Allan Cuthbertson

Allan Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was a naturalised British-Australian actor.

Born Allan Darling Cuthbertson in Perth, Western Australia, he performed on stage and radio from an early age.

Cuthbertson arrived in Britain in 1947, and appeared shortly thereafter as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at the Boltons. In London's West End, he appeared as Laertes in Hamlet, Aimwell in The Beaux Stratagem, and Octavius Robinson in Man & Superman, among many other roles.

He was often cast in military roles which was quite common in actors of his generation. He was Captain Eric Simpson in Tunes of Glory as well as being cast as more stuffy regimental types in such films as The Guns of Navarone and Carrington V.C., which also starred David Niven. He also made a brief appearance as a harassed staff officer, who then gets blown up, at the beginning of Ice-Cold in Alex.

Perhaps surprisingly Cuthbertson also had a talent for playing comedy, which led to his best known role as Colonel Hall in the "Gourmet Night" episode of the hit sitcom Fawlty Towers in 1975. He also appeared in many roles on British television, including Terry and June, where he played annoying neighbour Tarquin Spry. He was also a regular guest on The Morecambe and Wise Show from 1973-1976.

One of his last stage roles was in The Corn is Green by Emlyn Williams at the Old Vic in 1985.

Cuthbertson was married to Czech-born Dr Gertrude Willner, a refugee from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, who had been a lawyer originally, but became a teacher in England. They had an adopted son.

External links

• Allan Cuthbertson at the Internet Movie Database