John_Le_Mesurier_on_stage,_radio,_screen_and_record

John Le Mesurier on stage, radio, screen and record

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John Le Mesurier (born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 1912 – 15 November 1983) was an English actor who performed in many mediums of light entertainment, including film, radio and theatre.^[1] Le Mesurier's career spanned from 1934 until his death in 1983. He is best remembered for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC situation comedy Dad's Army, between 1968 and 1977.^[2]

Le Mesurier made his professional stage debut in September 1934 in Dangerous Corner at the Palladium Theatre in Edinburgh under his birth name, and appeared on television for the first time four years later as Seigneur de Miolans in the BBC Television broadcast of "The Marvellous History of St Bernard". The broadcast was adapted from a 15th-century manuscript by Henri Ghéon.^[3] After wartime service as a captain in the Royal Tank Regiment,^[1] Le Mesurier returned to acting and made his radio debut on the BBC Home Service in a March 1947 broadcast of Escape or Die. He continued working in television roles throughout his career, but it was his portrayal in the BBC television play Traitor, of a character loosely based on Kim Philby, which earned him the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1972.^[4]

In 1948, Le Mesurier worked on his first film, Death in the Hand, a mystery in which he played the character Jack Mottram. He went on to appear in over 100 films, including Private's Progress (1955), I'm All Right Jack (1959), The Punch and Judy Man (1962), Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959), The Pink Panther (1963), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), and The Italian Job (1969).^[1] He always appeared in supporting roles.

Le Mesurier took a relaxed approach to acting, saying: "I'm a jobbing actor ... as long as they pay me I couldn't care less if my name is billed above or below the title".^[5] He was known for playing "an indispensable figure in the gallery of second-rank players which were the glory of the British film industry in its more prolific days".^[1] Le Mesurier died in November 1983 from a stomach haemorrhage; his last words before slipping into a coma were: "It's all been rather lovely."^[6] The Guardian noted that Le Mesurier gave the impression of an "inimitable brand of bewildered persistence under fire which [he] made his own",^[7] while Philip Oakes considered that Le Mesurier single-handedly "made more films watchable, even absorbing than anyone else around".^[8]

