Nicholas Parsons
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Parsons OBE
(born Christopher Nicholas Parsons on 10 October 1923 in Grantham
, Lincolnshire
) is a British
actor
and radio
and television
presenter
.
, Lincolnshire
, the middle child with an older brother and a younger sister. His father was a general practitioner
in Vine Street, whose patients included the parents of Margaret Thatcher
. It is possible he delivered the future Prime Minister
in 1925.The One Show
, 29 January 2008 His mother, born in Bristol
to a founder of local company WB Maggs & Co., was training as a nurse when she met Parsons' father in a hospital.
Parsons was born left-handed but was made to write with his right hand. As a child, Parsons had a stutter, which he overcame by the age of 15, and was slow to learn owing to dyslexia
. He also suffered migraines. Educated at St Paul's School in London, he wanted to be an actor. However, his parents considered that a career in engineering would be better, as he had repaired clocks and was good with his hands.
After he had left school, his family contacted relatives in Scotland
who arranged a job for him in Clydebank
near Glasgow
, where he spent five years employed in the shipyards of Clydeside
by Drysdales, in the manufacture of pumps. Whilst there he also had two six-month periods studying engineering at the University of Glasgow
. Although he never graduated, he gained enough qualifications to become a marine engineer and was given a position in the Merchant Navy
during World War II
, which he never took up owing to illness.
, doing impressions and working in small repertory theatres in Glasgow
.
Parsons made his film
debut in Master of Bankdam in 1947. He continued his stage career in small parts in West End theatre
shows, then did two years in repertory at Bromley
, Kent and later Windsor
, Maidstone
and Hayes
. After becoming a resident comedian at the Windmill Theatre
in 1952, Parsons became well known to TV audiences during the 1950s as the straight man
to comedian Arthur Haynes
. After the pair appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show
in 1961, the partnership broke up at Haynes request allowing Parsons to return to the stage, before he became a regular on The Benny Hill Show
from 1969 to 1974. After Haynes' sudden death, Parsons appeared as a personality in his own right, culminating in the long-running Anglia Television
game show
, Sale of the Century
, broadcast weekly from 1971 to 1983.
Parsons has been the host of the BBC Radio 4
panel game
Just a Minute
since it was first broadcast on 22 December 1967. The show continues to be transmitted and Parsons has been heard in every edition. The programme's longevity is arguably due in part to the chairman's ability to act as straight man to the comedians who participate. He has also been the votes presenter for the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
from 1960-1963.
He was also the non-singing voice of Tex Tucker in the TV series Four Feather Falls
at the suggestion of his then wife, actress and voiceover artiste
Denise Bryer. During the late sixties he presented a satirical programme on Radio Four called Listen to This Space, which by the standards of its time was very risqué. Also, in the late 60s, he portrayed "David Courtney" on the short-lived American sitcom The Ugliest Girl in Town
.
In 1988 he appeared as himself in The Comic Strip Presents episode "Mr Jolly Lives Next Door
", in which he had the misfortune to encounter two incompetent escort agency
directors (Rik Mayall
and Adrian Edmondson
in their usual cheerfully-violent, dipsomaniac personas) followed by the psychopathic
and misnamed Mr Jolly himself (played by Peter Cook
). In 1989 he made a guest appearance in the long running BBC
science fiction
television series Doctor Who
as the doomed Northumberland vicar Reverend Wainwright in the Seventh Doctor
serial The Curse of Fenric
. Another guest role in 1989 was in The New Statesman
, where he played host to a daytime quiz show. He has also taken the role of the narrator
in the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show
. In 1993 he appeared in the final fourth series of the UK TV show Cluedo as Reverend Green. In 2010, he made a brief appearance as Father Gorman in 'Marple: The Pale Horse' but was killed off three minutes into the show.
In April 2005 he was the weekly guest presenter on the BBC news quiz Have I Got News for You
, having been turned down some time previously. According to Guy Adams, writing in The Independent
s "Pandora" column, Have I Got News for You team captain Paul Merton
, also a regular panellist on Parsons' show Just a Minute, had commented shortly before the decision, "I have two contenders for the job, who represent the best possible choices. One would be Nicholas Parsons. The other would be Bagpuss
." Parsons surprised Merton's fellow team captain, Ian Hislop
, by invoking the rules of Just a Minute for one of the rounds.
Parsons came last on Celebrity Mastermind
, broadcast on BBC1 in December 2007.
In 1994, Parsons published his autobiography, The Straight Man: My Life in Comedy. In 2010, he was inducted into the UK Radio Hall of Fame, receiving the award at a recording of Just a Minute at the Lowry Centre, Salford.
