British Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s.
by alexanderdavies-99382 | created - 18 Feb 2022 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicBritish comedy was at its peak during the 50s and 60s. Various comedians and writers would produce some of the best comedy of all time. My list also includes the various supporting actors that were on hand.
1. Peter Sellers
Actor | Being There
Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, Peter Sellers was born Richard Henry Sellers to a well-off acting family in 1925 in Southsea, a suburb of Portsmouth. He was the son of Agnes Doreen "Peg" (Marks) and William "Bill" Sellers. His parents worked in an acting company run by his ...
2. Tony Hancock
Actor | The Rebel
Tony Hancock was born in Birmingham, England, the son of John and Lillian Hancock. He was educated at Durlston Court, Swanage, and Bradfield College, Reading. He served in the R.A.F. (ground crew) during the war. In 1942 he was in the R.A.F. Gang Show. He was de-mobbed in 1946. He appeared at the ...
3. Spike Milligan
Actor | The Bed Sitting Room
Spike was born an 'Army Brat', the son of an Irish Captain in the British Raj in India. Educated in a series of Roman Catholic schools in India and at Lewisham Polytechnic in England, he spent his formative years playing the fool and playing the trumpet in local jazz bands.
He joined the British ...
4. Harry Secombe
Actor | Oliver!
Harry Secombe was one of Britain's best loved comic entertainers. Born in Swansea, South Wales he began singing as a child in local church choirs. His first job was as a clerk although he had considered a career in opera. During World War Two he served in the Army in North Africa and Italy. He met ...
5. Alastair Sim
Actor | Scrooge
The son of Alexander Sim JP and Isabella McIntyre, Alastair Sim was educated in Edinburgh. Always interested in language (especially the spoken word) he became the Fulton Lecturer in Elocution at New College, Edinburgh University from 1925 until 1930. He was invited back and became the Rector of ...
6. Terry-Thomas
Actor | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
One of Britain's most beloved eccentric comedians, the irrepressible, gap-toothed Terry-Thomas was born Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens in Lichfield Grove, Finchley. He was the son of Ellen Elizabeth (Hoar) and Ernest Frederick Stevens, a fairly well-to-do London businessman. He was afforded a private ...
7. Eric Sykes
Actor | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
'Eric Sykes' started as a radio scriptwriter but he soon found he could perform as well as write. The slight handicap of being very hard of hearing doesn't interfere with his wonderful comic timing. The spectacles he wears have no lenses but contain a bone conducting hearing aid.
8. Kenneth Williams
Actor | Carry on Cleo
The acting bug bit Kenneth Williams when, as a student, his English teacher suggested he try out for a school play. He found that he enjoyed it tremendously, but when he raised the possibility at home of becoming an actor, his father forbade it. Williams was eventually sent to art school in London ...
9. Dudley Moore
Actor | Arthur
Dudley Moore, the gifted comedian who had at least three distinct career phases that brought him great acclaim and success, actually started out as a musical prodigy as a child. Moore -- born in Dagenham, Essex, England to working class parents in 1935 -- won a music scholarship to Magdalen College...
10. Jimmy Edwards
Actor | The Bed Sitting Room
Educated at St John's College, Cambridge as a choral scholar and got a B.A, In 1939 joined the R.A.F. where he served until 1947 when he was demobbed as a flight lieutenant. He started work at London's Windmill Theatre during his demob leave. Following that he started in the radio series 'Take It ...
11. Tommy Cooper
Actor | The Cool Mikado
After leaving the army Tommy Cooper took up show business in 1947 and so started his long career of comedy derived around visual humour, magic tricks that didn't work and his trademark red fez, a prop that started from his days in the army. The BBC described him as an "Unattractive young man with ...
12. Bob Monkhouse
Writer | Dentist in the Chair
One of British TV's most popular performers with a career that spanned over four decades, funny-man Bob Monkhouse started off as a radio broadcaster (1947) and stand-up comic. He earned success early on as a gag writer, partnering with Denis Goodwin.
In 1953, the duo won their own TV show called ...
13. Ronnie Barker
Actor | The Two Ronnies
Ronnie Barker's remarkable versatility as a performer can be traced back to his time in repertory theatre, where he was able to play a wide range of roles and develop his talent for accents, voices and verbal dexterity. It was during this time that he met Glenn Melvyn, who taught him how to stammer ...
14. Peter Cook
Actor | The Princess Bride
One of four stars of the London and New York revues Beyond the Fringe and Beyond the Fringe (with Jonathan Miller, Alan Bennett, and Dudley Moore). Later created scatological comedy routine "Derek & Clive" with Moore.
