Clive Dunn
Clive Dunn OBE (born January 9, 1920) is a retired British actor, singer and entertainer best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jones in the BBC sitcom, Dad's Army.
Born in London, a cousin of actress Gretchen Franklin, Dunn played small film roles from the 1930s onwards. After a break for service in World War II, in the course of which he spent four years in a prisoner-of-war camp, it was not until the 1960s that he finally broke into television comedy, making his name by appearing with Tony Hancock, Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan and Dick Emery, among others, before winning the role of Jones in Dad's Army in 1968.
Dunn was actually one of the younger members of the cast, at 48, when he took on the role of the elderly butcher whose military service in earlier wars made him the most experienced member of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard, as well as the most decrepit.
Dunn often fell out with Arthur Lowe, who was a committed Conservative and played Captain George Mainwaring, due to his strong socialist beliefs.
In fact, when the series ended and Dunn finally accepted an OBE, after many offers, it was reported that Lowe would only accept a higher-rated honour from the Queen. (ref Dad's Army, The Story of a Classic Television Show by Graham McCann ISBN 1841153095).
After Dad's Army ended, he capitalised on the role by playing a similar character, "Grandad", in the eponymous children's TV series 1979-1984, and even had a number one hit with the song, Grandad, accompanied by a children's choir. After the cancellation of "Grandad" in 1984 he effectively disappeared from the screen, retiring to Portugal [1].
A 2006 article described Dunn having eye trouble and sometimes unable to see, but otherwise he appears to be in good health [2].
He is, along with Ian Lavender & Colin Bean, who played back-row Private Sponge, one of the few surviving Home Guard members from Dad's Army.
External links
- Clive Dunn at the Internet Movie Database
- "Don't panic, Arthur!". iccoventry. January 26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help)