Selected stage credits

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Selected stage credits of John Le Mesurier
Production^[9]	Date	Theatre	Role	Notes
Dangerous Corner	September 1934	Palladium Theatre, Edinburgh		Billed as John Halliley^[10]
The Thirteenth Chair	October 1934		Philip Mason^[11]	Billed as John Halliley^[11]
The Dover Road	October 1934		Leonard^[12]	Billed as John Halliley^[12]
She Stoops to Conquer	November 1934		Sir Charles Marlow^[13]	Billed as John Halliley^[13]
The Mollusc	December 1934			Billed as John Halliley^[14]
Grumpy	December 1934		Ernest Heron^[15]	Billed as John Halliley^[15]
The Christmas Party	December 1934		Colonel MacHashit^[16]	Billed as John Halliley^[16]
The Happy Ending	January 1935			Billed as John Halliley^[17]
While Parents Sleep	January 1935			Billed as John Halliley^[18]
Dangerous Corner	February 1935
Cavalcade	March 1935
Up in Mabel's Room	July 1935	Coliseum Theatre, Oldham
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary	September 1935	Sheffield Repertory Company
Twelfth Night	November 1935	Sheffield Repertory Company	Malvolio^[19]
Peace in Our Time	September 1936	Croydon Repertory Theatre	Mr Platt^[20]
Dusty Ermine	October 1936
The Apple Cart	October 1936
Bees on the Boat Deck	November 1936
Ah! Wilderness	November 1936
The Constant Nymph	November 1936		Lewis Dodd^[21]
Charley's Aunt	December 1936
Charley's Aunt	January 1937
Love on the Dole	September 1937
Payment Deferred	July 1938	Theatre Royal, Glasgow
The Romantic Young Lady	July 1938	Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
The Romantic Young Lady	July 1938	Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Petticoat Influence	August 1938	Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Husband to a Famous Woman	August 1938	Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Husband to a Famous Woman	August 1938	Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Three Sisters	September 1938		Konstantin^[22]	with the Howard and Wyndham Players^[23]
The Moon in the Yellow River	September 1938
Tovarich	October 1938	Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh	Prince Mikail^[24]
Private Lives	October 1938	Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh	Elyot Chase^[25]
Gaslight	July 1939 – May 1939	Apollo Theatre, London	(understudy)^[26]
	May 1939	Finsbury Park Empire, London	Mr Manningham^[27]
	May 1939 – June 1939	Savoy Theatre, London
	June 1939	Chiswick Empire, London
	June 1939	Chelsea Palace Theatre, London
	July 1939	Grand Theatre, Blackpool
	October 1939	Prince's Theatre, Manchester
Goodness, How Sad	November 1939 – December 1939	On tour
Journey's End	January 1940	Palace Court Theatre
French Without Tears	January 1940 – February 1940	Grand Theatre, Blackpool
The Man in Half Moon Street	March 1940	Brixton Theatre, London
Mystery at Greenfingers	May 1940
The First Mrs Fraser	May 1940
French Without Tears	December 1941	ENSA
Just William	December 1946	New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham	Uncle Noel^[28]
The Winslow Boy	June 1947	Empire Theatre, Chatham
The Dubarry	October 1947 – November 1947	Princes Theatre, London
The Linden Tree	23 May 1949	New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
Love in Idleness	June 1949
Playbill	August 1949
Queen of Hearts	December 1949 – January 1950
The Smooth-Faced Gentleman	14 August 1950
Traveller's Joy	1951	New Theatre, Bromley
Angry Dust	January 1952	New Torch Theatre, London	Doctor^[29]
The Hanging Judge	September 1952 – December 1952	New Theatre, London	Governor of Norwich Gaol^[30]
Piccolo	July 1953 – August 1953	Connaught Theatre		with Worthing rep.^[31]
The Snow Was Black	October 1953	The New Watergate, London
Here Comes April	March 1954	Connaught Theatre
Twenty Minutes South	June 1955	Players' Theatre, London
Twenty Minutes South	July 1955 – October 1955	St Martin's Theatre, London
Coroner's Verdict	February 1956	Richmond Theatre London
Malice Domestic	June 1956	New Lindsey Theatre	Dr. James Gully^[32]
Army Benevolent Fund Gala	19 November 1961	Victoria Palace Theatre, London
The Daily Express Starlight Dance	23 July 1962	Lyceum Theatre, London
Homage to T. S. Eliot	13 June 1965	London Fringe Theatre
Poetry Reading	20 September 1970	Little Medway Theatre, Kent
The Television Arts Ball	31 December 1973	Royal Albert Hall, London
Dad's Army	September 1975	Forum Theatre, Billingham	Sergeant Arthur Wilson
	2 October 1975 – February 1976	Shaftesbury Theatre, London
	February 1976 – August 1976	On tour		^[33]
One of Us	8 August 1976	Aldwych Theatre, London
An Inspector Calls	August 1976	Salisbury, Rhodesia
In Concert	August 1977	New Fair Oak Theatre, Rogate
Bedroom Farce	January 1979 – March 1979	Hilton Playhouse, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
Hay Fever	23 April 1980 – 31 May 1980	Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith	Simon Bliss^[34]
	July 1980 – September 1980	Provincial tour
	August 1981	Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guilford
	September 1981 – October 1981	Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon
	October 1981	Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

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[ODNB-1] [1]
"John Le Mesurier (1912–1983)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). OUP. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31350. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

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McCann 2010, p. ix.

[FOOTNOTEBarry1992190-3] [3]
Barry 1992, p. 190.

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Angelini, Sergio. "Traitor (1971)". Screenonline. British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 September 2012.

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de Jongh, Nicholas (16 November 1983). "Dad's Army star dies". The Guardian. London. p. 1.

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Le Mesurier 1988, p. 189.

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"The ubiquitous second row". The Guardian. London. 16 November 1983. p. 10.

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Oakes, Philip (7 February 1971). "Worrier on the Warpath". The Sunday Times. London. p. 26.

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McCann 2010, pp. 305–307.

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"Palladium Theatre: "Dangerous Corner"". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 4 September 1934. p. 6.

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"Palladium Theatre: "The Thirteenth Chair"". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 2 October 1934. p. 10.

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"Palladium Theatre: "The Dover Road"". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 9 October 1934. p. 10.

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"Palladium Theatre: "Grumpy"". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 11 December 1934. p. 14.

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McCann 2010, p. 76.

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McCann 2010, pp. 76–77.

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Le Mesurier 1984, p. 31.

[Scotsman:_Three_Sisters-23] [23]
"Glasgow: "Idiot's Delight" at the Empire". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 6 September 1938. p. 14.

[Scotsman:_Tovarich-24] [24]
"Edinburgh Entertainments: Lyceum Theatre: "Tovarich"". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 11 October 1938. p. 13.

[Scotsman:_Private_Lives-25] [25]
"Edinburgh Theatres: Lyceum : "Private Lives"". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 25 October 1938. p. 17.

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McCann 2010, p. 81.

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McCann 2010, p. 82.

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McCann 2010, p. 104.

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Bradbury, Parnell (17 January 1952). "New Torch Theatre". The Times. London. p. 2.

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McCann 2010, p. 119.

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McCann 2010, p. 306.

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"New Lindsey Theatre". The Times. London. 21 June 1956. p. 5.

[FOOTNOTEPertwee2009165-33] [33]
Pertwee 2009, p. 165.

[Hay_Fever-34] [34]
Billington, Michael (30 April 1980). "Hay Fever". The Guardian. London. p. 10.

[BFI:_JLM_filmography-35] [35]
"Filmography: Le Mesurier, John". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

[FOOTNOTEMcCann2010308–310-36] [36]
McCann 2010, pp. 308–310.

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"Television Programmes". Radio Times. 20 December 1946.

[FOOTNOTEWebber2011259-38] [38]
Webber 2011, p. 259.

[FOOTNOTEWebber2011266-39] [39]
Webber 2011, p. 266.

[FOOTNOTEWebber2011268-40] [40]
Webber 2011, p. 268.

[FOOTNOTEWebber2011275-41] [41]
Webber 2011, p. 275.

[FOOTNOTEWebber2011278-42] [42]
Webber 2011, p. 278.

[FOOTNOTEWebber2011281-43] [43]
Webber 2011, p. 281.

[FOOTNOTEWebber2011287-44] [44]
Webber 2011, p. 287.

[FOOTNOTEWebber2011298-45] [45]
Webber 2011, p. 298.

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"Cast: Ghost Squad (ITV, 1961–63): Death From A Distance". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2012.

[traitor-47] [47]
"BAFTA Awards 1971". BAFTA Awards Database. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 2 September 2012.

[FOOTNOTEMcCann2010307–308-48] [48]
McCann 2010, pp. 307–308.

[FOOTNOTEMcCann2010252-49] [49]
McCann 2010, p. 252.

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McCann 2010, p. 279.

[FOOTNOTEMcCann2010287-51] [51]
McCann 2010, p. 287.

[FOOTNOTEMcCann2010310–311-52] [52]
McCann 2010, pp. 310–311.

[FOOTNOTEBrowningPicart2010127-53] [53]
Browning & Picart 2010, p. 127.

[FOOTNOTEWarren1997420-54] [54]
Warren 1997, p. 420.

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"Cast: The Battle of the River Plate". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 17 January 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

[BFI:_Admirable_Crichton-56] [56]
"Cast: The Admirable Crichton". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

[BFI:_Gideon's_Day-57] [57]
"Cast: Gideon's Day". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

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Parish, Stanke & Pitts 1977, p. 77.

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[BFI:_A_Touch_of_Larceny-60] [60]
"Cast: A Touch of Larceny". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

[BFI:_Our_Man_in_Havana-61] [61]
"Cast: Our Man in Havana". Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2012.

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Pratt, Vic. "Flat Two (1962)". Screenonline. British Film Institute. Retrieved 6 September 2012.

