Arthur Lowe

Arthur Lowe
Born 22 September 1915(1915-09-22)
Hayfield, Derbyshire, England [1]Died 15 April 1982(aged 66)
Birmingham, England [2]Spouse(s) Joan Cooper (1948-1982) [3]Awards won BAFTA Awards Best Supporting Actor
1973 O Lucky Man!

Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 — 15 April 1982) was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.

1 Early life
2 Early career
3 Dad's Army
4 Late career
5 Death
6 Statue
7 Further reading
8 Television roles
9 Filmography
10 Awards
11 References
12 External links

Early life

Arthur Lowe was born in Hayfield, Derbyshire, the only child of Arthur and Mary Annie (Nan) Lowe. His father worked for a railway company, in charge of shunting theatrical touring companies around Northern England and the Midlands in special trains.[4] Lowe’s original intention was to join the Merchant Navy but this idea was thwarted due to his poor eyesight. Working at an aircraft factory he joined the army on the eve of World War II, but not before experiencing his first brush with the acting world by working as a stagehand at the Manchester Palace of Varieties. Lowe served in the Middle East, and began to take part in shows put on for the troops, which appears to have sparked his desire to act. He left the Army at the end of the war with the rank of Sergeant-Major.

Early career

Lowe made his debut at the Hulme Hippodrome repertory theatre, Manchester in 1945,[4] where he was paid £5 per week for twice-nightly performances.[5] He became known for his character roles including parts in Call Me Madam, Pal Joey and The Pajama Game and eventually featured in at least fifty films. He briefly appeared as a reporter at the end of the Ealing comedy film Kind Hearts and Coronets(1949).

By the 1960s Lowe had successfully made the transition to television and landed a regular role as draper/lay preacher Leonard Swindley in the Northern drama series Coronation Street (1960-65). So popular was his role with viewers that he was eventually given his own spin off series Pardon the Expression (1966) and its sequel Turn out the Lights (1967).

However, Leonard Swindley was not a role Lowe relished and he longed to move on to other parts. During the months he was not playing Swindley he was busy on stage or making guest roles in other TV series including Z-Cars and The Avengers. He also had a prominent parts in the Lindsay Anderson films This Sporting Life in 1963 and if.... in 1968. In 1978 he starred opposite Sir Laurence Olivier in the Laurence Olivier Presents television series, in the episode Daphne Laureola.

Lowe married Joan Cooper on 10 January 1948. They had met in 1945 when she was his leading lady at Hulme Hippodrome[4][5] and they remained together until his death. Their son Stephen Lowe was born in January 1953.

Dad's Army

In 1968, Lowe landed perhaps his most famous role, Captain George Mainwaring. It has often been remarked by his former colleague Bill Pertwee that this was the role Lowe played which most resembled himself: pompous and bumbling, although he also successfully played the Captain's drunken brother Barry Mainwaring in the 1975 episode "My Brother and I". He went on to take the character into a radio series, stage play and feature length film. Following the success of Dad's Army, Lowe released several 45rpm 7" singles: My Little Girl, My Little Boy / How I Won The War on the Columbia label in 1972, Making Whoopee / Windows & Doorways on the Spiral label in 1974, Sonny Boy / The Autumn Years on Spiral in 1975 and the Flanagan and Allen song Hometown with John Le Mesurier in the Warner label in 1975. He also recorded the Dad's Army theme song, Who Do You Think You're Kidding, Mr. Hitler? although this was not released as a single.

When not filming Dad's Army Lowe would frequently be making films such as Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall; No Sex Please, We're British; and O Lucky Man!. He was in great demand for guest appearances on other TV shows such as The Morecambe and Wise Show (1971) and he played Dr. Maxwell in five episodes of the sitcom Doctor at Large (1971). He was never afraid to play oddities or surreal characters. In the film version of The Bed-Sitting Room, a surreal post-apocalyptic black comedy featuring a cross-section of British comic talent, he played a man on the verge of mutating into a parrot, while still maintaining the mannerisms of a lower middle-class British professional keen on marrying his daughter to an upper-class drone. His comic tics, squawking and scratching under his ear at just the right moment, almost stole the film. Unfortunately the script called for a real parrot to take over in the latter half, so he was unable to carry the role as far as he might have.

