Leslie Phillips

Phillips made his stage debut at the age of 10 in Peter Pan alongside Anna Neagle at the London Palladium.[7][8]

Phillips made his first film appearances as a child in the 1930s. He is the last surviving actor who performed at Pinewood Studios in its first week of opening in 1936. He also worked for Binkie Beaumont and H. M. Tennent in several plays in the West End. During the Second World War shows were frequently interrupted by air-raid sirens and Phillips recalls in his autobiography that "audiences would evaporate and head for cellars or Underground stations".

Called up to the British Army in 1942, Phillips rose to the rank of lance-bombardier in the Royal Artillery. Due to his acquired upper class accent, Phillips was selected for officer training at Catterick and duly commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1943.[6] In his autobiography, he would recall that his anti-aircraft battery destroyed numerous German V1 flying bombs launched against the UK during the period. He was transferred to the Durham Light Infantry in 1944 but was later declared unfit for service just before D-Day after being diagnosed with a neurological condition that caused partial paralysis.[6] He was initially sent to a psychiatric hospital in error but was then sent to the correct facility for treatment.

Demobbed as a lieutenant in December 1944, Phillips' acting career initially took in "the murkiest rat-infested old playhouses and music halls in the north of England". It was during the 1950s that he became known for playing amusing English stereotypes. His first lead role in a television serial was in the sitcom My Wife Jacqueline (1952).[9] His seductive voice is his trademark as well as his catchphrases, "I say, Ding Dong" (originally the catchphrase of Phillips's character Jack Bell in Carry On Nurse), and "He-llo" with a suggestive intonation, which were partly, if not wholly, based on those of fellow actor Terry-Thomas who was also known for playing cads.

His big break in the films was in the Gene Kelly musical Les Girls (1957).[6] Although the film was a critical success, he decided against a move to Hollywood, in part as he considered himself primarily a theatre actor and didn't want to become "the poor man’s David Niven".[3][8] Soon after he appeared in three of the early Carry On films; Carry On Nurse, Carry On Teacher (both 1959) and Carry On Constable (1960), which cemented his reputation for playing upper class fools and lecherous smoothies.[6] After Constable, he told producer Peter Rogers that he did not wish to do any more Carry Ons, though he did return much later for Carry On Columbus (1992). In the 1960s, he took over from Dirk Bogarde in several of the Doctor film comedies.

In 1959 he played in Italy the role of an English journalist on a business trip to the Kingdom of Naples in the comedy film Ferdinando I °, Re di Napoli (Ferdinand the 1st, King of Naples) starring the brothers Eduardo, Peppino and Titina De Filippo, leading Neapolitan figures of Italian theatre. The cast also featured other prominent Italian comedy actors such as Aldo Fabrizi, Vittorio De Sica, Renato Rascel as well as a young Marcello Mastroianni.

Between 1959 and 1977, Phillips became familiar on radio, as Sub-Lieutenant Phillips in the comedy The Navy Lark alongside Jon Pertwee and Ronnie Barker.[10] He also appeared in the film version of The Navy Lark (1959), the only cast member of the radio series to do so.

After his marriage to Angela Scoular in 1982, Phillips decided to move away from playing the kind of lecherous twits with suave chat-up lines which had characterised much of his previous work. He remained busy in both stage and television productions, along with character roles in films such as Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987), Scandal (1989) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). Phillips also provided the voice for the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films, appearing in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011). He also appeared in British television sitcoms including Honey for Tea with Felicity Kendal and appeared in guest roles in popular series such as The Bill, Holby City and Midsomer Murders. In 2006, Phillips plays veteran actor Ian alongside Peter O'Toole in Hanif Kureishi's film Venus. For this role, he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor in 2007.[11] Phillips' autobiography, Hello (ISBN 0-7528-8178-7), was published by Orion in 2006.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1998 Birthday Honours and was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.[7]

Phillips, in conjunction with Jules Williams and Back Door Productions,[12] co-produced the Sky Arts series Living The Life[13] which ran for three series.

In 2012, in conjunction with Amazing Journeys Publishing, Phillips voiced the audiobook Chequered Justice by former racing driver John Bartlett (ISBN 9780956910486).

• The Navy Lark (1959–1977)
• Three Men in a Boat (1962)[21]
• The TV Lark (1963)
• Oh, Get on with It! (with Kenneth Williams)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as Hactar
• Cousin Bette, The Poor Relation, BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial (9 – 23 April 2000)
• Drop Me Here...Darling
• The Skivers
• The House of Unspeakable Secrets (1967)
• The Scarifyers: The Secret Weapon of Doom
• Doctor Who: Medicinal Purposes (2004) as Dr Knox
• Tomorrow, Today! (2006) as Sir Monty Havaland
• Doctor Who: Assassin in the Limelight (2008) as Dr Knox
• Mrs Bradley: Speedy Death (2008)
• Beauty Of Britain (2009) as Mr. Easterby

• Voice of Gex in the European release of Gex: Enter the Gecko[22][23]
• Voice of cat in Iams advertising[24]
• Voice of the captain of the Virgin Atlantic safety video. 1996–2004 [25]