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Richard Wattis

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Richard Wattis
Wattis circa 1955
Born
Richard Cameron Wattis

(1912-02-25)25 February 1912
Wednesbury, Staffordshire, England
Died1 February 1975(1975-02-01) (aged 62)
Kensington, London, England
OccupationActor

Richard Cameron Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s.[1]

Early life

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Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, the elder of two sons born to Cameron Tom Wattis and Margaret Janet, née Preston.[citation needed] He attended King Edward's School and Bromsgrove School, after which he worked for the electrical engineering firm William Sanders & Co (Wednesbury) Ltd.[citation needed] His uncle, William Preston (1874–1941), was the managing director and was the Conservative MP for Walsall from 1924 to 1929.[citation needed]

Career

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After leaving the family business, Wattis became an actor.[citation needed] His debut was with Croydon Repertory Theatre, and he made many stage appearances in the West End in London. His first appearance in a film was A Yank at Oxford (1938).[citation needed]

War service interrupted his career as an actor.[citation needed] He served as a second lieutenant in the Small Arms Section of Special Operations Executive at Station VI during the Second World War (James Bond author Ian Fleming worked in the same section).[2]

Wattis is best known for his appearances, wearing his thick-rimmed round spectacles, in British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s, often as a "Man from the Ministry" or similar character.[citation needed] Such appearances included the St Trinian's films (The Belles of St. Trinian's, Blue Murder at St Trinian's, and The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery) as Manton Bassett, a civil servant who was the Deputy Director of Schools in the Ministry of Education, where he was often seen frowning and expressing indignation at the outrageous behaviour of other characters.[citation needed] To American audiences, Wattis is probably best known for his performance as the British civil servant Northbrook in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).[citation needed] He broke from this typecasting in his later films, such as his starring role in Games That Lovers Play.[citation needed]

Wattis's other films included Hobson's Choice, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Carry On Spying,[3] The Colditz Story, Dentist on the Job, Very Important Person, The Happiest Days of Your Life, and The Longest Day.[citation needed] Operation Crossbow as Sir Charles Sims. He also appeared on television, including a long-running role in Sykes and as a storyteller on the BBC children's programme Jackanory, narrating in 14 episodes between 1971 and 1972.[citation needed] Other television credits include appearances in Danger Man, The Prisoner, The Goodies, Hancock's Half Hour, and Father, Dear Father.[3] From 1957 to 1958, he appeared as Peter Jamison in three episodes of the American sitcom Dick and the Duchess.[citation needed]

Personal life and death

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On 1 February 1975, Wattis suffered a heart attack while dining at Berwick's Restaurant in Walton Street, London.[citation needed] He was taken to hospital, but was dead on arrival. He was 62 years old. A memorial service was held for him at St Paul's, Covent Garden, the "Actor's Church", and a plaque near his grave.[4]

In 1999, twenty-four years after Wattis' death, writer Dan Rebellato claimed Wattis was homosexual.[5]

In fiction

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Wattis was played by Richard Clifford in the 2011 film My Week with Marilyn, which depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl.[6]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Richard Wattis | BFI". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Secret war role of popular and talented member of drama society". Harrogate Advertiser. 9 July 2007. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b Stevens, Christopher (2010). Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams. John Murray. ISBN 978-1-84854-195-5.
  4. ^ "Obituaries". Television Heaven. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  5. ^ Rebellato, Dan (1999). 1956 and All That: The Making of Modern British Drama. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415189385.
  6. ^ "BFI Filmography". British Film Institute.
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