[BFI:_La_25E_Heure-64] [64]
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Programme^[35]^[36]	Date	Channel	Role	Notes
The Marvellous History of St Bernard	17 April 1938	BBC Television	Seigneur de Miolans^[3]
Richard of Bordeaux	18 December 1938	BBC Television	Sir John Montague
They Flew Through Sand	14 June 1946 – 17 June 1946	BBC Television	R.A.F. press officer
Just William	23 December 1946	BBC Television	Uncle Noel^[28]^[37]
Whirligig	17 February 1951 – 28 April 1951	BBC Television		Six episodes
The Railway Children	20 February 1951 – 17 July 1951	BBC Television	Doctor	Six episodes
Show Me a Spy!	31 July 1951 – 8 November 1951	BBC Television	Sir Alexander Blythe	Four episodes
Sherlock Holmes, "The Second Stain"	1 December 1951	BBC Television	Eduardo Lucas
A Time to be Born	24 December 1951	BBC Television	Joseph
The Drayton Case	1953		Inspector Henley
1066 and All That	25 December 1952 – 27 December 1952	BBC Television		Two episodes
Teleclub5	4 December 1953	BBC Television
Happy Holidays	10 July 1954 – 18 September 1954	BBC Television	Mr Mulberry	Six episodes
The Unguarded Hour	29 March 1955	BBC Television
Douglas Fairbanks Presents, "Flight One-Zero-One"	27 June 1955	US network	Dr Garside	First aired on 27 June 1955 on US networks, before UK broadcast on ITV Television on 23 May 1956
The Granville Melodramas	30 November 1955 – 13 December 1955	ITV Television	Sir William Ralston; Sir John; Mr Rencelaw	Three episodes
Douglas Fairbanks Presents, "Deadline Vienna"	21 January 1956	NBC	Geoffrey Warren	First aired on 21 January 1955 on NBC, before UK broadcast on ITV Television on 3 July 1956
Douglas Fairbanks Presents, "The Way Home"	11 April 1956	ITV Television	Dr Lloyd
Crown Theatre Presents	3 July 1956	ITV Television
Douglas Fairbanks Presents	9 July 1956	ITV Television
Saturday Playhouse	25 August 1956	ITV Television
Assignment Foreign Legion, "The Search"	12 October 1956	ITV Television	Leblond
The Errol Flynn Theatre, "Mademoiselle Fifi"	24 November 1956	ITV Television	Curé
Fireside Theatre	16 December 1956	ITV Television
Douglas Fairbanks Presents, "The Ludlow Affair"	28 January 1957	NBC	Inspector Burroughs	First aired on 28 January 1957 on NBC, before UK broadcast on ITV Television on 16 December 1956
Television Playhouse	28 March 1957	ITV Television
The Gay Cavalier, "Sealed Knot"	16 July 1957	ITV Television	Sir Richard Willis
Douglas Fairbanks Presents	9 September 1957	ITV Television
Assignment Foreign Legion	10 September 1957	ITV Television
Hancock's Half Hour, "The Lawyer"	2 December 1957	BBC Television	Lord Chief Justice Williams	Series 3, episode 9; broadcast live^[38]
The Lafarge Affair	15 December 1957	BBC Television
Sword of Freedom	15 February 1958	ITV Television
Television Playhouse	7 March 1958	ITV Television
Douglas Fairbanks Presents	3 April 1958	ITV Television
Hancock's Half Hour, "The New Nose"	16 January 1959	BBC Television	Dr Francis Worthington	Series 4, episode 4^[39]
Play of the Week	20 January 1959	ITV Television
Hancock's Half Hour, "The Horror Serial"	20 January 1959	BBC Television	Colonel	Series 4, episode 6^[40]
The Adventures of William Tell, "The Avenger"	7 March 1959	ITV Television	Duke of Burgundy
Hancock's Half Hour, "The Servants"	27 March 1959	BBC Television	Colonel^[41]	Series 4, episode 13^[41]
The Errol Flynn Theatre	19 April 1959	ITV Television
Hancock's Half Hour, "Lord Byron Lived Here"	9 October 1959	BBC Television	National Trust Officer^[42]	Series 5, episode 3^[42]
Interpol Calling, "The Long Weekend"	11 October 1959	ITV Television	Monsieur Lamprou
Hancock's Half Hour, "The Cruise"	30 October 1959	BBC Television	The Captain^[43]	Series 5, episode 6^[43]
The Enormous Shadow	10 November 1959	ITV Television
Saber of London	18 January 1960	ITV Television	Franz
Hancock's Half Hour, "The Cold"	4 March 1960	BBC Television	Doctor Callaghan^[44]	Series 6, episode 1^[44]
The Somerset Maugham Stories	7 April 1960	ITV Television
Play Gems	5 June 1960	ITV Television
The Adventures of William Tell	26 June 1960	ITV Television
Jazz Session	6 August 1960	BBC Television