15. Sidney James
Actor | Carry on Cleo
The star of the Carry On series of films, Sid James originally came to prominence as sidekick to the ground breaking British comedy actor Tony Hancock, on both radio and then television. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and named Solomon Joel Cohen, James arrived in England in 1946, second wife ...
16. Kenneth Connor
Actor | Carry on England
The son of a naval officer who ran what were called "concert parties", Kenneth Connor made his stage debut at age two, and by 11 was performing in both a solo act and a doubles act with his brother in various revue shows. He later decided to become a serious actor rather than just a revue performer...
17. Richard Wattis
Actor | Hobson's Choice
A balding, bespectacled, bird-like British comic actor, Richard Wattis was an invaluable asset to any UK comedy film or TV programme for nearly thirty years. Much associated with the Eric Sykes TV series for the latter part of his career. He was often seen in officious roles, such as snooty shop ...
18. Eric Barker
Actor | Brothers in Law
One of the most familiar faces in British comedy, Eric Barker got his start in show business during World War II, when he was part of the armed forces radio show "Merry Go Round". After the war the show continued, though renamed "The Waterlogged Spa", with Barker and his wife, Pearl Hackney. The ...
19. Leslie Phillips
Actor | Venus
A much-loved comic actor who has specialized in playing plummy, quintessentially English stereotypes, Leslie Phillips' heart was in acting from a very young age. He received elocution lessons as a child in order to lose his natural cockney accent (at that time a regional British accent was a major ...
20. Lionel Jeffries
Actor | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
With his bald head, firm jawline and bristling moustache, Lionel Jeffries played a nice line of English eccentrics. This belied his RADA training. Following military service in WWII, he played his major roles - everything from Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) to the Marquis of ...
21. Irene Handl
Actress | The Italian Job
English character actress best known for her many portrayals of feisty cockney types, ranging from barmaids to landladies, charwomen to cooks. Unlike her working class screen personae, Irene's parentage was quite cosmopolitan, her father (Frederick) a Viennese banker, her mother (Maria) a French ...
22. Liz Fraser
Actress | I'm All Right Jack
Best known for playing the perpetually-ditzy blonde bimbo in several installments of the "Carry On" franchise, buxom Liz Fraser (born Elizabeth Joan Winch above a corner shop in south London) studied at RADA on a scholarship and first acted in repertory theatre and television before breaking into ...
23. Hattie Jacques
Actress | Carry on Again Doctor
Best known for playing Matron--as in "Ooh, Matron!"--in four films: Carry on Nurse (1959), Carry on Doctor (1967), Carry on Again Doctor (1969) and, of course Carry on Matron (1972). Key roles included: Grace Short in Carry on Teacher (1959), Sophie Bliss in Carry on Loving (1970) and Peggy Hawkins...
24. Bernard Cribbins
Actor | Frenzy
An actor since the age of 14, Bernard Cribbins had become a major star on the London stage by his mid-20s, but it was another ten years before he became a national star by his success in film comedies and with a string of hit records. He appeared in several of the "Carry On" series, and also ...
25. Benny Hill
Soundtrack | The Benny Hill Show
He was born Alfred Hawthorn Hill. It was his grandfather who introduced him to Burlesque Shows and the theatre from where the young Benny Hill was to draw much of his comic inspiration. After his national service with the army during WW2, Benny came to London, adopted the stage name Benny Hill (in ...
26. Joan Sims
Actress | Carry on Up the Khyber
Joan Sims, the "First Lady of Carry On", was born Irene Joan Marion Sims on 9 May 1930. The daughter of an Essex railway station master, Joan was interested in pursuing show-business, and soon became a familiar face in a growing number of amateur productions. In 1946, Joan first applied to RADA, ...
27. Norman Wisdom
Actor | A Stitch in Time
Sir Norman Wisdom has become the great British clown in the mold of Sir Charles Chaplin with his little man in the ill fitting suit and cloth cap. His character is an everyman, much put upon but struggling through to a (usually) happy ending. He was brought up in an orphanage after his mother died ...
28. George Cole
Actor | Quentin Durward
George Cole OBE was a veteran British film, television and stage actor whose impressive career spanned over 60 years. For many, he will perhaps be best remembered for playing one of the most endearing characters of recent times on British television, "Arthur Daley", the shifty but very likable "...
29. Bill Fraser
Actor | The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾
Although he'd appeared in a number of films he didn't become publicly known until he played the part of Snudge in The Army Game tv series and then the series of Bootsie and Snudge, playing Snudge for about 6 years then going on to do the series of Barney is My Darling with Irene Handl, While being ...
