John Bluthal (born 1929) is a film and television actor, mostly in comedy.
Bluthal was born in Galicia, Poland of Jewish descent. He emigrated to Australia with his family in 1938 at the age of nine. He studied drama at the University of Melbourne, and visited England, during which time he appeared in pantomime. He worked in repertory theatre in Melbourne and was also involved in broadcasting and schools broadcasting. He appeared in drama on ABC radio, and variety, including the Shell Hour and Gaslight Music Hall, which he devised, produced and starred in.
In 1960 he came to England again and appeared in Citizen James for BBC television and also in the long-running UK TV series Never Mind The Quality Feel The Width where he played Manny Cohen, a Jewish tailor in business with an Irishman in London. Also in the early 1960s, he provided the voice for Commander Zero in the television puppet series Fireball XL5. He appeared in the role of Fagin in the musical Oliver! at New Theatre, London. He has made dozens of film and TV shows since he came to England in 1959.
He worked with Spike Milligan on Q and its radio counterpart The Milligna Show, having previously worked with Milligan in the radio comedy series The Idiot Weekly and The Omar Khayyam Show. Bluthal is a man of many voices, like Milligan's former radio colleague Peter Sellers, and he was used somewhat like Sellers in Milligan's later work.
Some of his other television appearances include: 'Allo 'Allo!, Hancock, Minder, The Avengers, Rumpole of the Bailey, Jonathan Creek, Lovejoy, Bergerac, and Inspector Morse, as well as appearing as "Major Cheeseburger", in The Goodies' episode "Clown Virus". He also appeared on the Australian comedy/satire series The Mavis Bramston Show, as well as appearing as "Enzo Pacelli" in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation comedy television series Home Sweet Home.
His films appearances include: three Carry On films, two of the Doctor films, and also The Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night and Help!, as well as appearing in two of the Pink Panther films. He portrayed an Egyptologist in the year 1914 for the first part of the film The Fifth Element.
His latest appearances have been in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley as Frank Pickle (1994 – 2007) and the 2004 film Love's Brother.
