Talfryn Thomas
| Talfryn Thomas | |
|---|---|
|
Thomas as Mr Cheeseman in Dad's Army | |
| Born |
30 October 1922 Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom |
| Died | 4 November 1982 (aged 60) |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Occupation | actor |
John Talfryn Thomas (30 October 1922 – 4 November 1982) was a British character actor, best known for supporting roles on television in the 1970s, including those of Private Cheeseman in Dad's Army (1973-1974) and Tom Price in Survivors (1975).
Biography
John Talfryn Thomas was born in Swansea on 30 October 1922. He trained as an instrument mechanic but joined the local amateur dramatic society. During World War II he was a rear gunner on a Lancaster bomber, flying on multiple raids into Germany. After surviving a crash in which all other crew were killed, he took up acting partly as therapy for the trauma, before training as an actor in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[1]
For some time Thomas acted in provincial theatres. In the late 1950s he began making television appearances,[1] and in the 1960s appeared in two episodes of The Avengers - A Surfeit of H2O (1965) and Look Stop Me (1968) - as well as with Roger Moore in The Saint (1968) and in The Persuaders ! (as "The Poacher" in the episode 'A Home Of One's Own', 1971). He also played with Jon Pertwee in the Doctor Who serials, Spearhead from Space (1970) and The Green Death (1973). Thomas excelled at playing quirky and sometimes seedy Welshmen. His distinctive appearance was enhanced by his protruding front teeth, which earned him the nickname 'Talf The Teef'. He is probably best remembered for his role as Mr. Cheeseman in the television series, Dad's Army (1973-1974).
In 1975 Thomas featured in several episodes of the first series of the BBC TV series, Survivors, as Tom Price. In 1979 he appeared on The Ken Dodd Laughter Show with Rita Webb and Pat Ashton (and he was a regular on Ken Dodd's BBC radio comedy show).
Talfryn's few films included Sky West and Crooked (1965) starring Hayley Mills, and Andrew Sinclair's adaptation of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood (1972), with Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole. Like Burton, Talfryn Thomas had been in the original radio play. He was also seen in Come Play with Me (1977) and the cult film, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980) from Vivian Stanshall.
Thomas died of a heart attack on 4 November 1982, just five days after his 60th birthday.
Selected television roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Citadel | Chenkin's Henchman / Miner | |
| 1964 to 1974 | Z Cars | McCall / Greenough / Jake Morris | |
| 1967 | St. Ives | Clausel | |
| 1968 | The Saint | Owen Thomas | |
| 1971 | The Persuaders ! | The Poacher | |
| 1971 | Edna, the Inebriate Woman | Tramp | |
| 1971 to 1972 | Coronation Street | Dirty Dick | |
| 1970, 1973 | Doctor Who | Mullins, Dave | |
| 1973 | Seven of One | Mr Pugh | |
| 1973 to 1974 | Dad's Army | Private Cheeseman | |
| 1975 | Survivors | Tom Price | |
| 1977 | Treasure Island | Tom Morgan | |
| 1977 | King of the Castle | Vine / Vein | |
| 1979 | The Ken Dodd Laughter Show | Various | |
| 1980 | Worzel Gummidge | Soggy Boggart | |
| 1981 | The Incredible Mr Tanner | Cledwyn | |
| 1982 | Hi-de-Hi! | Gareth Davies | |
Films
- Sky West and Crooked (1966) - Brand
- Under Milk Wood (1972) - Mr. Pugh
- The Battle of Billy's Pond (1976) - Mr. Pugh
- Come Play with Me (1977) - Nosegay
- Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980) - Teddy Tidy
References
- 1 2 "Other Characters". The Dad's Army Appreciation Society. Retrieved 10 October 2012.