Leslie Phillips
| Leslie Phillips CBE |
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|---|---|
Phillips at the Orange British Academy Film Awards in February 2007
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| Born |
Leslie Samuel Phillips 20 April 1924 Tottenham, London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Actor, voice-over artist, author |
| Years active | 1934–present |
| Notable work | See below |
| Spouse(s) | Penelope Bartley (m. 1948–1965, 4 children) (divorced) Angela Scoular (m. 1982–2011) (her death) Zara Carr (2013–present) |
| Children | Caroline Phillips Claudia Phillips Andrew Phillips Roger Phillips |
Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE (born 20 April 1924) is an English actor who came to prominence in films in the 1950s, acting as a suave charmer with an exaggerated upper-class accent, in the style of Terry-Thomas. After a notable success in the Carry On films and the Doctor series, he moved away from comedy into character roles in the Harry Potter series and many TV sitcoms, as well as stage work.
Contrary to the impression given by his public persona, Phillips came from a background of poverty. He was born in Tottenham, north London, England, the son of Cecelia Margaret (née Newlove) and Frederick Samuel Phillips, who worked at Glover and Main, manufacturers of cookers in Edmonton; the "filthy, sulphurous" air of the factory gave Frederick a weak heart and edema, leading to his death at the age of 44. In 1931, the family moved to Chingford, then in Essex, now part of Greater London, where Phillips attended Larkswood Primary School.
It was his mother who decided that Phillips should be sent to the Italia Conti Academy to receive elocution lessons to lose his natural cockney accent. At that time a strong regional accent was a major impediment to an aspiring actor. It proved to be an astute move and by the age of 14 Phillips was the family's main breadwinner, saving his mother from squalor.
Phillips made his first film appearances as a child in the 1930s. He is the only actor still alive who performed at Pinewood Studios in its first week of opening in 1936. He also understudied for Binkie Beaumont and H.M. Tennent in the West End. In 1938, 14-year-old Leslie Phillips appeared with Graeme Muir in the West End play Dear Octopus where Muir was the juvenile lead. During the Second World War shows were frequently interrupted by air-raid sirens and Phillips recalls in his autobiography that "audiences would evaporate and head for cellars or Underground stations". At 16, Phillips played an uncredited market street urchin in 1940's The Thief of Bagdad.
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