Jimmy Perry

Jimmy Perry
Perry in May 2011
Born	(1923-09-20)20 September 1923 Barnes, Surrey, England
Died	23 October 2016(2016-10-23) (aged 93) London, England
Occupation	Scriptwriter, actor
Nationality	British
Period	1960–1993
Genre	Television
Notable works	Dad's Army (1968–77) The Gnomes of Dulwich (1969) It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–81) Room Service (1979) Hi-de-Hi! (1980–88) You Rang M'Lord? (1988–93) High Street Blues (1989)
Spouse	Gilda Perry (née Neeltje)
Partner	Mary Husband
Relatives	Diane Holland (sister-in-law)

James "Jimmy" Perry, OBE (20 September 1923 – 23 October 2016) was an English actor and scriptwriter, best known for devising and co-writing the BBC sitcoms Dad's Army (1968–1977), It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981), Hi-De-Hi (1980–1988) and You Rang M'Lord? (1988–1993), all with David Croft.

Perry was born in Barnes, Surrey. His father, Arthur, was an antiques dealer and he was educated at two independent schools, Colet Court and St Paul's School, which at the time were both based in Hammersmith in West London (now in Barnes). Not academically inclined, he apprenticed at a furniture store. With the outbreak of the Second World War, his family moved to Watford just outside London, where he served in the Home Guard and became involved in amateur dramatics.

Perry is credited with the original idea for Dad's Army, which was based on his experiences in the Home Guard during World War II; he had originally conceived it with the role of Walker in mind for himself. He also collaborated with Croft on It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M'Lord?

Many of the sitcoms Perry co-wrote with Croft drew heavily on his personal experience: at 16 he joined the Watford Home Guard (Dad's Army); two years later he was called up into the full-time forces, and was sent to Burma with the Royal Artillery, where he joined the Royal Artillery Concert Party and reached the rank of sergeant ("It Ain't Half Hot Mum"). Demobbed and back in the UK, he trained as an actor at RADA, spending his holidays working as a Redcoat in Butlin's Holiday Camps ("Hi De Hi!").