30. Dora Bryan
Actress | A Taste of Honey
Dora Bryan was born on February 7, 1923 in Parbold, Lancashire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for A Taste of Honey (1961), The Fallen Idol (1948) and Last of the Summer Wine (1973). She was married to Bill Lawton. She died on July 23, 2014 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK.
31. James Robertson Justice
Actor | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
James Robertson Justice was always a noticeable presence in a film with his large stature, bushy beard and booming voice. A Ph.D., a journalist, a naturalist, an expert falconer, a racing car driver, JRJ was certainly a man of many talents.
He entered the film industry quite late in life (37) after ...
32. Jim Dale
Actor | Pete's Dragon
Jim Dale began his career as a stand-up comic. He sharpened his comedy skills during a stint in the army, where he organized and performed in camp shows. After his discharge he pursued a comedy career, and landed a job as the warm-up comic on a musical variety show. He did so well that the ...
33. Dick Emery
Actor | Yellow Submarine
In the 1960s and 1970s, Dick Emery was one of the most successful comics on the box. He was voted BBC TV Personality of the Year, thanks to creations such as his toothy vicar, sex-starved spinster Hettie, crusty old Lampwick, outrageously camp Clarence, who coined the phrase: "Hallo honky tonks". ...
34. Frankie Howerd
Actor | Up Pompeii
Francis Alick Howerd, who grew up to become popular British comedian Frankie Howerd, was born in 1917 and first stepped onstage at age 4. As a teen he taught Sunday school; not long after his Army-man father died in 1934, 17-year-old Frankie was invited to audition for RADA. After a poor audition, ...
35. Colin Gordon
Actor | The Pink Panther
Ceylon-born Colin Gordon began acting on the West End stage as the hind legs of a horse in 'Toad of Toad Hall' in 1934. After wartime service, he returned to the stage, appearing in such plays as 'The White Carnation' and 'The Little Hut' (both 1953), 'Misery Me!' (1955) and 'The Touch of Fear' (...
36. Terence Alexander
Actor | Waterloo
To say that Terence Alexander, the distinguished British thespian, was hyperactive is a statement that borders on the understatement! Judge for yourself : born in 1923, following a short period when he considered becoming a priest, Alexander exercised the acting profession for six full decades and ...
37. Victor Maddern
Actor | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Victor Maddern was born on March 16, 1928 in Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Four Desperate Men (1959) and Exodus (1960). He was married to Joan Neuville. He died on June 22, 1993 in London, England, UK.
38. Kenneth Griffith
Actor | Four Weddings and a Funeral
Kenneth went to a grammar school in South Wales where the English literary teacher had the class read out parts in plays, which was the one thing he enjoyed; as a result, he was put in a play about Richard II. A local critic wrote, 'If this boy chooses to make the stage a career he should do well,'...
39. William Hartnell
Actor | Murder in Reverse?
William Hartnell was born on 8 January 1908, just south of St. Pancras railway station in London. In press materials in the 1940s he claimed that his father was a farmer and later a stockbroker; it turns out that he had actually been born out of wedlock, as his biography "Who's There?" states.
At ...
40. Jon Pertwee
Actor | Doctor Who
Jon Pertwee is best known for his portrayal of the Third Doctor on the BBC's science-fiction television series Doctor Who (1963) from 1970 to 1974. He was also the first to play the role following the transition of BBC One from black and white to colour. His 60-year entertainment career included ...
41. Peter Butterworth
Actor | Carry on Screaming!
Peter Butterworth's promising career in the British Navy Fleet Air Arm ended when the plane which he was flying was shot down by the Germans in WW II and he was placed in a POW camp. There he became close friends with Talbot Rothwell (later a writer on the "Carry On" series, on which Butterworth ...
42. Barbara Windsor
Actress | EastEnders
Legendary EastEnders actress and Carry On star Barbara Windsor was born Barbara Ann Deeks in Stepney, London, the daughter of Rose (Ellis), a dressmaker, and John Deeks, a costermonger. She was a bright pupil at school and her parents wanted her to go to university, but after her first taste of ...
43. Shirley Eaton
Actress | Goldfinger
Long before Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty and company showed up in 1980s TV households, Hollywood had, in effect, its own original "Golden Girl"...literally...in the form of stunning British actress Shirley Eaton. Although she found definitive cult stardom in 1964 with her final golden moment in a ...
44. Esma Cannon
Actress | Jassy
Legendary Australian character actress of the British screen, Miss Cannon was without doubt one of the best scene stealing actresses.
