed Max Catto
Max Catto
Maxwell Jeffrey Catto was born Mark Finkell in Manchester, England and was an English playwright and novelist.-Writing career:...
's They Walk Alone and Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
's Lover's Leap to outstanding reviews. For a time, he was co-producer (with ichard Parry) for Kathleen Robinson's "Whitehall Institute of Dramatic Art", a competitor of Doris Fitton
Doris Fitton
Doris Alice Fitton Mason, DBE was an Australian actress and theatrical director who founded and for 35 years headed Sydney's Independent Theatre, staging a diverse range of local and international dramas, many for the first time in Australia, including Sumner Locke-Elliott's wartime comedy, Rusty...
's Independent Theatre
Independent Theatre
The Independent Theatre was a dramatic society founded in 1930 by Doris Fitton , and was also the name given to the building it occupied from 1938. It was named for London's Independent Theatre Society founded by J. T...
. He notably appeared as Gloucester in John Alden
John Alden
John Alden is said to be the first person from the Mayflower to set foot on Plymouth Rock in 1620. He was a ship-carpenter by trade and a cooper for Mayflower, which was usually docked at Southampton. He was also one of the founders of Plymouth Colony and the seventh signer of the Mayflower Compact...
's 1951 production of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
at St James' Hall
St James' Hall, Sydney
St James' Hall, sometimes written as St James's Hall, was a building which stood at 171 Phillip Street, Sydney, near King Street. It figured prominently in the history of small theatre in Australia...
in Phillip Street.
He was called upon to adjudicate at major drama festivals.
As 'Mac', he co-hosted the Australian Broadcasting Commission's 'Children's Session' and, as Jason, became the central figure in its hugely popular Argonaut's Club
Argonauts Club
The Argonauts Club was an Australian children's radio program, first broadcast in 1933 on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Its format was devised by Nina Murdoch who had run the station's Children's Hour on 3LO and stayed on when that station was taken over by the Australian Broadcasting Commission...
for most of its 31 year run, from 7 January 1941 until 2 April 1972. With his wife Phyllis he visited countless schools and children's hospitals. He became a much loved figure by generations of Australian children.
He was awarded an MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
for his contribution to broadcasting and his work with children.
Fleming loved sport. He was a founder member of the Stage Golfing Society (handicap 7) and the Stage Cricket Club in England. He started the Stage and Radio Cricket Club in Sydney. He was a useful bat, a good slip field and a Machiavellian captain.
Atholl Fleming retired in 1969, shortly before the Argonaut's Club and the Children's Session, because of the advance of television, were closed. He was one of the best loved and most respected figures in Australian broadcasting.