George Cole
George Edward Cole OBE (born April 22, 1925 in London , † August 5, 2015 there ) was a British actor .
life and career
Cole was born in Tooting , London . His 16-year-old mother gave him up for adoption a few days after he was born. Cole grew up in Morden in the London Borough of Merton . As a child he performed in music halls with his adoptive parents, who were both amateur musicians . After leaving school at the age of 14, he got work on a musical in Blackpool . His acting career was only interrupted by his service with the Royal Air Force from 1944 to 1947 .
Cole began his theater career with the play Cottage to Let (1940). Here he met the actor Alastair Sim , who became his friend and sponsor. They also appeared together in the film version of Cottage to Let (1941) and in 10 other films, including the Dickens film A Christmas Story , where Sim played old Scrooge and Cole played young Scrooge. In 1953, Cole took on the role of David Bliss on the BBC radio series A Life of Bliss for 118 episodes . He starred in numerous film and television productions such as Cleopatra (1963) with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and The Blue Bird (1976) - again alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and Ava Gardner . His late films include a supporting role in Mary Reilly (1996) with Julia Roberts and John Malkovich in the lead roles.
He played particularly often British upper-class characters, including the role of the aristocrat Sir Giles Lynchwood in the BBC television series Blott on the Landscape from 1985, which was based on the novella Klex in the landscape by Tom Sharpe . From 1979 to 1994 he played with the crook Arthur Daley one of the leading roles in the television series The Watchdog . In 1992 he received the Order of the British Empire . Until his death he appeared in around 120 film and television roles. Cole was married twice and had three children.
Filmography (selection)
- 1941: Cottage to Let
- 1948: quartet (Quartet)
- 1949: The Master Thief of Paris (The Spider and the Fly)
- 1950: The night began in the morning (Morning Departure)
- 1951: Who Laughs Last (Laughter in Paradise)
- 1951: A Christmas Story (Scrooge)
- 1954: The Fair of St. Trinian's (The Belles of St. Trinian's)
- 1957: Blue Murder at St. Trinian's
- 1960: The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's
- 1963: Cleopatra
- 1966: The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery
- 1970: Vampire Lovers (The Vampire Lovers)
- 1971: The Fratze (Fright)
- 1973: A hamburger for 10 million (Take Me High)
- 1976: The Blue Bird (The Blue Bird)
- 1979–1994: The Watcher ( Minder ; TV series, 109 episodes)
- 1983: The Police Go Crazy On The Highway (Deadline Auto Theft)
- 1996: Mary Reilly
- 2008: Inspector Barnaby (TV series, episode Shot at Dawn )
Discography
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
|||
| 1983 | What Are We Gonna Get 'Er Indoors |
UK21 (5 weeks) UK |
with Dennis Waterman
|
Web links
- George Cole in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- www.britmovie.co.uk - George Cole
Individual evidence
- ↑ George Cole, actor who played Arthur Daley, dies aged 90
- ↑ Minder star George Cole dies at 90 - after asking director to hurry up on final project because he wanted to make one more film before he died
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cole, George |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cole, George Edward (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 22, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th August 2015 |
| Place of death | London |