a number of other songs that weren't as successful.
I really enjoyed meeting Bernard Cribbins at Autogaphica in October 2007. He was so friendly and he chatted to me for ages. He signed my Railway Children photo and also my Carry On book and poster. I also had another photo taken with him, Jenny Agutter & Sally Thomsett.
Bernard Cribbins was born in 1928, in Oldham, Lancashire. He began his professional career at the age of 14 when he became a student at the Oldham Repertory Theatre, remaining there for eight years with a break to do his National Service in the Parachute Regiment! He later worked in rep, firstly in Manchester, then in Liverpool and later in Hornchurch, Essex.
Bernard Cribbins' early theatrical training led to a West End appearance in Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors in 1956. Since then he had leading roles in many more West End productions, including the revue And Another Thing which gave him a No.1 hit in 1960 with a song from the show called 'Folk Song'.
He had two more hits in 1962 with the comedy songs Hole in the Ground and Right Said Fred although he also released quite a
Bernard's numerous pantomime roles have included Ada the Cook in Dick Whitittington, and Widow Twankey in Aladdin. He is still much in demand when it comes to this form of stage work!!
VIDEOS
Carry On films Carry On Jack (1963). In this, he plays midshipman Albert Poop-Decker.
and the first of his three
Bernard's voice is very well known, not only for numerous BBC radio plays but also for audio books and TV commercials. The most famous of these was British Telecom's campaign in the 1970s to promote themselves with the cartoon bird 'Buzby' who lived on a telephone wire. Voiced by Bernard Cribbins, Buzby appeared on countless advertisements and soon became a part of popular culture.
superbly cast in 1981 as the eponymous Dangerous Davies - The Last Detective (his best TV role!); Frank in Down To Earth (2005) and the newspaper seller Wilfred Mott in Dr Who (2007).
Bernard Cribbins has done an amazing amount of TV work. He was the narrator for all sixty episodes of The Wombles (1973), but eclipsed this with an incredible 111 appearances on Jackanory over a 25 year period. Other television roles have included the famous, and brilliant cameo in a 1975 episode of Fawlty Towers (as the spoon salesman Mr Hutchinson, mistaken by Basil Fawlty for a hotel inspector!); the house painter in Eric Sykes' The Plank (1979); superbly
In 1968 Bernard made A Ghost of a Chance for the Children's Film Foundation, but probably his most famous film role was as Albert Perks the station master in Lionel Jeffries' 1970 version of The Railway Children, with Jenny Agutter. During the 1970s he was seen as Felix Forsythe in the Alfred Hitchcock thrilller Frenzy (1972) and as Captain Michael in the sci-fi drama Space:1999 (1975). He was also in another film directed by Lionel Jeffries, The Water Babies (1978) with James Mason.
Other films of the 1960s included the comedies Two Way Stretch (1960) and The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963) both with Lionel Jeffries and Peter Sellers. Allez France (1964), otherwise known as The Counterfeit Con
Bernard Cribbins & June Ritchie in
Mouse on the Moon
Cribbins began his film career in the late 1950s, and was soon seen in prominent roles, as in Mouse on the Moon (1963)
In Carry On Spying, Cribbins is Harold Crump, otherwise known as Agent Ooooh! He would undoubtedly have made more Carry On films, but upset
producer Peter Rogers during the making of Carry On Spying and was told that he wouldn't be given any more parts in the
Carry On films. He did however have a supporting role (Mordecai Mendoza) in Carry On Columbus (1992), widely regarded as the worst Carry On film!
Bernard Cribbins in Carry On Jack
Film poster for
Carry On Jack
Bernard Cribbins in Carry On Columbus
Haggard novel, saw Cribbins appearing alongside Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Ursula Andress. In 1966, Cribbins played policeman Tom Campbell in the Dr Who film Daleks: Invasion TA
Earth 2150 AD. He stumbles on
the TARDIS on a normal day and ends up being taken into the future by Dr. Who! A year later, Cribbins managed to
associate himself with the James Bond franchise by appearing in Casino Royale (1967), the 'spoof' version of Ian Fleming's story!
Constable, was a comedy about a group of French rugby supporters in England to watch a match at Twickenham. She (1965), a Hammer Films production of a Rider Haggard
I had my photograph taken at Autographica with Sally, Jenny and Bernard
Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins as a young actor
from The Railway Children
Bernard was great storyteller on Jackanory
Bernard Cribbins as Wilf in Dr Who
Bernard Cribbins & Peter Cushing in She
Bernard in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD
Bernard Cribbins in And Another Thing
A scene from Carry On Spying
Bernard Cribbins in Frenzy
Bernard Cribbins in Casino Royale
Bernard Cribbins in Allez France
Bernard Cribbins in Space: 1999
Bernard Cribbins in Fawlty Towers
Bernard Cribbins is in
Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett & Bernard Cribbins have all signed my photograph
from The Railway Children
all of these films
Bernard Cribbins
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