Баллард Беркли: Англиялық актер өмірі мен шығармашылығы

English actor (1904–1988)

Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom Fawlty Towers.

The son of Joseph and Beatrice Blascheck, he was born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. During the 1930s he performed regularly in the so called "quota quickies". One of his earliest roles was as the heroic lead in the 1937 film The Last Adventurers. He served as a special constable with the Metropolitan Police during the Second World War, witnessing the Blitz at first hand, including the bombing of the Café de Paris nightclub. For his service he received the Defence Medal and the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. He appeared in the film In Which We Serve (1942) and in the Hitchcock film Stage Fright (1950). He featured as Detective Inspector Berkeley in two episodes of Edgar Lustgarten's drama series, Scotland Yard: "Person Unknown" (1956), and "Bullet from the Past" (1957). Berkeley played the role of bumbling Major Gowen in the BBC TV comedy Fawlty Towers, and a similar role in the legal drama The Main Chance (1969). He portrayed another retired military man (Colonel Freddie Danby) in BBC Radio 4's The Archers, taking over the role from Norman Shelley. He played a starring role in Fresh Fields as main character Hester's father Guy, was Hartley in To the Manor Born and played Colonel Culpepper in Terry and June. He had small roles in an episode of Citizen Smith (1977), an adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), and appeared once in Bless This House as a Royal Air Force Group Captain in the episode "Strangers in the Night" (1972), and in The New Avengers as Colonel Foster in the episode "Dirtier by the Dozen". He also had small roles in the BBC sitcoms Hi de Hi! ("Empty Saddles," 1983) and Are You Being Served? ("Memories Are Made of This," 1983). He made a brief appearance in the 1985 American film National Lampoon's European Vacation which starred Chevy Chase. In this film, Berkeley played a British man who is involved in a minor road accident with the Griswalds. Berkeley later performed the role of Winston—a similar character to "The Major"—in the radio comedy Wrinkles by Doug Naylor and Rob Grant. He played Badedas the Blue, a wizard in the radio comedy series Hordes of the Things. His last role was as the Head of the Army in the animated film version of Roald Dahl's The BFG. Berkeley died in London on 16 January 1988, and the film was released on 25 December 1989. He rose to prominence posthumously in the 2020s as an icon of Hampshire Cricket Club, thanks to a scene in Fawlty Towers in which he joyfully announces, 'Hampshire won!' which the club would tweet to celebrate every victory.

Year Title Role Notes1930 The Chinese Bungalow  Richard Marquess 1930 London Melody  Jan Moor 1933 Trouble  Uncredited 1934 White Ensign  Cortez 1936 East Meets West  Nazim 1937 The Last Adventurers  Fred Devlin 1937 Jennifer Hale  Richard Severn 1939 The Outsider  Uncredited 1939 Dead Men are Dangerous  Franklin's publisher's partner Uncredited 1939 The Gang's All Here  Detective in Nightclub Uncredited 1939 Black Eyes  Diner 1939 The Saint in London  Sir Richard Blake 1940 The Flying Squad  Smuggler in Aeroplane Uncredited 1942 In Which We Serve  Engineer Commander 1946 Quiet Weekend  Jim Brent 1947 They Made Me a Fugitive  Rockliffe 1949 Third Time Lucky  Bertram 1950 Stage Fright Sergeant Mellish 1951 Blackmailed  Dr. McCormick 1951 The Long Dark Hall  Police Supt. Maxey 1951 Mister Drake's Duck  Maj. Deans 1952 The Frightened Man  Inspector Bligh 1952 The Lost Hours  Doctor 1952 The Night Won't Talk  Inspector West 1952 Circumstantial Evidence  Det. Insp. Hall 1953 Three Steps to the Gallows  Insp. Haley 1953 The Blue Parrot  Supt. Chester 1953 Operation Diplomat  Inspector Austin 1954 The Weak and the Wicked  Police Detective Uncredited 1954 Dangerous Cargo  Security Officer Findley 1954 Forbidden Cargo  Cooper Uncredited 1954 Delayed Action  Insp. Crane 1954 Child's Play  Dr. Nightingale 1954 The Men of Sherwood Forest  Walter 1955 See How They Run  Col. Warrington 1955 The Stolen Airliner  Mr. Head 1955 Passport to Treason  Inspector Thredgold 1956 My Teenage Daughter  Magistrate 1957 The Betrayal  Lawson 1957 Yangtse Incident: The Story of H. M. S. Amethyst  Lt. Col. Dewar Durie 1957 After the Ball  Andrews 1957 Just My Luck  Starter at Goodwood Uncredited 1957 Night of the Demon  1st Reporter Uncredited 1958 The Man Who Wouldn't Talk  Court Clerk Uncredited 1958 Chain of Events  1958 Further Up the Creek  Whacker Payne 1960 Life Is a Circus  1960 Cone of Silence  Commissioner 1963 Impact  Bill MacKenzie 1963 A Matter of Choice  Charles Grant 1965 The Murder Game  Sir Colin Chalmers 1965 Night Caller from Outer Space  Cmdr. Savage 1968 Hostile Witness  Clerk of Court 1970 The Weekend Murders  Peter, the butler 1972 Bless This House  RAF officer on train 1976 Confessions of a Driving Instructor  Lord Snodley 1978 The Playbirds  Trainer 1979 Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair  Judge 1979 Queen of the Blues Uncle Fred 1980 The Wildcats of St Trinian's  Humphry Wills 1980 Little Lord Fauntleroy Sir Harry 1983 Bullshot Hotel Guest 1985 National Lampoon's European Vacation  Second English Motorist 1989 The BFG  Head of the Army Voice; posthumous release

Year Title Role Notes 1958 Leave It to Todhunter Det. Chief Insp. Moresby 1959 The Invisible Man Manton episode: " Play to Kill" 1961 Deadline Midnight Desmond 7 episodes1963 Maigret Dr Pardon episode: " A Man Condemned"1964 Swizzlewick Major Lamb 1966 United! Dr Newkes 1967–1968 The Newcomers Colonel Renshaw 1972 The Shadow of the Tower Sir Thomas Tyrrel episode: " A Fly in the Ointment"1972–1980 The Dick Emery Show Various characters 6 episodes1975–1979 Fawlty Towers Major Gowen 12 episodes1981 To the Manor Born Hartley episode: "Connections in High Places"1982–1987 Terry and June Sir Arthur Forster Carter / Colonel Culpepper episodes: "Swingtime" / "They Also Serve"1983 Are You Being Served? Angler episode: "Memories Are Made of This"1984–1986 Fresh Fields Guy Penrose 10 episodes