Jack Warner

Born: 1895-10-22

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jack Warner OBE (24 October 1895 – 24 May 1981) was an English film and television actor. He was born in London, his real name being Horace John Waters. His sisters Elsie and Doris Waters were well-known comediennes under the names Gert and Daisy. Like them, Jack Warner made his name in music hall and radio, but he became known to cinema audiences as the patriarch in a trio of popular post-World War II family films beginning with Here Come the Huggetts. He also co-starred in the 1955 Hammer film version of The Quatermass Xperiment and as a police superintendent in the 1955 Ealing Studios black comedy The Ladykillers. Warner attended the Coopers' Company's Grammar School for Boys in Mile End, while his sisters both attended the nearby sister school, Coborn School for Girls in Bow. The three children were choristers at St. Leonard's Church, Bromley-by-Bow, and for a time, Warner was the choir's soloist. By the early war years Warner was nationally known and starred in a BBC radio comedy show Garrison Theatre, invariably opening with, "A Monologue Entitled...". It was in 1949 that Warner first played the role for which he would be remembered, PC George Dixon, in the film The Blue Lamp. One observer predicted, "This film will make Jack the most famous policeman in Britain". Although the police constable was shot dead in the film, the character was revived in 1955 for the BBC television series Dixon of Dock Green, which ran until 1976. In later years though, Warner and his long-past-retirement-age character were confined to a less prominent desk sergeant role. The series had a prime-time slot on Saturday evenings, and always opened with Dixon giving a little soliloquy to the camera, beginning with the words, "Good evening, all". According to Warner's autobiography, Jack of All Trades, Elizabeth II once visited the television studio where the series was made and told Warner "that she thought Dixon of Dock Green had become part of the British way of life". He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1965. In 1973, he was made a Freeman of the City of London. Warner commented in his autobiography that the honour "entitles me to a set of 18th century rules for the conduct of life urging me to be sober and temperate". Warner added, "Not too difficult with Dixon to keep an eye on me!" The characterisation by Warner of Dixon was held in such high regard that officers from Paddington Green Police Station bore the coffin at his funeral in 1981. Warner is buried in East London Cemetery. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jack Warner (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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The Ladykillers

as The Superintendent
Released: 1955-12-08

Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian...

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Scrooge

as Jorkins
Released: 1951-11-28

Ebenezer Scrooge malcontentedly shuffles through life as a cruel, miserly businessman; until he...

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The Quatermass Xperiment

as Inspector Lomax
Released: 1955-08-26

The first manned spacecraft, fired from an English launchpad, is first lost from radar, then...

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Hue and Cry

as Nightingale
Released: 1947-02-01

A gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering...

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The Blue Lamp

as PC George Dixon
Released: 1950-01-19

P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a...

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Carve Her Name with Pride

as Mr. Bushell
Released: 1958-02-18

London, England, during World War II. After living a tragic life experience, young Violette...

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Dominique

as uncredited
Released: 1980-03-06

The wife of a greedy man comes back to haunt him after he scares her to death.

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It Always Rains on Sunday

as Detective Sergeant Fothergill
Released: 1947-11-28

During a rainy Sunday afternoon, an escaped prisoner tries to hide out at the home of his ex-fiance.

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Forbidden Cargo

as Maj. Alec White
Released: 1954-05-04

Kenyon is a narcotics agent who, with the aid of a titled bird-watcher attempts to trap a...

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Jigsaw

as Det. Insp. Fred Fellows
Released: 1962-08-21

A woman is found murdered in a house along the coast from Brighton. Local detectives Fellows and...

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Dear Murderer

as Inspector Penbury
Released: 1947-06-23

When a man discovers his wife is having an affair, he commits the perfect crime.

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Albert R.N.

as Capt Maddox
Released: 1953-11-23

The British inmates of a POW camp think they have an informer among them after several escape...

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Against the Wind

as Max Cronk
Released: 1948-02-01

A disparate group of volunteers are trained as saboteurs and parachuted into Belgium to blow up...

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My Brother's Keeper

as George Martin
Released: 1948-08-19

War hero turned villain George Martin escapes from the police, but he is handcuffed to a naive...

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Holiday Camp

as Joe Huggett
Released: 1947-08-05

The Huggett family go to a holiday camp, and get involved in crooked card players, a murderer on...

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Emergency Call

as Inspector Lane
Released: 1952-05-19

A 5-year-old child is diagnosed with leukaemia and has only days to live. Her only hope is a...

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The Square Ring

as Danny Felton
Released: 1953-07-13

Boxing drama following the lives of 5 different fighters and their reasons for becoming boxers.

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Easy Money

as Philip Stafford
Released: 1948-01-20

A win on the football pools in postwar Britain changes lives. A happy family is turned into an...

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The Captive Heart

as Cpl. Ted Horsfall
Released: 1946-04-29

A series of stories about the lives and loves of nine men in a Prisoner of War Camp over five...

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Boys in Brown

as Governor
Released: 1949-12-01

Jackie lives in poverty with his widowed mother. In a bid to escape poverty he gets involved in...

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The Final Test

as Sam Palmer
Released: 1953-04-09

Legendary England cricketer Sam Palmer (Jack Warner) is due to bat in his final test match...

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Train of Events

as Jim Hardcastle
Released: 1949-01-18

A train disaster is told in four short stories to give character studies of the people involved,...

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Now and Forever

as Mr. J. Pritchard
Released: 1956-09-10

A rich young society girl falls in love with a car mechanic. Her family is appalled and stops...

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Meet Me Tonight

as Murdoch
Released: 1952-09-09

Meet Me Tonight was the American title for the British-filmed Tonight at 8:30, adapted from the...

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Bang! You're Dead

as Bonsell
Released: 1954-03-15

Two small boys are playing in a wood. The younger boy has a revolver and, not understanding that...

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Valley of the Eagles

as Inspector Peterson
Released: 1951-09-26

A Norwegian scientist builds a device that can convert sound waves into electrical energy....

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Home and Away

as George Knowles
Released: 1956-09-04

When George discovers that he has won the pools, there is huge excitement in the household. But...

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Here Come the Huggetts

as Joe Huggett
Released: 1948-12-02

The Huggetts have their first telephone installed, sleep rough on The Mall whilst waiting for...

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Vote for Huggett

as Joe Huggett
Released: 1949-02-01

A firm of solicitors do battle with the head of the local council over a parcel of river front...

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Those People Next Door

as Sam Twigg
Released: 1953-02-01

The Twiggs are a typical working-class family: Sam (Jack Warner) and Mary (Marjorie Rhodes) are...

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The Dummy Talks

as Jack
Released: 1943-10-25

An operation of counterfeit five pound notes is discovered at a variety theater, leading to...

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The Huggetts Abroad

as Joe Huggett
Released: 1949-03-21

Life is not going well for the Huggetts. Father has lost his job. Jimmy and his wife cannot get...

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The Ealing Comedies

as Self
Released: 1970-09-08

The story of the men and women who produced a series of film comedies that were so original and...

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Dixon of Dock Green

as PC George Dixon
First aired: 1955-07-09

Created by Ted Willis. Dixon of Dock Green was a BBC television series following the activities...

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Christmas Night with the Stars

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-12-25

A gala programme broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 and also revived in...

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Eye to Eye

as Narrator
First aired: 1957-05-17

Documentary programmes looking at aspects of contemporary British life.

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