Her pixie like looks and extraordinary facial expressions made her a true favourite of many a British movie.
Without her appearances in many a 'Carry On..' film in the...
45. Frank Thornton
Actor | Are You Being Served?
He was the third child of William Ernest Ball, a bank manager and Rosina whose other children were Marjorie, who died in 1980 and John, Thornton was his mother's maiden name and his middle name, He played the cello in his school's orchestra and was a corporal in the Officer's Training Corps which ...
46. Harry H. Corbett
Actor | Carry on Screaming!
Harry H Corbett (he added the "H" to avoid being confused with Sooty's friend) was born in Burma in 1925. His father was an officer in the army. His mother died when he was very young and he moved to England as a child and was brought up in Manchester by an aunt.
After his war service, he joined a ...
47. Wilfrid Brambell
Actor | A Hard Day's Night
Wilfrid Brambell was born on 22 March 1912, in Dublin, Ireland. His first acting experience was when he was aged just two, entertaining wounded soldiers returning from action during the First World War. On leaving school he worked part-time as a reporter for The Irish Times and part-time as an ...
48. David Lodge
Actor | The Return of the Pink Panther
David was the son of a naval seaman at Gillingham and worked to help keep his family during the depression of the 30';s from working as a milkman to being a butchers boy. He found his acting talent in RAF concerts and later in music halls and pantomimes then a film casting agent who'd seen him as a...
49. Graham Stark
Actor | The Return of the Pink Panther
Graham Stark was born on January 20, 1922 in Wallasey, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), A Shot in the Dark (1964) and Superman III (1983). He was married to Audrey Nicholson. He died on October 29, 2013 in London, England, UK.
50. Dennis Price
Actor | Kind Hearts and Coronets
This urbane, sourly handsome British actor was born to privilege and most of his roles would follow suit. Born Dennistoun John Franklyn Rose-Price in Berkshire in 1915, Dennis Price, the son of a brigadier-general, was expected to abide by his family wishes and make a career for himself in the army...
51. Joyce Grenfell
Actress | Stage Fright
Toothy, oval-faced Britisher Joyce Grenfell with her stark, equine features charmed and humored audiences both here and abroad on radio, stage, film and TV for nearly four decades. Lovingly remembered as a delightfully witty revue artist, monologist and raconteur, she inherited her bold talents ...
52. Charles Hawtrey
Actor | Don't Lose Your Head
Coming from a theatrical family (although not related to the famous Edwardian actor Sir Charles Hawtrey, he did "borrow" his last name), Charles Hawtrey made his stage debut at age 11 after having spent several years in a prestigious acting school. A string of stage roles followed, and by 1929 his ...
53. Gerald Campion
Actor | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Gerald Campion was born on April 23, 1921 in Bloomsbury, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Department S (1969) and Carry on Sergeant (1958). He was married to Suzie Mark and Jean Symond. He died on July 9, 2002 in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France.
54. Bill Kerr
Actor | Gallipoli
In the 1950s, Bill Kerr was one of Tony Hancock's regular sidekicks in the popular radio series 'Hancock's Half Hour'. In the first series he was smarter than Tony, but as the series progressed he became more and more stupid and childlike, regularly calling Tony 'Tubb'. Despite remaining on the ...
55. Moira Lister
Actress | Grand National Night
Moira Lister was born in South Africa and made her stage debut at age 6 with the University Players of Johannesburg in "The Vikings of Helgeland." She appeared on the London stage at age 14 and started working in films in 1943. She was always popular, and she was usually cast as 'posh' ladies.
56. Jerry Desmonde
Actor | Gonks Go Beat
Jerry Desmond, whose real name was James Robert Sadler, was born 20th July 1908 and made his stage debut at age 11 in the Sadler Elsie Four at the Palace Cinema, Armadale in November 1919 staying with them until 1928 when he joined the chorus of a music comedy show which toured America. Returning ...
57. Edward Chapman
Actor | Juno and the Paycock
Edward Chapman was born on October 13, 1901 in Harrogate, Yorkshire [now North Yorkshire], England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Juno and the Paycock (1929), Murder! (1930) and A Stitch in Time (1963). He was married to Prudence Nesbitt and Constance Willis Spark. He died on August 9, ...
58. Patrick Cargill
Actor | Help!
Best known for his appearances on British television in the comedy series Father, Dear Father (1968), Patrick Cargill was also a distinguished stage actor and a brilliant farceur. His immaculate timing was known throughout the profession to the point that when directors were casting a certain type ...
