Alastair Sim
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Alastair Sim (October 9, 1900 – August 19, 1976) was a Scottish character actor, whose comic appearance ensured him success in a string of classic British films.
He was born in Edinburgh into a family of tailors. He was an elocution lecturer at New College, Edinburgh University from 1925 until 1930, and would later be rector from 1948 until 1951. He married Naomi in 1932 and they remained together until his death in 1976. Sim was always ambivalent about fame and never signed autographs.
Preferring the stage, Sim made his London début in Othello in 1930. He also appeared for a season at the Old Vic. He made his film debut in The Case of Gabriel Perry (1935). He spent the remainder of the decade playing supporting roles in films, and was often credited as "stealing the scene" from the leading actors. By the 1940s he had progressed to leading roles, and in 1950 he was voted the most popular film actor in Britain in a national cinema poll.
His films include Green for Danger (1946), Waterloo Road (1947), Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright (1950), Laughter in Paradise (1951), Folly to be Wise (1953), The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) and An Inspector Calls (also 1954). He played the headmistress Miss Fritton (and her brother Clarence) in the St. Trinian's series. He portrayed Captain Hook in six different productions of Peter Pan between 1941 and 1968. Probably his best-remembered performance, however, was as the title character in Scrooge, the 1951 adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. (In 1971 Sim revisited the Scrooge character by lending his voice to an Academy Award-winning animated version of Dickens' story.)
Sim's performance as Mr. Squales in London Belongs to Me (1948) so impressed Alec Guinness that he based his own performance in The Ladykillers (1955) on it.
Sim was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1953. Prior to his death, he played the judge in the popular television series Misleading Cases by A. P. Herbert. With his wife Naomi he is credited with mentoring the acting career of George Cole (b.1925) and other young British actors. He died in London, England from cancer.
Filmography
- Escape from the Dark (1976)
- Rogue Male (1976)
- Royal Flash (1975)
- The General's Day (1972)
- The Ruling Class (1972)
- A Christmas Carol (1971)
- Cold Comfort Farm (1968)
- "Misleading Cases" (1967)
- The Anatomist (1961)
- School for Scoundrels (1960)
- The Millionairess (1960)
- Left Right and Centre (1959)
- The Doctor's Dilemma (1958)
- Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957)
- The Green Man (1956)
- Escapade (1955)
- Geordie (1955)
- An Inspector Calls (1954)
- The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)
- Folly to Be Wise (1953)
- Innocents in Paris (1952)
- Scrooge (1951)
- Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
- Laughter in Paradise (1951)
- The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
- Stage Fright (1950)
- London Belongs to Me (1948)
- Hue and Cry (1947)
- Captain Boycott (1947)
- Green for Danger (1946)
- Waterloo Road (1945)
- Let the People Sing (1942)
- Cottage to Let (1941)
- Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It (1941)
- Law and Disorder (1940)
- Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday (1939)
- Inspector Hornleigh (1939)
- The Mysterious Mr. Davis (1939)
- This Man in Paris (1939)
- Climbing High (1938)
- Alf's Button Afloat (1938)
- Sailing Along (1938)
- The Terror (1938)
- This Man Is News (1938)
- The Squeaker (1937)
- Gangway (1937)
- Clothes and the Woman (1937)
- Melody and Romance (1937)
- A Romance in Flanders (1937)
- Strange Experiment (1937)
- The Big Noise (1936)
- Keep Your Seats, Please (1936)
- Man in the Mirror (1936)
- Troubled Waters (1936)
- Wedding Group (1936)
- The Case of Gabriel Perry (1935)
- A Fire Has Been Arranged (1935)
- Late Extra (1935)
- The Private Secretary (1935)
- The Riverside Murder (1935)
References
- Naomi Sim, Dance and Skylark: Fifty years with Alastair Sim, London: Bloomsbury, 1987.
- David Quinlan, Quinlan's Film Comedy Stars, 1992, ISBN 0-7134-6149-7
External link
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