George Edward Cole OBE (born April 22, 1925 in Tooting, London, England) is an English actor.
In an interview included in the 2007 DVD release of A Christmas Carol he recounts that he was given up for adoption at the age of ten days, and adopted by Mr. and Mrs. George Cole. He grew up with a strong cockney accent that hindered his early performing career.
He began appearing in films in the early 1940s, debuting in the 1941 film Cottage to Let. He attributes his career to the great British stage and film actor Alastair Sim, who became his mentor. Cole appeared in a total of 11 films with Sim, starting with Cottage to Let, and ending with the somewhat obscure 1961 independent film The Anatomist. He also acted opposite Sir Laurence Olivier in The Demi-Paradise (1943) and Olivier's film version of Henry V (1944), but his career was interrupted by his service in the Royal Air Force from 1944 to 1947.
He became familiar to audiences in British comedy films in the 1950s. Cole appeared with Sim in Scrooge (as the young Scrooge) in 1951, but his best known film role was as "Flash Harry" in the St Trinian's films (two of which also star Sim).
Cole later became a respected television actor. During the 1960s and 1970s, he played numerous character parts on British television, usually as a disturbed and/or pathetic villain or victim. The TV series he appeared in included Gideon's Way ('The Firebug', 1965), Out of the Unknown ('The Last Lonely Man', 1969) and Menace ('Killing Time', 1970).
His most memorable TV role was as crooked used car dealer Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder (1979-94). The character became synonymous with the down-at-heel side of 80s capitalism (along with Del Trotter of Only Fools and Horses). Cole played a similar character in late 1980s / early 1990s TV advertisements for the Leeds Permanent Building Society who was "Laughing all the way to The Leeds".
In 1995/6 he starred as businessman - councillor Freddie Patterson in An Independent Man. He also starred as Brian Hook in the BBC Comedy Dad in the late 1990s alongside Kevin McNally, who played his son, Alan Hook.
He played Henry Root in the TV series Root Into Europe.
He is able to hide his London accent when playing upper-class characters, such as Sir Giles Lynchwood in the TV adaptation of Tom Sharpe's novel Blott on the Landscape. Recently he was announced to play the leading role in Kevin Tate's The Story of Carl Veart, a new 6 part ITV Series. Cole recently appeared in the BBC drama A Class Apart, in which he played a grandfather who encourages his impoverished daughter keep her son on the straight and narrow by means of a public school bursary (part of the Winter/Spring 2007 season), and The Dinner Party, broadcast in September 2007.
He was married first to Eileen Moore, an actress and subsequently to Penny Morrell, in 1964, with whom he has two children.
Partial filmography
Cottage to Let (1941)
The Demi-Paradise (1943)
Henry V (1944)
Quartet (1948)
Gone to Earth (1950)
Laughter in Paradise (1951)
Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
Scrooge (1951)
Our Girl Friday (1953)
The Belles of St Trinian's (1954)
A Prize of Gold (1955)
The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955)
The Green Man (1956)
Blue Murder at St Trinian's (1957)
Too Many Crooks (1959)
The Bridal Path (1959)
The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960)
Cleopatra (1963)
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery (1966)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
Fright (1971)
Take Me High (1973)
Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
The Blue Bird (1976)
Deadline Auto Theft (1983)
Minder on the Orient Express (1985) (TV)
The End of Innocence (1990)
Mary Reilly (1996)
External links
George Cole at the Internet Movie Database
www.britmovie.co.uk - George Cole
Various 'Dad' links on valdefierro.com
Article about 'Dad' on 'Life in Cartoons'
George Cole reads Charles Dickens
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Cole"
Categories: 1925 births | Living people | English television actors | English film actors | People from Tooting
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