In October 2011, the BBC announced that to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Just a Minute, the show would transfer to television for a ten part daytime series, with Parsons as host and regular panelist Paul Merton
confirmed as a guest.
. In 2005 he became honorary Chairman of the International Quizzing Association (IQA), a body which organises the World and European Quizzing Championships. He is a leading member of the Grand Order of Water Rats
charity, and a Pro Dono Ambassador. He was the president of the charity the Lord's Taverners
1998–1999. Parsons is also a high-profile supporter of the Liberal Democrats
. Each year he holds his own live chat show in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival promoting up-and-coming comedians.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born Christopher Nicholas Parsons on 10 October 1923 in Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
) is a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
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...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
.
Early life
Parsons was born at 1 Castlegate, GranthamGrantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, the middle child with an older brother and a younger sister. His father was a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
in Vine Street, whose patients included the parents of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. It is possible he delivered the future Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
in 1925.The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
, 29 January 2008 His mother, born in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
to a founder of local company WB Maggs & Co., was training as a nurse when she met Parsons' father in a hospital.
Parsons was born left-handed but was made to write with his right hand. As a child, Parsons had a stutter, which he overcame by the age of 15, and was slow to learn owing to dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
. He also suffered migraines. Educated at St Paul's School in London, he wanted to be an actor. However, his parents considered that a career in engineering would be better, as he had repaired clocks and was good with his hands.
After he had left school, his family contacted relatives in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
who arranged a job for him in Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
near Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, where he spent five years employed in the shipyards of Clydeside
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
by Drysdales, in the manufacture of pumps. Whilst there he also had two six-month periods studying engineering at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
. Although he never graduated, he gained enough qualifications to become a marine engineer and was given a position in the Merchant Navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
during World War II
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...
, which he never took up owing to illness.
Broadcasting career
He started his career while training as an engineering apprentice; he was found by Canadian impresario Carroll LevisCarroll Levis
Carroll Richard Levis was a talent scout, impresario and television and radio personality. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, he moved to England in 1935 and joined the BBC. In the 1950s he hosted a talent competition for young people called The Carroll Levis Discovery Show.-References:...
, doing impressions and working in small repertory theatres in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
Parsons made his 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...
debut in Master of Bankdam in 1947. He continued his stage career in small parts in West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
shows, then did two years in repertory at Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, Kent and later Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
, Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
and Hayes
Hayes, Bromley
Hayes is a place in the London Borough of Bromley, south-east London, England. It has two main areas of activity: the ancient village and suburban Hayes.-The ancient village of Nimrods :...
. After becoming a resident comedian at the Windmill Theatre
Windmill Theatre
The Windmill Theatre, later The Windmill International, was a variety and revue theatre in Great Windmill Street, London. The theatre was famous for its nude tableaux vivants...
in 1952, Parsons became well known to TV audiences during the 1950s as the 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...
to comedian Arthur Haynes
Arthur Haynes
Arthur Haynes was an English comedian and star of The Arthur Haynes Show, a comedy sketch series produced by ATV from 1957 until his death from a heart attack in 1966...
. After the pair appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
in 1961, the partnership broke up at Haynes request allowing Parsons to return to the stage, before he became a regular on The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
from 1969 to 1974. After Haynes' sudden death, Parsons appeared as a personality in his own right, culminating in the long-running Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
, Sale of the Century
Sale of the Century (UK game show)
Sale of the Century was a UK game show based on a US game show of the same name. It was first shown on ITV from 1972 to 1983, hosted by Nicholas Parsons...
, broadcast weekly from 1971 to 1983.
Parsons has been the host of the 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...
panel game
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
Just a Minute
Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....
since it was first broadcast on 22 December 1967. The show continues to be transmitted and Parsons has been heard in every edition. The programme's longevity is arguably due in part to the chairman's ability to act as straight man to the comedians who participate. He has also been the votes presenter for the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
from 1960-1963.
He was also the non-singing voice of Tex Tucker in the TV series Four Feather Falls
Four Feather Falls
Four Feather Falls was the third puppet TV show produced by Gerry Anderson for Granada Television, from an idea by Barry Gray.-Production:The show was made on a tight budget and could not afford sophisticated special effects...
at the suggestion of his then wife, actress and voiceover artiste
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
Denise Bryer. During the late sixties he presented a satirical programme on Radio Four called Listen to This Space, which by the standards of its time was very risqué. Also, in the late 60s, he portrayed "David Courtney" on the short-lived American sitcom The Ugliest Girl in Town
The Ugliest Girl in Town
The Ugliest Girl in Town was a short-lived American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC. It ran from September 26, 1968 to January 30, 1969....
.
In 1988 he appeared as himself in The Comic Strip Presents episode "Mr Jolly Lives Next Door
Mr Jolly Lives Next Door
Mr Jolly Lives Next Door is a 1987 comedy film made for British television as part of The Comic Strip Presents... series and was originally broadcast on Channel 4.-Plot:...
", in which he had the misfortune to encounter two incompetent escort agency
Escort agency
Escort agencies are companies that provide escorts for the agency's clients. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room , or at the escort's residence . Some agencies also provide escorts for longer durations, who may stay...
directors (Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
and Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
in their usual cheerfully-violent, dipsomaniac personas) followed by the psychopathic
Psychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
and misnamed Mr Jolly himself (played by Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
). In 1989 he made a guest appearance 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...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
as the doomed Northumberland vicar Reverend Wainwright in the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
serial The Curse of Fenric
The Curse of Fenric
The Curse of Fenric is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 October to 15 November 1989...
. Another guest role in 1989 was in The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
, where he played host to a daytime quiz show. He has also taken the role of the narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
in the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
. In 1993 he appeared in the final fourth series of the UK TV show Cluedo as Reverend Green. In 2010, he made a brief appearance as Father Gorman in 'Marple: The Pale Horse' but was killed off three minutes into the show.
In April 2005 he was the weekly guest presenter on the BBC news quiz Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
, having been turned down some time previously. According to Guy Adams, writing in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
s "Pandora" column, Have I Got News for You team captain Paul Merton
Paul Merton
Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
, also a regular panellist on Parsons' show Just a Minute, had commented shortly before the decision, "I have two contenders for the job, who represent the best possible choices. One would be Nicholas Parsons. The other would be Bagpuss
Bagpuss
Bagpuss is a 1974 UK children's television series, made by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate through their company Smallfilms. The title character is "an old, saggy cloth cat, baggy, and a bit loose at the seams"...
." Parsons surprised Merton's fellow team captain, Ian Hislop
Ian Hislop
Ian David Hislop is a British journalist, satirist, comedian, writer, broadcaster and editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye...
, by invoking the rules of Just a Minute for one of the rounds.
Parsons came last on Celebrity Mastermind
Celebrity Mastermind
Celebrity Mastermind is a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. The show is a spin-off of the long running quiz show Mastermind, with the exception that all the contestants are celebrities. As with the main show, John Humphrys is the host and question-master...
, broadcast on BBC1 in December 2007.
In 1994, Parsons published his autobiography, The Straight Man: My Life in Comedy. In 2010, he was inducted into the UK Radio Hall of Fame, receiving the award at a recording of Just a Minute at the Lowry Centre, Salford.
In October 2011, the BBC announced that to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Just a Minute, the show would transfer to television for a ten part daytime series, with Parsons as host and regular panelist Paul Merton
Paul Merton
Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
confirmed as a guest.
Roles outside broadcasting
Between 1988 and 1991 Parsons served as Rector of the University of St AndrewsRector of the University of St Andrews
The Lord Rector of the University of St Andrews is a university official chosen every three years by the students of the University of St Andrews...
. In 2005 he became honorary Chairman of the International Quizzing Association (IQA), a body which organises the World and European Quizzing Championships. He is a leading member of the Grand Order of Water Rats
Grand Order of Water Rats
The Grand Order of Water Rats is an entertainment industry charity, and brotherhood, based in London. The Water Rats were founded in 1889 by comedian Joe Elvin. The first King Rat, as the head of the charity is termed, was music hall singer Harry Freeman. Comedian Dan Leno joined in 1890 and was...
charity, and a Pro Dono Ambassador. He was the president of the charity the Lord's Taverners
Lord's Taverners
The Lord’s Taverners is a thriving club, the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to 'give young people, particularly those with special needs, a sporting chance'.The Lord’s Taverners was founded in 1950 by a...
1998–1999. Parsons is also a high-profile supporter of the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
. Each year he holds his own live chat show in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival promoting up-and-coming comedians.
Selected filmography
- Master of BankdamMaster of BankdamThe Master of Bankdam is a 1947 British historical film directed by Walter Forde from the novel, The Crowthers of Bankdam, by Thomas Armstrong. It starred Anne Crawford, Dennis Price, Tom Walls, Stephen Murray, Linden Travers and David Tomlinson...
(1947) - To Dorothy a SonTo Dorothy a SonTo Dorothy a Son is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Muriel Box and starring Shelley Winters, John Gregson and Peggy Cummins. It is also known as Cash on Delivery. It is based on a play by Roger MacDougall...