Late career

Between 1971 and 1973 Lowe joined Dad's Army castmate Ian Lavender on the BBC radio comedy Parsley Sidings. In 1974 he played Wilkins Micawber in the BBC mini-series David Copperfield. He employed a multitude of voices on the 1975 BBC animated television series Mr. Men, where he voiced all the characters as well as narrated.

When Dad's Army ended in 1977, Lowe was still very much in demand with starring roles in TV programmes such as Bless Me Father with Daniel Abineri (1978-81, as Father Charles Clement Duddleswell) and Potter (1979-80, as Redvers Potter). He also carried on working on the stage and films. An unusual role he had was in a silent film, 1979's 'The Plank', alongside Eric Sykes. He played Charters in the 1979 remake of A Lady Vanishes. He was the voice of Mr. Beaver in the 1979 animated version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Arthur Lowe reprised his role as George Mainwaring for the pilot episode of It Sticks Out Half a Mile, a radio sequel to Dad's Army. One of his last film roles was in 1982's Britannia Hospital.

While touring at coastal theatres, accompanied by his wife Joan, he used his distinctive 1885 former steam yacht Amazon as a floating base. He bought "Amazon" as a houseboat in 1968, but realised her potential and took her back to sea in 1971; this unique vessel is still operating in the Mediterranean today.

Death

Lowe died of a stroke in his dressing room at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham before a performance of Home at Seven on 15 April 1982 aged 66, having given a live interview on the BBC 1 afternoon show Pebble Mill at One only a day earlier. His last sitcom, A J Wentworth, BA was shown posthumously from July to August 1982. His ashes were scattered at Sutton Coldfield crematorium.

Statue

In December 2007 plans were unveiled for a statue of Lowe to be erected in Thetford, where the outside scenes for Dad's Army were filmed.[6]

Television roles

Year Title Role 1965to 1966 Pardon the ExpressionLeonard Swindley 1968to 1977 Dad's ArmyCaptain Mainwaring 1971Doctor at Large Dr Maxwell 1971to 1972The Last of the Baskets Redvers Bodkin 1972It's Murder, But Is It Art? Phineas Drake 1978to 1981 Bless Me FatherFather Charles Clement Duddleswell 1979to 1980 PotterRedvers Potter 1982 A J Wentworth, BAArthur James Wentworth, BA

Filmography

Year Title Role 1949 London Belongs to MeUncredited 1949 The Spider and the FlyTown Clerk 1949 Floodtide Pianist (Uncredited) 1949 Kind Hearts and CoronetsThe Reporter 1949 Poet's Pub Coach Guide (Uncredited) 1954 Final Appointment Mr. Barrett 1955 Breakaway Mitchell 1955 The Woman for Joe George's Agent (Uncredited) 1955 Windfall (Uncredited) 1955 Reluctant Bride Mr. Fogarty 1955 One Way Out Sam 1955 Murder Anonymous Fingerprint Expert (Uncredited) 1956 Who Done It? (Uncredited) 1956 The Green ManRadio Salesman 1957 Hour of Decision 1957 Stranger in Town (Uncredited) 1958 Stormy Crossing Garage Owner 1959 The Boy and the Bridge Bridge Mechanic 1960 Follow That Horse! Auctioneer (Uncredited) 1960 The Day They Robbed the Bank of EnglandBank Official (Uncredited) 1962 Go to Blazes Warder 1963 This Sporting LifeCharles Slomer 1965 You Must Be Joking!1967 The White BusMayor 1968 If....Mr. Kemp 1969 It All Goes to Show Councillor Henry Parker 1969 The Bed-Sitting RoomFather 1970 Spring and Port WineMr. Aspinall 1970 Some Will, Some Won't Police Sergeant 1970 Fragment of Fear Mr. Nugent 1970 The Rise and Rise of Michael RimmerFerret 1971 A Hole Lot of Trouble Whitehouse 1971 Dad's Army Captain Mainwaring1972 Adolf Hitler - My Part in His DownfallMajor Drysdale 1972 The Ruling ClassDaniel Tucker 1973 No Sex Please, We're BritishMr. Bromley 1973 Theatre of BloodHorace Sprout 1973 O Lucky Man!Mr. Duff / Charlie Johnson / Dr. Munda 1974 Man About the House Spiros 1976 The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones Dr. Thwackum 1977 The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know ItDr. William Watson, M.D 1979 The Lady VanishesCharters 1980 Sweet William Captain Walton 1982 Britannia HospitalGuest Patient

