John Henry Ringham (10 February 1928 – 20 October 2008) was a British character actor of both television and stage who appeared in over a hundred screen appearances in a wide variety of roles.He is perhaps best remembered for his leading role in the 1980s sitcom Just Good Friends as Norman Warrender.He appeared throughout BBC Television's Shakespeare adaptation An Age of Kings in 1960, most prominently as Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, the brother of Henry the Fifth.Other appearances over the years include several parts in Z Cars; Softly, Softly, and Barlow at Large; Flambards; Poldark; the War and Peace dramatisation in 1972; Birds of a Feather; The Bill; Taggart; Bergerac; The Tripods; Juliet Bravo; Minder; All Creatures Great and Small; Dixon of Dock Green; Are You Being Served?; Catweazle; Up Pompeii!; The Avengers; The Piglet Files, When the Boat Comes In, London's Burning and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.In Dad's Army he played two different characters — Private Bracewell in the pilot (he was set to become a major recurring character, but this was later dropped), then Captain Bailey in four later episodes.He appeared in the long-running show Doctor Who three times, first as the bloodthirsty priest Tlotoxl in the story The Aztecs (1964). He returned in the stories The Smugglers (1966) and Colony in Space (1971).
Performed on stage with the Manchester Library Theatre, the National Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic.
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Between 1946 and 1948, he served with the British Army in Palestine and Egypt. His soldiering appears to not have been up to scratch (by his own admission), since he managed to lose 200 of his men in the Egyptian desert.
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The son of a travelling book salesman, he was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School. He later claimed that Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" was his favorite role.
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Cast in the pilot episode of "Dad's Army" as an upper-class recruit, but was dropped as a regular character from the show, because the writers felt that he was too similar to Private Godfrey, played by Arnold Ridley.
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1948: Joined Compass Players. A company founded by John Crockett.
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1960's: Joined the Icon Theatre Company in the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.
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Starred in television commercials for Terrys chocolate oranges in which he spoofed the then popular Indiana Jones movies.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Menace
1973
TV Series
Chris
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1973
TV Series
Rigby
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1973
TV Series
Walter Wagner
New Scotland Yard
1972
TV Series
Chief Inspector Clough
War & Peace
1972
TV Mini-Series
Gen. Savary
Colditz
1972
TV Series
Major Dalby
The Adventures of Black Beauty
1972
TV Series
Henry Bullivant
The Frighteners
1972
TV Series
Police Insp.
To Encourage the Others
1972
TV Movie
Parris
Man of Straw
1972
TV Mini-Series
Judge Franke
The Liver Birds
1972
TV Series
Clerk of the Court
Owen, M.D.
1971
TV Series
John Franks
Casanova
1971
TV Mini-Series
Doctor Rasp
The Flaxton Boys
1971
TV Series
Mr. Jackson
Justice
1971
TV Series
Webb
Bachelor Father
1971
TV Series
Desmond
Doctor Who
1964-1971
TV Series
Ashe
Tlotoxl
Josiah Blake
Hine
1971
TV Series
Ferguson
The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder
1971
TV Series
Bentwood
Catweazle
1971
TV Series
Oscar / Otto Habbleman
Masterpiece Classic
1971
TV Series
Laurence Hyde
Whom God Hath Joined
1970
TV Movie
Schoolteacher
Dad's Army
1968-1970
TV Series
Captain Bailey / Bracewell
Diamond Crack Diamond
1970
TV Series
Estate agent
Up Pompeii!
1970
TV Series
Buntus
The Woodlanders
1970
TV Series
The Stranger
Germinal
1970
TV Mini-Series
Pluchart
The Doctors
1970
TV Series
Headmaster
The Worker
1970
TV Series
Cropper
The First Churchills
1969
TV Mini-Series
Laurence Hyde, Lord Rochester
Laurence Hyde
Lord Rochester
The Wednesday Play
1969
TV Series
Schoolmaster
Fraud Squad
1969
TV Series
Scase
The First Lady
1969
TV Series
Dr. Hobbs
Mogul
1968-1969
TV Series
Mr. Perfect / Arthur
The Power Game
1969
TV Series
Leehouse
Resurrection
1968
TV Mini-Series
Gerasimov
Softly Softly
1967-1968
TV Series
Reeves
Det. Insp. Evans
Ralston
Nana
1968
TV Mini-Series
Labordette
The Railway Children
1968
TV Mini-Series
Dr. Forrest
The Saint
1968
TV Series
Dr. Russell
Hugh and I Spy
1968
TV Series
The Baron
1967
TV Series
Inspector Duncan
The Forsyte Saga
1967
TV Mini-Series
Chankery
The Solarnauts
1967
Short
Tri-S
David Copperfield
1966
TV Series
Littimer
The Avengers
1964-1966
TV Series
Professor Acheson / Cliff Howard
Hereward the Wake
1965
TV Series
Wilton of Ely
Redcap
1965
TV Series
Colonel Morris
The Newcomers
1965
TV Series
Headmaster
ITV Play of the Week
1965
TV Series
P.P.S.
The Flying Swan
1965
TV Series
Adrian Fenshaw
No Hiding Place
1965
TV Series
Dr. Ellis
Emergency-Ward 10
1961-1965
TV Series
Prof. Gudgeon / George Stuart
Front Page Story
1965
TV Series
Tom Manders
R3
1965
TV Series
Mr. Sarevsky
Compact
1964
TV Series
Dr. Gantry
The Protectors
1964
TV Series
DS Jarrott
The Plane Makers
1963
TV Series
Ken Swanson
BBC Sunday-Night Play
1963
TV Mini-Series
Harpenden
Ghost Squad
1963
TV Series
Farley
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
1962
TV Mini-Series
Accused Doctor / Lavrenti / Servant
The River Flows East
1962
TV Series
Det. Sgt. Wendall
Studio 4
1962
TV Series
Colonel Rich
The Cruel Necessity
1962
TV Movie
Ingoldsby
Galileo
1961
TV Movie
Narrator (voice)
Doctor Faustus
1961
TV Series
Chorus Speaker / Emperor
Deadline Midnight
1961
TV Series
Bert
Amelia
1961
TV Series
Monsieur Bagillard
A Coming-Out Party
1961
P / O GS 'Plum' Pouding
An Age of Kings
1960
TV Series
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester / Sir William Catesby / Watchman / ...