Saber of London, "A Diplomatic Affair"	29 August 1960	ITV Television	Franz
Danger Man, "An Affair of State"	13 November 1960	ITV Television
The Third Man	3 December 1960	ITV Television
Hancock's Half Hour, "The Lift"	16 June 1961	BBC Television	The Air Marshal^[45]	Series 7, episode 4^[45]
The Pursuers	18 June 1961	ITV Television
Ghost Squad, "Death From A Distance"	4 November 1961	ITV Television	Volgu^[46]
Armchair Theatre, "Tune on the Old Tax Fiddle"	17 December 1961	ITV Television
Saber of London	5 February 1962	ITV Television
Danger Man	31 March 1962	ITV Television
Dial RIX	5 October 1962	BBC Television
Mr Justice Duncannon	25 January 1963 – 15 February 1963	BBC Television		Two episodes
This Is Your Life	12 February 1963	BBC Television		Le Mesurier's wife, Hattie Jacques, was the show's main guest
Galton and Simpson Comedy Playhouse, "A Clerical Error"	5 April 1963	BBC Television
Play of the Week, "The Brimstone Butterfly"	16 April 1963	ITV Television
Casebook	5 October 1963	ITV Television
Armchair Theatre, "Long Past Glory"	17 November 1963	ITV Television	Harry
The Avengers, "Mandrake"	24 January 1964	ITV Television	Dr Madrombie
Festival, "The Lady of the Camellias"	12 February 1964	BBC Television	de Giray
Festival, "The Master of Santiago"	26 February 1964	BBC Television
Sunday Story	5 April 1964 – 12 April 1964	BBC Television
Armchair Theatre, "The Blackmailing of Mr. S"	26 July 1964	ITV Television
Play of the Week, "The Bachelors"	23 November 1964	ITV Television	Octave De Coetquidan
The Largest Theatre in the World, "Tea Party"	25 March 1965	BBC One	Disley
Story Parade, "The Bachelors"	1 April 1965	BBC Two
Memoirs of a Chaise Longue	2 July 1965	BBC One
Riviera Police	9 August 1965	ITV Television
Theatre 625, "Dr Knock"	2 January 1966	BBC Two	Dr Parpalaid
The Avengers, "What the Butler Saw"	26 February 1966	ITV Television	Benson
The Wednesday Play, "Macready's Gala"	2 March 1966	BBC One	Canon Dunwoodie
Frankie Howerd	8 March 1966	BBC One
Pardon the Expression	1 April 1966 – 13 June 1966	ITV Television		Four episodes
Thirty Minute Theatre, "The Caramel Crisis"	25 April 1966	BBC Two	Lame
Marriage Lines, "Home Market"	6 May 1966	BBC One
Adam Adamant Lives!, "The Terribly Happy Embalmers"	4 August 1966	BBC One
George and the Dragon	19 November 1966 – 24 December 1966	ITV Television	Colonel Maynard	Six episodes
Hugh and I	3 January 1967	BBC One
All Gas and Gaiters, "The Bishop Gets the Sack"	31 January 1967	BBC One	Television producer
Thirty-Minute Theatre, "An Absolute Treasure"	22 February 1967	BBC One	Brian Turner
Mr Rose	17 March 1967	ITV Television
The Troubleshooters	20 March 1967	BBC One	Kemp	Episode: "Some Days You Just Can't Win"
George and the Dragon	20 May 1967 – 1 July 1967	ITV Television	Colonel Maynard	Seven episodes
Further Adventures of Lucky Jim	30 May 1967	BBC Two
To Lucifer: A Son	29 June 1967	BBC One
George and the Dragon	6 January 1968 – 17 February 1968	ITV Television	Colonel Maynard	Seven episodes
Call My Bluff	25 February 1968	BBC Two
Dad's Army	31 July 1968 – 11 September 1968	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 1; six episodes
George and the Dragon	26 September 1968 – 31 October 1968	ITV Television	Colonel Maynard	Six episodes
Harry Worth, "Private Pimpernel"	21 October 1968	BBC One	Colonel Fullbright
Two in Clover	25 February 1969	ITV Television	Chairman
Dad's Army	1 March 1969 – 5 April 1969	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 2; six episodes
The Mind of Mr J.G. Reader	11 June 1969	ITV Television	Joseph Bracher
W. Somerset Maugham: The Creative Impulse	17 June 1969	BBC Two	Mr Albert Forrester
Tales of Edgar Wallace, "Flat Two"	25 July 1969	ITV Television	Warden
Dad's Army	11 September 1969 – 11 December 1969	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 3; fourteen episodes
The Wednesday Play, "The Last Train Through the Harecastle Tunnel"	1 October 1969	BBC One	Judge Grayson
The Coward Revue	26 December 1969	BBC One
Saturday Night Theatre	3 January 1970	ITV Television
Bird's Eye View	22 March 1970	BBC Two