Awards

Won

Year Award Category Film Role 1973 BAFTA Film Awards Best Supporting Actor O Lucky Man!Mr. Duff / Charlie Johnson / Dr. Munda

Nominated

Year Award Category TV Show Winner 1969 BAFTA TV AwardsBest Actor
Role: Captain George Mainwaring Dad's Army Edward Woodward OBE
Callan
Role: David Callan 1970 BAFTA TV AwardsBest Light Entertainment Performance
Role: Captain George Mainwaring Dad's Army Eric Morecambe OBEand Ernie Wise OBE
The Morecambe & Wise Show
Role: Themselves 1972 BAFTA TV AwardsBest Light Entertainment Performance
Role: Captain George Mainwaring Dad's Army Eric Morecambe OBEand Ernie Wise OBE
The Morecambe & Wise Show
Role: Themselves 1974 BAFTA TV AwardsBest Light Entertainment Performance
Role: Captain George Mainwaring Dad's Army Stanley Baxter
The Stanley Baxter Moving Picture Show
Role: Himself 1974 BAFTA TV AwardsBest Actor
Role: Louis Pasteur
Role: Wilkins Micawber Microbes and Men
David Copperfield Peter Barkworth
Crown Matrimonial
Role: Edward V111 1977 BAFTA TV AwardsBest Light Entertainment Performance
Role: Captain George Mainwaring Dad's Army Ronnie Barker OBE
Porridgeand The Two Ronnies
Role: Norman Stanley Fletcherand Himself

References

^ GRO Register of Births: DEC 1915 7b 1413 HAYFIELD - Arthur Lowe, mmn = Ford
^ GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 1982 32 0628 BIRMINGHAM - Arthur Lowe, DoB = 22 Sep 1915
^ GRO Register of Marriages: MAR 1948 5d 800 MARYLEBONE - Arthur Lowe = Gatehouse or Cooper
^ a b c "The Stardom of Suburban Man", Evening News, London, 28th October 1977
^ a b "Arthur Lowe - The Proud Father", TV Times, 14-20 October 1978
^ Steven Nolan Show Radio Five Live 23:30 GMT, Saturday 1st December 2007

External links

Arthur Lowe at the Internet Movie Database
Arthur Lowe British Film Institute page.
Arthur Lowe at Find A Grave

v • d • e Major Cast Members of Dad's ArmyArthur Lowe • John Le Mesurier • Clive Dunn
• John Laurie • James Beck • Arnold Ridley • Ian Lavender
• Bill Pertwee • Frank Williams • Edward Sinclair • Janet Davies • Pamela Cundell

Awards Preceded by
Ben Johnson
for The Last Picture Show BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1974
for O Lucky Man!Succeeded by
John Gielgud
for Murder on the Orient Express

PersondataNAME Lowe, Arthur ALTERNATIVE NAMES SHORT DESCRIPTION English actor DATE OF BIRTH 1915-09-22PLACE OF BIRTH Hayfield, Derbyshire, EnglandDATE OF DEATH 1982-04-15PLACE OF DEATH Birmingham, England