(1954) - Simon and LauraSimon and LauraSimon and Laura is a 1955 British drama film directed by Muriel Box and starring Peter Finch, Kay Kendall and Muriel Pavlow. A married couple are hired for a television programme to portray domestic happiness, although in real life their marriage is breaking down.-Cast:* Peter Finch - Simon Foster*...
(1955) - An Alligator Named DaisyAn Alligator Named DaisyAn Alligator Named Daisy is a 1955 British comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Donald Sinden, Jeannie Carson, James Robertson Justice, Diana Dors, Roland Culver and Stanley Holloway.-Plot:...
(1955) - The Long ArmThe Long ArmThe Long Arm was an Australian television series shown in 1970.The series was made in-house by the Ten Network as part of an attempt to rival the cop shows produced by Crawford Productions such as Homicide and Division 4...
(1956) - EyewitnessEyewitness (film)Eyewitness is a 1981 thriller film about a television news reporter and a janitor who team up to solve a murder, written by Steve Tesich. The film was directed by Peter Yates, and stars William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, and Christopher Plummer.-Plot:...
(1956) - Brothers in LawBrothers in Law (film)Brothers in Law is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Jill Adams...
(1957) - Happy Is the BrideHappy is the BrideHappy is the Bride is a 1958 British comedy film written and directed by Roy Boulting and starring Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, Cecil Parker, Terry-Thomas and Joyce Grenfell...
(1958) - Carlton-Browne of the F.O.Carlton-Browne of the F.O.Carlton-Browne of the F.O. is a 1959 British comedy film made by the Boulting Brothers.-Plot:...
(1959) - Too Many CrooksToo Many CrooksToo Many Crooks is a 1959 British comedy film about a bunch of inept crooks who kidnap the wrong woman. It stars George Cole as the leader of the gang, Brenda De Banzie as the victim, and Terry-Thomas as her husband...
(1959) - Upstairs and DownstairsUpstairs and DownstairsUpstairs and Downstairs is a 1959 British comedy drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, Mylène Demongeot, Claudia Cardinale, James Robertson Justice, Joan Sims, Joan Hickson and Sid James...
(1959) - Let's Get Married (1960)
- Doctor in LoveDoctor in LoveDoctor in Love is a 1960 British comedy film — part of the Doctor in the House series, starring James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt and Michael Craig as Dr Richard Hare...
(1960) - Carry on RegardlessCarry On RegardlessCarry on Regardless was the fifth in the series of Carry On films to be made. It was released in 1961. By now a fairly regular team was established with Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams all having appeared in previous entries. Hattie Jacques - who was...
(1961) - Murder Ahoy!Murder Ahoy!Murder Ahoy! is the last of four Miss Marple films, made by MGM and starring Margaret Rutherford. As in the three previous films, Margaret Rutherford plays Miss Jane Marple, Bud Tingwell is Inspector Craddock and Stringer Davis plays Mr Stringer.The film was made in 1964 and directed by George...
(1964) - Every Day's a HolidayEvery Day's a HolidayEvery Day's a Holiday is a comedy film starring and co-written by Mae West, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film, released on 18 December 1937, also starred Edmund Lowe, Charles Winninger, and Charles Butterworth...
(1965) - The Wrong Box (1966)
- The Ghost Goes GearThe Ghost Goes GearThe Ghost Goes Gear is a 1966 British musical comedy film directed by Hugh Gladwish and starring the Spencer Davis Group, Sheila White and Nicholas Parsons. A music group go to stay at the childhood home of their manager, a haunted manor house in the English countryside.-Cast:* Spencer Davis Group...
(1966) - Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the RiverDon't Raise the Bridge, Lower the RiverDon't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River is a British made comedy film produced by Walter Shenson starring Jerry Lewis and was released on July 12, 1968 by Columbia Pictures. It was based on Max Wilk's novel of the same name with the original Connecticut locale moved to Swinging London and...
(1968) - Spy StorySpy Story (film)Spy Story is a 1976 British espionage film directed by Lindsay Shonteff and starring Michael Petrovitch, Philip Latham and Don Fellows. It is based on the novel Spy Story by Len Deighton.-Cast:* Michael Petrovitch ... Patrick Armstrong...
(1976)
External links
- Nicholas Parsons official website
- Nicholas Parsons interview on the MusicalTalk Podcast
- Nicholas Parsons talking about Just a Minute (RealPlayer video)
- Nicholas Parsons, Patron of WTC: Interview for download – talks about Doctor Who, Just a Minute, The Rocky Horror Show and audio performance history