Brian Glover

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011)
Brian Glover
Born 2 April 1934(1934-04-02)
Sheffield, England
Died 24 July 1997(1997-07-24) (aged 63)
London, England
Occupation Actor

Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English character actor, writer and wrestler. Glover was a professional wrestler, teacher, and finally a film, television and stage actor. He once said, "You play to your strengths in this game. My strength is as a bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshireman".

Contents

[edit] Early life

Glover was born in Sheffield, but grew up in Barnsley. His father was a wrestler, performing as the "Red Devil". He attended Barnsley Grammar School and the University of Sheffield,[1] where he supplemented his student grant with appearances as a professional wrestler, going under the ring name "Leon Aris the Man From Paris". In 1954 he married and became a teacher at the same Barnsley school where he had been a pupil. Glover worked as a school teacher (teaching English and French) from 1954 until 1970, managing to combine this with regular performances as "Leon Aris", whose appearances included bouts in Paris, Milan, Zurich, and Barcelona.[1]

[edit] Career

The movie Alien 3 makes use of Glover's characteristic "bald-headed, rough-looking" style for the role of "Superintendent Andrews"

Glover's first acting job and probably his most memorable came playing Mr Sugden, the comically overbearing sports teacher in Ken Loach's film Kes (a job offered him when Barry Hines, a fellow teacher who wrote the film, suggested him to the director). Although untrained, Glover proved to be a skilled and flexible character actor, using techniques learnt during his wrestling career.[1] While his trademark bald head, stocky build, and gruff Yorkshire accent garnered him many roles as tough guys and criminals, he also played Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, had a recurring role in the classic sitcom Porridge, played Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop, and lent his voice to a number of animated characters, including the "gaffer" of the "Tetley Tea Folk" in a long-running series of television advertisements for Tetley tea and as the voice behind the slogan, 'Bread with nowt taken out' for Allinsons bakery. He also appeared in An American Werewolf in London, The First Great Train Robbery, Jabberwocky, Alien 3, Leon the Pig Farmer and as General Douglas in a Bollywood hit 1942: A Love Story.

Glover's performance in Kes led to parts at the Royal Court Theatre, London, notably in Lindsay Anderson's The Changing Room (1971). A season with Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company followed, where appropriately enough his roles included Charles the wrestler in As You Like It, and a robust Peter in Romeo and Juliet. For the Royal National Theatre he appeared in The Mysteries (as God, creating the world with the help of a real fork-lift truck),[2] Saint Joan and Don Quixote.

His performance in The Mysteries secured additional work in the commercial theatre. The Canterbury Tales (West End) was followed by a return to television and the Play for Today series, both as writer and performer and, in turn, more screen roles.[1] Glover went on to play "Lugg", the endearing rogue manservant to Albert Campion in the series Campion and the role of a crook, "Griffiths", in the Doctor Who story Attack of the Cybermen in 1985. He played Edouard Dindon in the original London cast of La Cage aux Folles.[3] In 1991 he starred in the second episode of Bottom – "Gas" – as "Mr Rottweiler". His last film was John Godber's rugby league comedy Up 'n' Under (1998).

Glover also wrote over 20 plays and short films. In 1982 he was a guest presenter in series six of Friday Night Saturday Morning, a late-night BBC chat show.

Gravestone

[edit] Personal life

Glover was married twice, secondly to television producer Tara Prem, the daughter of TV actor Bakhshi Prem. He had two children, one son and one daughter. Glover developed a brain tumour and died in a London hospital on 24 July 1997. He is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.

[edit] Film and television credits

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Dewhurst, Keith (2004). "Brian Glover (1934–1997)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 
  2. ^ Normington, Katie (October 2007). Modern mysteries: contemporary productions of medieval English cycle dramas. Melton, Suffolk, England: Boydell and Brewer. p. 86. ISBN 9781843841289. 
  3. ^ Broadwayworld Listing

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brian_Glover&oldid=480407279"
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages