Stanley Holloway

Born: 1890-10-01

Stanley Augustus Holloway, OBE (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady. He was also renowned for his recordings of comic monologues and songs, which he performed throughout most of his 70-year career. Born in London, in his early years Holloway pursued a career as a clerk. He made early stage appearances before infantry service in the First World War. After the war he joined a concert party, "The Co-Optimists", and his career began to flourish. At first he was chiefly employed as a singer, but his skills as an actor and reciter of comic monologues were soon recognised. Characters from his monologues such as Sam Small, invented by Holloway, and Albert Ramsbottom, created for him by Marriott Edgar, were absorbed into popular British culture. By the 1930s, he was in demand to star in music hall, pantomime and musical comedy. In the 1940s and early 1950s, Holloway moved from the musical stage to acting in plays and films. He made well-received stage and film appearances in Shakespeare, and in a series of films for Ealing Studios. In 1956 he was cast as the irresponsible Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady, a role that he played on Broadway, in the West End and later on film, which brought him international fame. In his later years, Holloway appeared in television series in the U.S. and the UK, toured in revue, appeared in stage plays in Britain, Canada, Australia and the U.S., and continued to make films into his eighties. Description above from the Wikipedia article Stanley Holloway, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


Placeholder

Brief Encounter

as Albert Godby
Released: 1945-11-24

Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is...

Movie page

My Fair Lady

as Alfred P. Doolittle
Released: 1964-10-21

A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her...

Movie page

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

as Gravedigger
Released: 1970-10-29

Holmes and Dr. Watson take on the case of a beautiful woman whose husband has vanished. The...

Movie page

In Harm's Way

as Clayton Canfil
Released: 1965-04-06

A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a...

Movie page

Hamlet

as Gravedigger
Released: 1948-12-10

Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s...

Movie page

The Lavender Hill Mob

as Albert Pendlebury
Released: 1951-06-28

A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipments of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to...

Movie page

Passport to Pimlico

as Arthur Pemberton
Released: 1949-10-26

When an unexploded WWII bomb is accidentally detonated in Pimlico, it reveals a treasure trove...

Movie page

Ten Little Indians

as Det. William Henry Blore
Released: 1965-07-31

Ten strangers are invited as weekend guests to a remote mountain mansion. When the host doesn't...

Movie page

This Happy Breed

as Bob Mitchell
Released: 1944-05-28

In 1919, Frank Gibbons returns home from army duty and moves into a middle-class row house,...

Movie page

Major Barbara

as Policeman
Released: 1941-05-14

Idealistic young Barbara is the daughter of rich weapons manufacturer Andrew Undershaft. She...

Movie page

The Magic Box

as Broker's Man
Released: 1952-01-01

Now old, ill, poor, and largely forgotten, William Freise-Greene was once very different. As...

Movie page

Caesar and Cleopatra

as Belzanor
Released: 1945-12-11

The aging Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen. Adapted by George Bernard...

Movie page

Wanted for Murder

as Sergeant Sullivan
Released: 1946-06-17

The son of a notorious hangman is gradually becoming insane and he finds himself unable to...

Movie page

The Titfield Thunderbolt

as Walter Valentine
Released: 1953-03-04

When British Railways announce the closure of the Titfield to Mallingford branch line a group of...

Movie page

The Way Ahead

as Pvt. Ted Brewer
Released: 1944-06-09

A mismatched collection of conscripted civilians find training tough under Lieutenant Jim Perry ...

Movie page

Lady Godiva Rides Again

as Thomas Clark
Released: 1951-10-25

Marjory Clark wins a competition in her Midland town and finds herself in a Festival of Britain...

Movie page

Alive and Kicking

as MacDonagh
Released: 1959-07-13

Three elderly residents of a nursing home, fed up with their monotonous existence, engineer an...

Movie page

The Winslow Boy

as Comico
Released: 1948-09-24

In pre-WW1 England, a youngster is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, but his...