Comedy Playhouse, "Haven of Rest"	1 April 1970	BBC One	Mr Prentice
Shine a Light	13 May 1970	ITV Television
A Royal Television Gala Performance	25 May 1970	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson
The Des O'Connor Show	31 July 1970	ITV Television
Dad's Army	25 September 1970 – 18 December 1970	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 4; thirteen episodes
Dear Mother...Love Albert	8 March 1971	ITV Television
This Is Your Life	24 March 1971	ITV Television		Clive Dunn was the show's main guest
The Morecambe & Wise Show	22 April 1971	BBC One
Paul Temple	9 June 1971	BBC One
Jokers Wild	7 July 1971	ITV Television
Jokers Wild	28 July 1971	ITV Television
Misleading Cases	6 August 1971	BBC One
Doctor at Large, "Mr Moon"	22 August 1971	ITV Television	Stanley Moon
Play for Today, "Traitor"	14 October 1971	BBC One	Adrian Harris	Le Mesurier's performance won him a British Academy of Film and Television Arts "Best Television Actor" award.^[47]
The Goodies	10 December 1971	BBC One
Dad's Army, Special, "Battle of the Giants"	27 December 1971	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson
Jason King, "If It's Got to Go – It's Got to Go"	16 February 1972	ITV Television	Dr.Litz
Jackanory	11 September 1972 – 15 September 1972	BBC One		Five episodes
A Class by Himself	13 September 1972 – 18 October 1972	ITV Television	Lord Bleasham	Six episodes
Sykes, "Uncle"	29 September 1972	BBC One
Dad's Army	6 October 1972 – 29 December 1972	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 5; thirteen episodes
Armchair Theatre, "Anywhere But England"	31 October 1972	ITV Television	Freddie
Jason King	5 January 1973	ITV Television
Comedy Playhouse, "Marry the Girls"	1 February 1973	BBC One
Thriller, "File it Under Fear"	2 June 1973	ITV Television	Stubbs
Black and Blue, "Rust a Highly Moral Farce"	4 September 1973	BBC One	Sir Henry
Dad's Army	31 October 1973 – 12 December 1973	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 6; six episodes
Orson Welles Great Mysteries, "Death of an Old-Fashioned Girl"	24 November 1973	ITV Television, Anglia	Sidney Goldsmith	One episode
Crown Court, "Murder Most Foul"	27 December 1973	ITV Television	Reginald Standish
Late Night Theatre, "Silver Wedding"	25 September 1974	ITV Television	Geoffrey
Dad's Army	15 November 1974 – 23 December 1974	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 7; six episodes
Village Hall, "Pie in the Sky"	18 May 1975	ITV Television	Harold Garfield
Centre Play, "The Flight Fund"	14 July 1975	BBC Two	Edward
Dad's Army	5 September 1975 – 10 October 1975	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 8; six episodes
Shades of Greene, "The Root of All Evil"	7 October 1975	ITV Television	Schmidt
Dad's Army, Special "My Brother and I"	26 December 1975	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson
Bod	1975–1976	BBC One	Narrator	Thirteen episodes
This Is Your Life	10 March 1976	ITV Television		Arnold Ridley was the show's main guest
Dad's Army, Special "The Love of Three Oranges"	26 December 1976	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson
Dad's Army	2 October 1977 – 6 November 1977	BBC One	Sergeant Arthur Wilson	Series 9; six episodes
A Christmas Carol	24 December 1977	BBC Two	Marley's ghost
The Morecambe & Wise Show	25 December 1977	BBC One
Flint	15 January 1978	BBC One
An Honourable Retirement	4 November 1979	ITV Television	Edward Brown
Ripping Yarns, "Roger of the Raj"	24 October 1979	BBC Two	Colonel Runciman
The Dick Emery Show	5 January 1980	BBC One
The Shillingbury Blowers	6 January 1980	ITV Television
Worzel Gummidge, "Very Good, Worzel"	3 February 1980	ITV Television	Baines
Night of One Hundred Stars	21 December 1980	ITV Television
Brideshead Revisited, "Julia"	17 November 1981	ITV Television	Father Mowbray	Episode 6
Dead Ernest	15 February 1982	ITV Television	Head of Plagues	Episode 3
Bognor	9 March 1982 – 23 March 1982	ITV Television	Blight-Purley	Three episodes
Hi-de-Hi!	7 November 1982	BBC One	The Dean
A Married Man	10 July 1983 – 31 July 1983	Channel 4	Eustace Lough	Four episodes

