Wensley Pithey

South African actor

Wensley Pithey
Born21 June 1914
Cape Town, South Africa
Died10 November 1993 (1993-11-11) (aged 79)
London, England, UK

Wensley Ivan William Frederick Pithey (21 June 1914 – 10 November 1993) was a South African character actor who had a long stage and film career in Britain.[1][2]

Biography

Pithey was born in Cape Town, South Africa.[1] A graduate of the University of Cape Town where he studied music and drama, he travelled to Britain in 1947.[3] He appeared in various Shakespearean roles in his long career (memorably as Sir Toby Belch) as well as appearing in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie.[3] He also directed and produced plays in the West End and appeared in a range of roles on television including the 1976 drama Edward and Mrs Simpson (as Winston Churchill – a role he also played in the miniseries Ike) as well as Special Branch and Poldark.[1][4] His British television appearances included Danger Man (1961) among others.[5] He also played the title role Detective Superintendent Charlesworth in a number of BBC series including Charlesworth at Large (1958) and its sequel Charlesworth the following year. In 1964 he played a ballistics expert in the BBC series Call the Gun Expert.

Between 1961 and 1976, Pithey appeared in German TV commercials as a fake coffee expert for Tchibo.[6]

Filmography

Film

Television

  • Little Women (1950–1951) as Mr. James Laurence
  • Midshipman Barney (1951) as Snarks
  • Sunday Night Theatre (1951–1957) as Multiple roles
  • Robin Hood (1953) as Friar Tuck
  • Wednesday Theatre (1953) as Tom Pascoe
  • A Castle and Sixpence (1954) as Mr. Parsons
  • The Gentle Falcon (1954) as Innkeeper
  • Fabian of the Yard (1956) as Jerry Watson
  • David Copperfield (1956) as Captain Mercier Mr. Tungay
  • Play of the Week (1956–1967) as Multiple roles
  • Assignment Foreign Legion (1957) as Captain Mercier
  • Overseas Press Club – Exclusive! (1957) as Father Tsouderos
  • Mister Charlesworth (1957) as Det. Chief Insp. Charlesworth
  • Nicholas Nickleby (1957) as Vincent Crummles
  • Shadow Squad (1957) as Inspector Smith
  • Big Guns (1958) as Det. Supt. Charlesworth
  • Caxton's Tales (1958) as Mortimer Benson
  • The Diary of Samuel Pepys as Viscount Brouncker
  • The Firm of Girdlestone (1958) as Dr. Dimsdale
  • The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1958) as James Collins
  • Ivanhoe (1958) as Earl of Pembroke
  • Charlesworth at Large (1958) as Det. Supt. Charlesworth
  • Armchair Theatre (1958–1960) as Multiple roles
  • The Last Chronicle of Barset (1959) as Mr. Walker
  • Charlesworth (1959) as Det. Supt. Charlesworth
  • Probation Officer (1960) as Mr. Moffat
  • Yorky (1960) as Fred Piggott
  • The Larkins (1960) as George Potter
  • Somerset Maugham Hour (1960) as Willem
  • Persuasion (1960–1961) as Mr. Musgrove
  • No Hiding Place (1961) as Joe Smith
  • Dixon of Dock Green (1961) as Paul Wigram
  • Danger Man (1961) as Senor Lazar
  • Here's Harry (1961) as Police Chief
  • Boyd Q.C. (1961) as Mr. Wodhurst
  • Deadline Midnight (1961) as Frederick Hall
  • Sir Francis Drake (1961) as Davey Preston
  • Jacks and Knaves (1961) as Chief Inspector
  • BBC Sunday-Night Play (1961) as Col. Von Schwendi
  • Zero One (1962) as Unknown role
  • The Scales of Justice (1962) as Mr. Robbins
  • Playbox (1962–1963) as Barrington Blizard, QC
  • Suspense (1963) as Bradwell
  • Man of the World (1963) as President Ruschek
  • The Saint (1963) as Insp. Claude Teal
  • Teletale (1963) as Prof. Bür-Malottke
  • The Plane Makers (1964) as Bill Ingram
  • Sergeant Cork (1964) as Bill Ingram
  • Call the Gun Expert (1964) as Robert Churchill
  • Love Story (1964) as Jack Wightman
  • Gideon's Way (1964) as Supt. Bill Hemmingway
  • The Airbase (1965) as Mr. Swearingen
  • The Sullavan Brothers (1965) as Corcoran
  • Blackmail (1965) as Eric Palmer
  • Mrs Thursday (1966) as George Dunrich
  • City '68 (1967–1968) as Alderman Sankey
  • Her Majesty's Pleasure (1968) as Governor
  • Callan (1969) as Det. Insp. Charwood
  • Special Branch (1969) as Det. Supt. Eden
  • Nearest and Dearest (1970) as Leonard Longbottom
  • The Main Chance (1970) as Lord Bennett
  • Doomwatch (1972) as Dr. Ericson
  • The Adventurer (1972) as Nicholas
  • Coronation Street (1972–1974) as Wilfred Perkins
  • Sykes (1973) as Multiple roles
  • Zodiac (1974) as Inspector Duggan
  • Poldark (1975) as Jeffrey Clymer
  • Beasts (1976) as Mr. Liversedge
  • Premiere as Chief Insp. Lymington
  • The Devil's Crown (1978) as Saladin
  • Edward and Mrs. Simpson (1978) as Winston Churchill
  • Return of the Saint (1979) as Franklyn
  • Ike (1979) as Winston Churchill
  • The Old Curiosity Shop (1979–1980) as The Single Gentleman
  • The Gentle Touch (1982) as Dr. Quesne
  • Number 10 (1983) as Edward VII
  • Love and Marriage (1984) as Owen Merrick
  • Howards' Way (1986) as George Johnson
  • In Sickness and in Health (1987) as Equerry
  • Blind Justice (1988) as Sir Charles Bingham
  • Lipstick on Your Collar (1993) as Elderly Gentleman

References

  1. ^ a b c "Wensley Pithey". Archived from the original on 1 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Wensley Pithey - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie".
  3. ^ a b "Obituary: Wensley Pithey". Independent.co.uk. 25 November 1993.
  4. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Special Branch (1969-74)".
  5. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Danger Man (1960-67) Credits".
  6. ^ "Filmous".

External links

  • Obituary in The Independent
  • Wensley Pithey at IMDb
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