59. Hugh Lloyd
Actor | You Rang, M'Lord?
Hugh Lloyd was born on April 22, 1923 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for You Rang, M'Lord? (1988), Doctor Who (1963) and Alice in Wonderland (1999). He was married to Shän Davies, Carole Wilkinson, Anne Rodgers and José Stewart. He died on July 14, 2008 in ...
60. Terry Scott
Actor | Carry on Up the Khyber
A brilliant comic actor Terry Scott was one of the most familiar faces on British television in the 1960s and 70s. At the height of his popularity his classic comedy series, Terry and June, (in which he co-starred with June Whitfield) was watched by 15 million viewers weekly.
Born Owen John Scott in...
61. Ken Dodd
Actor | Hamlet
Ken Dodd was born on November 8, 1927 in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Hamlet (1996), Cruella (2021) and The Ken Dodd Laughter Show (1979). He was married to Anne Dodd. He died on March 11, 2018 in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK.
62. Michael Bentine
Writer | The Sandwich Man
When he appeared at the London Palladium in 1948 sporting an untidy black beard he brought the house down with a 5 minute act using an antique chair back which became a ships rudder , a harp, a flag, a comb and a cows udder, He was booked for the Royal Variety show and looked set for stardom but 5 ...
63. June Whitfield
Actress | Absolutely Fabulous
June Whitfield had a long and successful career that has included musical theatre, films and numerous radio and television performances. Her mother was into amateur dramatics and June had elocution and dancing lessons from an early age. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in ...
64. John Cleese
Actor | A Fish Called Wanda
John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939, in Weston-Super-Mare, England, to Muriel Evelyn (Cross) and Reginald Francis Cleese. He was born into a family of modest means, his father being an insurance salesman; but he was nonetheless sent off to private schools to obtain a good education. Here he ...
65. Ronnie Corbett
Actor | Casino Royale
Ronnie Corbett began his successful show business career in the early 1950s. Amongst many other things he performed on stage with Danny La Rue in a cacophony of well received variety and cabaret shows.
It was whilst performing in these shows that Corbett attracted the attention of several top TV ...
66. Ian Carmichael
Actor | I'm All Right Jack
Unassuming, innocent-eyed and undeniably ingratiating, Brit comedy actor Ian Carmichael was quite the popular chap in late 50s and early 60s film. He was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England on June 18, 1920, the son of Arthur Denholm Carmichael, an optician, and his wife Kate (Gillett). After ...
67. Arthur Haynes
Actor | Doctor in Clover
Arthur Haynes was born on May 19, 1914 in Fulham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Carnaby, M.D. (1966), Strange Bedfellows (1965) and The Arthur Haynes Show (1956). He was married to Queenie W. Banks. He died on November 19, 1966 in Ealing, London, England, UK.
68. Bernard Bresslaw
Actor | Krull
A RADA scholar who was spotted by Laurence Olivier, Bernard Bresslaw got professional security from the "Carry On" films but was typecast (as TV's The Army Game (1957) had done earlier). He was beginning to extend himself through stage work when, in 1993, just before a performance in "The Taming Of...
69. Patricia Hayes
Actress | Willow
She became an actress because her mother had been stage struck so attended RADA and won a gold medal but despite that she was out of work for a year. An early success was as Ruby in Getting Married at St Martins Theatre in 1938, Probably best remembered for her role as Edna the Inebriated Woman for...
70. John Le Mesurier
Actor | The Italian Job
The son of a solicitor, British character actor John Le Mesurier attended public school in Dorset, England, before embarking on a career in law. However, acting was his true calling, and at age 20, with his parents' approval, he began his acting career by studying drama at the Fay Compton School of...
71. Ted Ray
Actor | Meet Me Tonight
Ted Ray was very popular as a radio star in such 1950s shows as Ray's A Laugh. Before WWII, he was well known on stage as a variety artiste and was quite an accomplished violinist - an effective part of his act. Perhaps his personality and style were less suitable for television and he did not ...
72. Michael Palin
Writer | Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Michael Palin is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He was one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python.
After the Monty Python television series ended in 1974, the Palin/Jones team worked on Ripping Yarns, an intermittent television comedy series broadcast over ...
73. Arthur Lowe
Actor | Dad's Army
Lowe, rotund and professionally indefatigable, rightly gained acclaim as an accomplished comedy character actor; fondly remembered as the irascible "Captain Mainwaring" in the Home Guard comedy series Dad's Army (1968-1977), and as Coronation Street (1960)'s "Leonard Swindley". The only child of a ...
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