Broadcast^[48]	Date	Channel	Notes
Escape or Die	2 March 1947	BBC Home Service
Mutiny in the Navy	14 April 1947	BBC Third Programme
Alexander the Corrector	17 August 1947	BBC Home Service
Trafalgar Square	29 August 1951	BBC Home Service
The Trial of Sir Walter Raleigh	9 September 1951	BBC Home Service
Focus on General Elections	23 October 1951	BBC Home Service
Alcock and Brown	28 October 1951	BBC General Overseas Service
Lord Delamere	22 November 1951	BBC General Overseas Service
I was a Communist	8 February 1952	BBC General Overseas Service
Dr Arnold of Rugby	19 February 1952	BBC Home Service
Edward Gibbon Wakefield	11 May 1952	BBC General Overseas Service
At the Sign of the Maid's Head	26 June 1952	BBC Home Service
Portrait of Sir Edward Coke	18 July 1952	BBC Home Service
The World is My Parish	16 June 1953	BBC Home Service
Elizabethan Theatre	9 September 1953	BBC General Overseas Service
Rodney Stone	20 May 1954	BBC Home Service
Brigadier Gerard	1 September 1954	BBC Light Programme
Abu Hassan	31 March 1957	BBC Third Programme
Abu Hassan	1 April 1957	BBC Third Programme
Doctor in the House	25 June 1968	BBC Radio 4
Late Night Extra	31 January 1969	BBC Radio 1 and 2
Brothers in Law	9 June 1970	BBC Radio 4
Brothers in Law	16 June 1970	BBC Radio 4
Today	12 March 1971	BBC Radio 4
Open House	12 July 1971	BBC Radio 2
Brothers in Law	27 July 1971	BBC Radio 4
Sounds Familiar	17 May 1972	BBC Radio 2
Brothers in Law	3 July 1972	BBC Radio 4
Desert Island Discs	17 February 1973	BBC Radio 4
Dad's Army, series 1	28 January 1974 – 10 June 1974	BBC Radio 4	Role: Sergeant Arthur Wilson^[49]
Dad's Army, Special	25 December 1974	BBC Radio 4	Role: Sergeant Arthur Wilson^[49]
Dad's Army, series 2	11 February 1975 – 24 June 1975	BBC Radio 4	Role: Sergeant Arthur Wilson^[49]
Dad's Army, series 3	16 March 1976 – 7 September 1976	BBC Radio 4	Role: Sergeant Arthur Wilson^[49]
The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner	16 December 1979	BBC Radio 3
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	24 January 1980	BBC Radio 4	Role: The Wise Old Bird^[50]
Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves	3 December 1980 – 7 January 1981	BBC Radio 4
The Lord of the Rings	8 March 1981 – 30 April 1981	BBC Radio 4	Role: Bilbo Baggins^[51]
The Flower Case	24 October 1982	BBC Radio 3
The Dog It Was That Died	9 December 1982	BBC Radio 3
It Sticks Out Half a Mile	13 November 1983 – 15 January 1984	BBC Radio 2	Role: Arthur Wilson^[51] Nine episodes
It Sticks Out Half a Mile	21 August 1984 – 2 October 1984	BBC Radio 2	Role: Arthur Wilson^[51] Four episodes

