Leslie Phillips: Carry On and Harry Potter actor dies aged 98 | Ents & Arts News

Veteran British actor Leslie Phillips, known for his roles in several Carry On films and the Harry Potter series, has died aged 98.

The star died “peacefully in her sleep” on Monday, her agent Jonathan Lloyd confirmed.

Phillips made his first film appearances as a boy in the 1930s and went on to an illustrious career on stage and screen, particularly in the Carry On films – which included Carry On Teacher, Carry On Columbus, Carry On Constable and Carry On Nurse.

He became well known for his suggestive catchphrases such as “Ding Dong!”, “Well, hello”, and “I say!”.

In a long and varied career in entertainment that spanned decades, the actor worked with a wide array of stars, from Steven Spielberg and Laurence Olivier to Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie.

Although he’s known for his plum accent and exaggerated depictions of upper-class English, Phillips was born in Tottenham and grew up speaking Estuary English – taking elocution lessons and later losing his accent. in life as he was seen as a hindrance to acting. the industry at the time.

He published his autobiography, Hello, in 2005, detailing how he discovered acting after growing up “a poor childhood in North London” and his father’s death when he was just 10. year.

Phillips has appeared in TV series such as Heartbeat, Midsomer Murders, Monarch Of The Glen and Holby City, movies like Empire Of The Sun, Scandal and Out Of Africa, and plays like Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.

In 2007, the actor starred in Hanif Kureshi’s film Venus opposite Peter O’Toole, a performance for which he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.

And in recent years, his voice had become instantly recognizable to younger generations as that of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter movies.

He was made OBE in the 1998 Birthday Honors and promoted to CBE in the 2008 New Year Honours.

Born Leslie Samuel Phillips on April 20, 1924, the actor learned his trade at the respected Italia Conti Stage School before serving as a lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry between 1942 and 1945, when he was discharged.

Thereafter, he quickly returned to the limelight and the Carry On Films arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, cementing his reputation for playing slick and mischievous but incompetent members of high society.

Films such as Brothers In Law, The Smallest Show On Earth and The Man Who Liked Funerals followed and he also became well known for his appearances in the Doctor series, as well as comedies in which he was paired with the comedian and Scottish impressionist Stanley Baxter – including Very Important Person, Crooks Anonymous, The Fast Lady and Father Came Too.

Like most of his contemporaries, he pursued a stint in Hollywood, but said he preferred Britain.

“I could have stayed,” he once said, “but I’m a Londoner through and through. I want to go everywhere, but I’ll always want to live in London. So I came back.”

The stars pay tribute

Following news of his death, stars who have worked with and met him were among those who paid their respects.

Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar shared a clip of Phillips appearing on his show The Kumars At No 42. In the footage, Phillips recalled how he once found himself stranded on the London Underground surrounded by members of the public demanding that he makes his slogans.

“A truly warm, funny, sweet man #RIPLesliePhillips,” Bhaskar wrote.

Coronation Street actor Tony Maudsley said working with Phillips “was a joy”.

Phillips’ first marriage, to Penelope Bartley in 1948, was dissolved in 1965. They had two sons and two daughters.

He married his second wife Angela Scoular in 1982 and the couple remained together until his death in April 2011.

He leaves behind his third wife, Zara Carr, whom he married in 2013.