arthur

An enigmatic and much loved comedy actor Arthur Mullard carved a unique niche for himself in a host of British comedy films and tv shows. The sterotype Cockney he was born in Islington, North London where he was known by locals as 'The Dook of Islington'.He left school at 14 to work as a butcher's boy. At 18 he joined the Army and became his regiment's boxing champion. After leaving the Forces he became a professional boxer for a brief period.After World War Two he took up acting, mainly as a stuntman working at Pinewood and Ealing Studios in their heyday. He then graduated to small parts in classic comedy films and on television he began to be in great demand as a straight man to a range of comics including Frankie Howerd, Spike Milligan, Tony Hancock, Tommy Cooper and Arthur Askey. In 1962 he scored a critical success in Sparrows Can't Sing with Barbara Windsor.He achieved stardom on television in the series Romany Jones (1973). Mullard and Queenie Watts played Wally and Lily Briggs, a colourful couple who lived in a caravan and were experts at swindling the social services. The series was followed by Yus, My Dear (1976) which attracted more than 8 million viewers. He was regularly cast as a guest star on many other tv shows and once quipped "If the tv bosses are stuck they'll say 'Let's put Arfur on, but not too much or he'll steal the bleedin' show!'"Arthur Mullard appeared in the film Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang in a scene where Dick Van Dyke shaved his hair off at a fair. He also played Barbara Windsor's boyfriend in the film. He sang a remake of the Grease hit – ‘You’re The One That I Want’ with Hylda Baker. He played Wally Briggs in Romany Jones. He starred with Tony Hancock and Arthur Askey He was an Arsenal fan. He was a heavy weight boxer and a Southern Area Champion. He appeared in an advert for orange juice. He used to wear a vest. He used to drink at The Cock pub in Highbury He was in Holiday On the Buses He refused to move out of his council house He was a regular on Celebrity Squares hosted by Bob Monkhouse. His square was the bottom right hand corner. His last performance was as the voice of Butch in 101 Dalmatians in 1995.