Thursday 9 June 2016

The A - Z of Carry On Supporting Actors: Fred Griffiths


This is the latest in a brand new series for Carry On Blogging. It might be slightly ambitious, but I'm going to attempt to do a run through the alphabet of some of the more interesting Carry On supporting actors. One of the reasons I set up this blog was to turn the spotlight on some of the lesser known Carry On actors who nevertheless played an important role in the success of the film series. 

Today we continue with the next letter in the alphabet, G and G is for Fred Griffiths.

Carry On films: Fred Griffiths first appeared in Carry Nurse in late 1958, playing one of the ambulance drivers at the start of the film. He returned to the Carry Ons to play a gobby taxi driver opposite Kenneth Williams in Carry On Regardless and finally yet another taxi driver who confuses Sid James at Windsor and Eton Railway Station in Carry On Loving in 1970.

 

Also appeared in: Griffiths worked again for Rogers and Thomas in 1965 when he played a Dustman in The Big Job.

Best known for: Playing small but eye-catching roles as working class men in a number of classic post-war British films such as The Cruel Sea (1953), Reach For The Sky (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959).

Did you know: Fred Griffiths was a London cab driver who was a member of the Auxiliary Fire Service during the Second World War. After being featured in a documentary film about the wartime fire service, Griffiths took up a career in feature films, going on to appear in small roles in around 150 films, working regularly for the likes of Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and the Boulting Brothers. 

 


What are they up to now: Sadly Fred Griffiths passed away at the age of 82. He had retired from the film industry in 1984.


Stay tuned for the next entry in my A - Z of Carry On Supporting Actors! 

You can follow me on Twitter @CarryOnJoan and also on Facebook

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