Terry-Thomas

Terry-Thomas
Birth Name: Thomas Terry Hoar-Stevens
Born: Jul 14, 1911
Finchley, England
Career: 1936-1980
Countries: Italy
UK
USA
Genre/Type: Comedy
Biography by Hal Erickson
For the first three decades of his life, gap-toothed comic actor Terry-Thomas was far from a household name. The London-born performer worked as a clerk, meat salesman, pianist, bandleader, music hall comedian and movie extra before signing with the Royal Signal Corps upon the outbreak of World War II. His film career took off in earnest in 1949, and by 1955 Terry-Thomas was enjoying star billing in a series of officious, twittish roles. Occasionally a sympathetic leading man in such films as Man in the Cocked Hat (1959), the actor was far more effective in roles calling for easily punctured pomposity. Extremely popular in England, Terry-Thomas was comparatively little known in the U.S. outside of the art-house circuit until he starred in the Frank Tashlin-directed farce Bachelor Flat (1961). Though he'd been afforded opportunities to exhibit his versatility in British films, Terry-Thomas was typecast by Hollywood in such broad, unpleasant roles as the jingoistic J. Algernon Hawthorne in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) and the caddish Percival War-Armitage in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965). On a Tonight Show appearance in the late 1960s, the actor ruefully commented that, while he liked the money he was getting in Hollywood, he wished that his children could see him play a good guy for a change. After 1970, Terry-Thomas accepted whatever parts came his way, with the mediocre outweighing the worthwhile; he was last seen as Dr. Mortimer in a messy parody version of Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles (1978). Retiring to the Caribbean, he was forced to move back to London when his savings were depleted by his ever-encroaching Parkinson's Disease. The world at large was apprised of the actor's illness and reduced financial circumstance when he was featured on a network-TV documentary about degenerative illnesses. He spent his last painful years living off the charitable contributions of his friends and admirers. Terry-Thomas was the author of two autobiographical books: 1959's Closing the Gap and the posthumously published Terry-Thomas Tells Tales; his mid-1960s comedy record album Terry-Thomas Discovers America is today a much-sought-after collector's item.
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Filmography

Movie/Film Released Rating Role Buy
Happy Birthday, Harry 1980 Actor [Starring]
The Hound of the Baskervilles 1978 Actor [Starring]
The Last Remake of Beau Geste 1977 Actor [Starring]
Side by Side 1976 Actor [Starring]
The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones 1976 Actor [Starring]
The Mysterious House of Dr. C. 1976 Voice [Starring]
La Mosca Hispanica 1975 Actor [Starring]
I Love a Mystery 1973 Actor [Starring]
Robin Hood 1973 Voice [Starring]
The Vault of Horror 1973 Actor [Starring]
Dr. Phibes Rises Again 1972 Actor [Starring]
Gli Eroi 1972 Actor [Starring]
The Abominable Dr. Phibes 1971 Actor [Starring]
12 Plus 1 1970 Actor [Starring]
Arthur!! Arthur? 1970 Actor [Starring]
Le Mur De L'Atlantique 1970 Actor [Starring]
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Videos of Terry-Thomas

Back to the topTop Questions about Terry-Thomas

Terry Thomas was a NBA player. At 6'8" and 220 lbs, he played as a forward. He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1953.
Terence James Thomas, Baron Thomas of Macclesfield CBE (born 19 October, 1937) is a Labour and Co-operative member of the House of Lords, and a retired banker. Thomas joined the Co-operative Bank in 1973 as marketing manager. He served as c...
Personally I liked him in 'those magnificent men in their flying machines' alongside Tony Curtis. I always regard him as the 'model' for the cartoon character Dick dastardly, he was also well known for advertising Benson and Hedges cigarett...

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Awards

Year Movie/Film Role
1963 Hollywood Foreign Press Association The Mouse on the Moon Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Nom)
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