Anthony Edward Lowry Britton (9 June 1924 – 22 December 2019) was an English actor. He was the father of presenter Fern Britton, scriptwriter Cherry Britton and actor Jasper Britton
Life and career
Britton was born in a room above the Trocadero public house in Temple Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Doris Marguerite (née Jones) and Edward Leslie Britton.[3] He attended Edgbaston Collegiate School, Birmingham and Thornbury Grammar School, Gloucestershire. During the Second World War he served in the Army and he also worked for an estate agents and in an aircraft factory. He joined an amateur dramatics group in Weston-super-Mare and then turned professional, appearing on stage at the Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He appeared in numerous British films from the 1950s onwards, including Operation Amsterdam (1959), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) and The Day of the Jackal (1973). Britton won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor in 1975 for The Nearly Man.
From 1983 to 1990, he starred with Nigel Havers and Dinah Sheridan in the BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up, which became a highlight of his career.[4] His other sitcom appearances included ...And Mother Makes Five and Robin's Nest.
In September 2013 Sir Jonathan Miller directed a Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the Old Vic in London. Britton played the Earl of Gloucester.[5]
Britton and his first wife Ruth (née Hawkins) had two children, scriptwriter Cherry Britton and TV presenter Fern Britton. Cherry was married to children's TV presenter Brian Cant. Fern is married to Phil Vickery. Britton's second wife was Danish sculptor and member of the wartime Danish resistance Eva Castle Britton (née Skytte Birkfeldt). They had one son, actor Jasper Britton.
Britton died on 22 December 2019.[6][7]
Films
Waterfront (1950) as Deck-Hand (uncredited)
Cage of Gold (1950) as Nicky (uncredited)
Salute the Toff (1952) as Draycott
Loser Takes All (1956) as Tony
The Birthday Present (1957) as Simon Scott
Behind the Mask (1958) as Philip Selwood
The Heart of a Man (1959) as Tony Carlisle
Operation Amsterdam (1959) as Major Dillon
The Rough and the Smooth (1959) as Mike Thompson
The Last Winter (1960) as Stephen Burton
Suspect (1960) as Robert Marriott
Dr Syn, Alias the Scarecrow (1963) as Simon Bates
There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) as Andrew Hunter
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) as George Harding
Mr. Forbush and the Penguins (1971) as George Dewport
The Day of the Jackal (1973) as Superintendent Brian Thomas
Night Watch (1973) as Tony
The People That Time Forgot (1977) as Captain Lawton
Agatha (1979) as William Collins
Countdown to War (1989) as Sir Nevile Henderson[8]
Run for Your Wife (2012) as Man on Bus (final film role)[9]
Television
Marked Personal (1974)[10]
The Nearly Man (1975)[10]
Robin's Nest (1987–1991)[10]
Don't Wait Up (1983–1990)[10]
Strangers and Brothers (1984)[10]
Don't Tell Father (1992)[10]
The Royal (2006)
Life and career
Britton was born in a room above the Trocadero public house in Temple Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Doris Marguerite (née Jones) and Edward Leslie Britton.[3] He attended Edgbaston Collegiate School, Birmingham and Thornbury Grammar School, Gloucestershire. During the Second World War he served in the Army and he also worked for an estate agents and in an aircraft factory. He joined an amateur dramatics group in Weston-super-Mare and then turned professional, appearing on stage at the Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He appeared in numerous British films from the 1950s onwards, including Operation Amsterdam (1959), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) and The Day of the Jackal (1973). Britton won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor in 1975 for The Nearly Man.
From 1983 to 1990, he starred with Nigel Havers and Dinah Sheridan in the BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up, which became a highlight of his career.[4] His other sitcom appearances included ...And Mother Makes Five and Robin's Nest.
In September 2013 Sir Jonathan Miller directed a Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's King Lear at the Old Vic in London. Britton played the Earl of Gloucester.[5]
Britton and his first wife Ruth (née Hawkins) had two children, scriptwriter Cherry Britton and TV presenter Fern Britton. Cherry was married to children's TV presenter Brian Cant. Fern is married to Phil Vickery. Britton's second wife was Danish sculptor and member of the wartime Danish resistance Eva Castle Britton (née Skytte Birkfeldt). They had one son, actor Jasper Britton.
Britton died on 22 December 2019.[6][7]
Films
Waterfront (1950) as Deck-Hand (uncredited)
Cage of Gold (1950) as Nicky (uncredited)
Salute the Toff (1952) as Draycott
Loser Takes All (1956) as Tony
The Birthday Present (1957) as Simon Scott
Behind the Mask (1958) as Philip Selwood
The Heart of a Man (1959) as Tony Carlisle
Operation Amsterdam (1959) as Major Dillon
The Rough and the Smooth (1959) as Mike Thompson
The Last Winter (1960) as Stephen Burton
Suspect (1960) as Robert Marriott
Dr Syn, Alias the Scarecrow (1963) as Simon Bates
There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) as Andrew Hunter
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) as George Harding
Mr. Forbush and the Penguins (1971) as George Dewport
The Day of the Jackal (1973) as Superintendent Brian Thomas
Night Watch (1973) as Tony
The People That Time Forgot (1977) as Captain Lawton
Agatha (1979) as William Collins
Countdown to War (1989) as Sir Nevile Henderson[8]
Run for Your Wife (2012) as Man on Bus (final film role)[9]
Television
Marked Personal (1974)[10]
The Nearly Man (1975)[10]
Robin's Nest (1987–1991)[10]
Don't Wait Up (1983–1990)[10]
Strangers and Brothers (1984)[10]
Don't Tell Father (1992)[10]
The Royal (2006)
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