John Laurie
| John Laurie | |
|---|---|
Laurie as Private Frazer in Dad's Army
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| Born |
John Paton Laurie 25 March 1897 Dumfries, Dumfriesshire, Scotland |
| Died | 23 June 1980 (aged 83) Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Cause of death | Emphysema |
| Resting place | Ashes scattered at sea |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1921–1979 |
| Spouse(s) | Florence Saunders (1924–1926) (her death) Oonah Todd-Naylor (1928–1980) (his death) |
| Children | 1 |
John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish actor. Throughout a long career, Laurie performed a wide range of theatre and film work. He is perhaps best remembered to modern audiences for his role as Private Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army (1968–1977). Laurie appeared in scores of feature films with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, and Laurence Olivier. He was also a stage actor (particularly in Shakespearean roles) and speaker of verse, especially of Robert Burns.
John Paton Laurie was born in Dumfries, Dumfriesshire to William Laurie (1856–1903), a clerk in a tweed mill and later a hatter and hosier, and Jessie Ann Laurie (née Brown; 1858–1935). Laurie attended Dumfries Academy, then enrolled at a grammar school before abandoning a career in architecture to serve in the First World War as a member of the Honourable Artillery Company. Upon his demobilisation, he trained to become an actor under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London and first acted on stage in 1921.
A prolific Shakespearean actor, Laurie spent much of the time between 1922 and 1939 playing parts, including in Hamlet, Richard III, and Macbeth at the Old Vic or Stratford-upon-Avon. He featured in Laurence Olivier's three Shakespearean films, Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), and Richard III (1955). He and Olivier also appeared in As You Like It (1936). During the Second World War, Laurie served in the Home Guard.
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