Movie page

On the Fiddle

as Mr. Cooksley
Released: 1961-10-10

Tricked into joining the RAF by a wily judge, wide boy Horace Pope sets his sights on the main...

Movie page

An Alligator Named Daisy

as The General
Released: 1955-12-13

Returning from a cricket match in Ireland, Peter Weston gains a pet alligator from another...

Movie page

One Wild Oat

as Alfred Gilbey
Released: 1951-05-16

A lawyer's plan to break up his daughter's budding romance backfires when the boyfriend's father...

Movie page

Meet Mr. Lucifer

as Sam Hollingsworth / Mr Lucifer
Released: 1953-11-30

A TV set given as a retirement present is sold on to different households causing misery each time.

Movie page

A Day to Remember

as Charley Porter
Released: 1953-11-10

Based on The Hand and the Flower, a novel by Jerrard Tickell, A Day to Remember stars Stanley...

Movie page

The Sandwich Man

as Park Gardener
Released: 1966-07-01

A man with a sandwich-board (advert) wanders around London meeting many strange characters.

Movie page

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

as Vincent Crummles
Released: 1947-03-12

A fatherless boy tries to make his fortune despite interference from his rich uncle.

Movie page

The Way to the Stars

as Mr. Palmer
Released: 1945-06-16

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of...

Movie page

Carnival

as Charlie Raeburn
Released: 1946-12-02

A melodrama about a 19th-century ballet dancer who makes an unfortunate career move by marrying...

Movie page

Champagne Charlie

as The Great Vance
Released: 1944-08-25

A man from the countryside becomes London’s newest music hall sensation, and competes with a...

Movie page

Noose

as Inspector Rendall
Released: 1948-09-28

Set in post Second World War Britain, Noose is the story of black market racketeers who face...

Movie page

Target: Harry

as Jason Carlyle
Released: 1969-05-23

Pilot Harry Black is hired to fly a man named Carlyle to Istanbul, where he's murdered. Now,...

Movie page

No Trees in the Street

as Kipper
Released: 1959-03-03

Based on the play by Ted Willis, the film is set in the years just before World War II, when...

Movie page

The Beggar's Opera

as Mr. Lockit
Released: 1953-08-24

Adaptation of John Gay's 18th century opera, featuring Laurence Olivier as MacHeath and Hugh...

Movie page

Meet Me at Dawn

as Emile Pollet
Released: 1947-02-17

A young man makes his living in Paris in 1900 by fighting duels on behalf of other parties. He...

Movie page

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

as Poole der Butler
Released: 1973-03-07

Musical version of the story in which Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of...

Movie page

Meet Me Tonight

as Henry Gow
Released: 1952-09-09

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

Movie page

Snowbound

as Joe Wesson
Released: 1948-03-23

Good and bad characters are stuck in a ski chalet near buried Nazi gold in the Alps.

Movie page

No Love for Johnnie

as Fred Andrews
Released: 1961-02-14

Johnnie Byrne is a member of the British Parliament. In his 40s, he's feeling frustrated with...

Movie page

Sleeping Car

as Francois
Released: 1933-06-06

A French sleeping-car attending with an eye for the ladies hooks up with a wealthy widow and...

Movie page

Journey into Fear

as Mr. Mathews
Released: 1975-08-08

U.S geologist discovers something about Oil that proves VERY threatening to the Turkish and Arab...

Movie page

Flight of the Doves

as Judge Liffy
Released: 1971-04-02

While fleeing across the Irish countryside, two orphans are pursued by their villainous uncle, a...

Movie page

Run a Crooked Mile

as Caretaker
Released: 1969-11-18

A man witnesses a murder in a secluded mansion. When he reports it, there's no evidence of the...

Movie page

Sing As We Go

as Policeman
Released: 1934-09-13

When the textile mill closes, putting her out of work, Gracie finds herself experiencing all of...

Movie page

Jumping for Joy

as Captain Jack Montague
Released: 1956-01-01

At the racetrack, cleaner, Willy Joy is tricked into buying Lindy Lou, a useless greyhound,...