Film^[52]^[35]	Year	Role	Notes
The Hangman Waits	1947	Newspaper office worker
Death in the Hand	1948	Jack Mottram
Escape from Broadmoor	1948	Pendicot
Old Mother Riley's New Venture	1949	Karl
A Matter of Murder	1949	Ginter
Dark Interval	1950	Cedric, the butler
The Small Miracle	1951
Blind Man's Bluff	1952	Leftie Jones
Mother Riley Meets the Vampire	1953	Scotland Yard Man	Uncredited^[53]
The Blue Parrot	1953	Henry Carson
Black 13	1953	Inspector
The Pleasure Garden	1953	Colonel Pall K. Gargoyle
Dangerous Cargo	1954	Luigi
Twist of Fate	1954	1st. Man at Casino	( U.S. ' Beautiful Stranger ')
Stranger from Venus	1954	Man at Desk	Uncredited^[54]
Police Dog	1955	C.I.D. inspector
Make Me an Offer	1955	Mr. Toshack	Uncredited
A Time to Kill	1955	Phineas Tilliard
Josephine and Men	1955	Registrar
Private's Progress	1956	Psychiatrist
The Baby and the Battleship	1956	The marshal's aide
The Battle of the River Plate	1956	Rev. George Groves – Padre, HMS Exeter	Uncredited^[55]
Brothers in Law	1957	His Honour Judge Ryman
The Good Companions	1957	Monte Mortimer
The Admirable Crichton	1957	Cook	Uncredited^[56]
These Dangerous Years	1957	Commanding Officer
High Flight	1957	Commandant
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk	1958	Judge
Happy Is the Bride	1958	Chaytor
Gideon's Day	1958	Prosecuting counsel	Uncredited^[57]
Another Time, Another Place	1958	Dr Aldridge
The Moonraker	1958	Oliver Cromwell
Law and Disorder	1958	Sir Humphrey Pomfret
Blind Spot	1958	Brent
Man with a Gun	1958	Harry Drayson
Blood of the Vampire	1958	Chief Justice
I Was Monty's Double	1958	Adjutant R.A.P.C.
The Captain's Table	1959	Sir Angus
Operation Amsterdam	1959	Colonel Janssen
The Lady Is a Square	1959	Fergusson
Too Many Crooks	1959	Magistrate
Carlton-Browne of the F.O.	1959	Grand Duke Alexis
The Hound of the Baskervilles	1959	Barrymore
Jack the Ripper	1959	Dr. Tranter
Shake Hands with the Devil	1959	British General
I'm All Right Jack	1959	Waters
The Wreck of the Mary Deare	1959	MOA Lawyer	Uncredited^[58]
Ben-Hur	1959	Doctor	Uncredited^[59]
A Touch of Larceny	1959	Head of the Admiralty	Uncredited^[60]
Desert Mice	1959	Staff Colonel
Follow a Star	1959	Birkett
Our Man in Havana	1959	Louis, headwaiter	Uncredited^[61]
Let's Get Married	1960	The dean
School for Scoundrels	1960	Skinner, headwaiter
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England	1960	Green, deputy cashier of Bank of England
Dead Lucky	1960	Inspector Corcoran
Never Let Go	1960	Pennington
Doctor in Love	1960	Dr Mincing
The Bulldog Breed	1960	Prosecuting Counsel
The Pure Hell of St Trinian's	1960	Minister
Five Golden Hours	1961	Doctor Alfieri
The Night We Got the Bird	1961	Clerk of the Court
The Rebel	1961	Office manager
Mr. Topaze	1961	The blackmailer
Very Important Person	1961	Piggott
Don't Bother to Knock	1961	Father	Uncredited^[62]
Invasion Quartet	1961	The colonel
On the Fiddle	1961	Sergeant Hixon
Hair of the Dog	1962	Sir Mortimer Gallant
Flat Two	1962	Warden	^[63]
Only Two Can Play	1962	Salter
Village of Daughters	1962	Don Calogero
Mrs. Gibbons' Boys	1962	Coles
Go to Blazes	1962	Fisherman
Waltz of the Toreadors	1962	Rev. Grimsley
Jigsaw	1962	Mr Simpson
The Main Attraction	1962	Bozo
We Joined the Navy	1962	Dewberry Snr
The Wrong Arm of the Law	1963	Assistant police commissioner
The Punch and Judy Man	1963	Sandman
The Mouse on the Moon	1963	British delegate
In the Cool of the Day	1963	Doctor Arraman
The Pink Panther	1963	Defence lawyer
Hot Enough for June	1964	Roger Allsop
Never Put It in Writing	1964	Adams
The Moon-Spinners	1964	Anthony Gamble
Operation Crossbow	1965	British Army Officer	(scenes deleted)
Masquerade	1965	Sir Robert
City Under the Sea	1965	Reverend Jonathan Ives
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines	1965	French painter
The Liquidator	1965	Chekhov
The Early Bird	1965	Colonel Foster
Thunderball	1965	Man at Army Meeting	Uncredited
Where the Spies Are	1966	MacGillivray
Our Man in Marrakesh	1966	George C. Lillywhite
The Wrong Box	1966	Dr Slattery
The Sandwich Man	1966	Abadiah, religious sandwich man
Eye of the Devil	1966	Dr. Monnet
Finders Keepers	1966	Mr. X
The 25th Hour	1967	President of Court	Original title: La Vingt-cinquième Heure^[64]
Mister Ten Per Cent	1967	Jocelyn Macauley
Casino Royale	1967	M's Driver	Uncredited^[65]
Cuckoo Patrol	1967	Gibbs
Monsieur Lecoq	1967	Owner of French chateau
The Inn Way Out	1967	Pub Bore	Film Short
Salt and Pepper	1968	Colonel Woodstock
Midas Run	1969	Wells
The Italian Job	1969	Prison governor
The Magic Christian	1969	Sir John	Uncredited^[66]
Doctor in Trouble	1970	Purser
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever	1970	Pelham
Dad's Army	1971	Sergeant Arthur Wilson
Au Pair Girls	1972	Mr Wainwright
The Alf Garnett Saga	1972	Mr Frewin
Confessions of a Window Cleaner	1974	Inspector Radlett
Brief Encounter	1974	Stephen
The Culcheth Job	1974	"Cast member"
Barry McKenzie Holds His Own	1974	Robert Crowther
Three for All	1975	Mr Gibbons
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother	1975	Lord Redcliff
Jabberwocky	1977	Passelewe, the chamberlain
Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers	1977	Col. Bromley Pickering
Rosie Dixon – Night Nurse	1978	Sir Archibald MacGregor
What's Up Nurse!	1978	Dr Ogden
Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?	1978	Doctor Deere
The Spaceman and King Arthur	1979	Sir Gawain	Original US title; Unidentified Flying Oddball^[67]
The Shillingbury Blowers	1980	Council Chairman
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu	1980	Perkins
Sir John Betjeman Late Flowering Love	1981	"Cast member"
The Passionate Pilgrim	1984	Narrator	^[68]
Facelift	1984	Bruce	Voice, (final film role)

Album^[69]	Year	Record label	Catalogue number	Notes
Dad's Army: Original Cast Recording	1975	Warner Bros. Records	K56186
What is Going To Become of Us All?	1976	Warner Communications	K54080
Once Upon a World	1977	B7 Media	1906577005
The Velveteen Rabbit	1978	Columbia Records	SCX6599	featuring Robin Le Mesurier, with music by Ed Welch

Single^[69]	Year	Record label	Notes
"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"	1975	Warner Bros. Records	B side: "Hometown", with Arthur Lowe and company
"There Ain't Much Change From A Pound These Days"	1982	KA Records	with Clive Dunn B side: "After All These Years", with Dunn

John_Le_Mesurier_on_stage,_radio,_screen_and_record

John Le Mesurier on stage, radio, screen and record

Selected stage credits

Television

Selected radio broadcasts

Filmography

Discography

Notes and references

Bibliography

External links

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