Movie page

D’Ye Ken John Peel?

as Sam Small
Released: 1935-07-22

Major John Peel returns to England, following Napoleon's Waterloo defeat, and renews his...

Movie page

Cotton Queen

as Sam Owen
Released: 1937-06-01

The daughter of a mill-owner is sent undercover to the mill of a rival, where she gets mixed up...

Movie page

Up the Front

as The Great Vincento
Released: 1972-01-01

In Frankie Howerd's third Up... film it's World War I and he plays Lurk, an absolute cowerd, er...

Movie page

Squibs

as Constable Charley Lee
Released: 1935-06-11

Squibs, a cockney flowerseller with a father overwhelmed by gambling debts wins through with the...

Movie page

Another Shore

as Alastair McNeil
Released: 1948-11-24

A young Irishman comes up with an unusual plan to get the money to emigrate to Tahiti. One of...

Movie page

Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter

as Mr. Brown
Released: 1968-01-22

Herman inherits a greyhound and decides to make his fortune by dog racing. After traveling from...

Movie page

Albert's Savings

as Himself
Released: 1940-08-31

A homily on the duty to save, in the guise of one of the "Albert" rhyming monologues, recited by...

Movie page

Fast and Loose

as Major George Crabb
Released: 1954-02-12

An unmarried couple are forced to adopt a series of pretexts when they stay at a country inn...

Movie page

The Perfect Woman

as Ramshead
Released: 1949-05-23

In need of cash, Roger Cavendish and his valet take a job escorting the perfect woman for a...

Movie page

The Fantasticks

as Bellamy
Released: 1964-10-17

Neighboring widowers plot to romantically unite their son and daughter by pretending to feud and...

Movie page

The Girl from Maxim's

as Dr Mongincourt
Released: 1933-08-22

A Doctor tries to pass off a singer as his wife in Paris in 1904.

Movie page

The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe

as Himself
Released: 1962-02-11

A musical special celebrating the fruitful collaboration of Broadway lyricist/librettist Alan...

Movie page

Salute John Citizen

as uncredited
Released: 1942-09-28

A typical working family have to cope with living through the Blitz, adapting to its privations,...

Movie page

One Night with You

as Tramp
Released: 1948-04-25

Two strangers meet when they both miss their trains, and end up spending a penniless day and...

Movie page

The Mikado (Bell Telephone Hour)

as Pooh-Bah
Released: 1960-04-29

Groucho Marx fulfills his lifelong dream to sing Ko-Ko in The Mikado. Broadcast as part of The...

Movie page

Love at Second Sight

as uncredited
Released: 1934-09-01

It is love at first sight between Juliet and Allan as they catch sight of each other on passing...

Movie page

Play Up the Band

as Sam Small
Released: 1935-11-01

A brass band goes to London to take part in a competition.

Movie page

Lancashire Coast

as uncredited
Released: 1957-08-01

The holiday attractions of the Lancashire coast, including a beauty contest in Morecambe,...

Movie page

The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner

as Himself
Released: 1966-02-21

Hosted by Cyril Ritchard, with performances by Florence Henderson, Barbara Harris, Stanley...

Movie page

The Ballad of the Battered Bicycle

as Narrator
Released: 1947-01-02

Henry demonstrates his two-wheel tomfoolery, but there's no happy ending for this bike.

Movie page

The Third Sam

as Narrator
Released: 1962-01-01

Driver Sam Smith is given the privilege of driving one of the new electric trains. But when a...

Movie page

Co-operette

as uncredited
Released: 1938-01-01

Debroy Somers and his Band, comedian Hal Walters and the delightful dance troupe ‘The Six...

Movie page

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

TV Show page

The Danny Kaye Show

as Self
First aired: 1963-09-25

The Danny Kaye Show is an American variety show hosted by Danny Kaye that aired on CBS from 1963...

TV Show page

Tony Awards

as Self - Performer
First aired: 1956-04-01

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award,...

TV Show page

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Bellomy
First aired: 1951-12-24

Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...

TV Show page