Wikipedia

Terry Scott

For other people named Terry Scott, see Terry Scott (disambiguation).

Terry Scott, born Owen John Scott, (4 May 1927 – 26 July 1994) was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven of the Carry On films.[1] He is also well known for appearing in the BBC1 sitcoms Happy Ever After and Terry and June with June Whitfield.

Terry Scott
Terry Scott
Born
Owen John Scott

4 May 1927
Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Died26 July 1994(1994-07-26) (aged 67)
Witley, Surrey, England
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian
Spouses
Mary Howard
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1957)​
Margaret Peden
​
(m. 1957)​
Children5

Early life

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Scott was born and brought up in Watford, Hertfordshire,[2] and educated at Watford Field Junior School and Watford Grammar School for Boys. He was the youngest of three children, and the only surviving son after his brother Aubrey died when Scott was six.[2] After National Service in the Navy at the end of the Second World War, he briefly studied accounting.

Career

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Scott began his acting career with appearances on radio shows such as Workers Playtime, which were followed by appearances on television. He gained an opportunity to perform in farce when he joined the Whitehall Theatre Company. With Bill Maynard he appeared at Butlin's Holiday Camp in Skegness, Lincolnshire and partnered him in the TV series Great Scott - It's Maynard!.[3] During the 1960s he appeared alongside Hugh Lloyd in Hugh and I (1962–1967).[4] They both appeared as Ugly Sisters in pantomime at The London Palladium; Scott reappeared in later years in the same role alongside Julian Orchard. Scott and Lloyd later appeared in Hugh and I Spy (1968) and, as gnomes, in the sitcom The Gnomes of Dulwich (1969).

Scott's novelty record "My Brother" (written by Mitch Murray, and released in 1962 on Parlophone) was based on a schoolboy character (he dressed in school uniform to sing it on TV). In the 1970s he had a role in TV commercials for Curly Wurly caramel bars, in which he again appeared dressed as a schoolboy, with short trousers and cap. He repeated this performance several times on BBC TV's long-running variety show The Good Old Days. Scott had played a small role in the very first of the Carry On films series of films, Carry On Sergeant in 1958. In 1968 he returned to the series with a role in Carry On Up the Khyber (1968), playing main roles in six of the later films.

Scott starred alongside June Whitfield in several series of the comedy Happy Ever After and its successor Terry and June.[5] They had first worked together making a series of the sketch show Scott On (1968).[2] They also featured in supporting roles together in the film version of Bless This House. Although both Scott and Whitfield made several Carry On appearances, they never appeared in the same film. From 1981 to 1992, Scott was the voice of Penfold the hamster in the animated series Danger Mouse.

Personal life and death

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Scott suffered from ill health for several years in the latter part of his life. In 1979, he had a life-saving operation after a brain haemorrhage.[6] He also suffered from creeping paralysis and had to wear a neck brace.

Scott was also diagnosed with cancer in 1987. He died from its effects at his family home in Witley, Surrey, on 26 July 1994, at the age of 67.[7] He said of his last illness: "I know it would be better to give up the booze, fags and birds, but life would be so boring, wouldn't it?"[8]

When Terry and June ended in 1987, Scott suffered a nervous breakdown. The breakdown was in part brought on by his public confession that he had indulged in a series of affairs since his marriage to dancer Margaret Peden in 1957. The couple had four daughters.[2]

Filmography

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Title Year Role Notes
Blue Murder at St Trinian's 1957 Police Sergeant
Carry On Sergeant 1958 Sergeant O'Brian
Too Many Crooks 1959 Fire Policeman James Smith
The Bridal Path 1959 Police Constable Donald
I'm All Right Jack 1959 Crawley
And the Same to You 1960 Police Constable
The Night We Got the Bird 1961 P. C. Lovejoy
Nearly a Nasty Accident 1961 Sam Stokes
Double Bunk 1961 2nd River Policeman
Mary Had a Little... 1961 Police Sergeant
No My Darling Daughter 1961 Constable
Nothing Barred 1961 P. C. Budgie
What a Whopper 1961 Sergeant
A Pair of Briefs 1962 Policeman at Law Courts
Father Came Too! 1964 Executioner
Murder Most Foul 1964 Police Constable Wells
Gonks Go Beat 1965 PM
Doctor in Clover 1966 Robert
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery 1966 Policeman
Carry On Up the Khyber 1968 Sergeant Major MacNutt
Carry On Camping 1969 Peter Potter
Carry On Up the Jungle 1970 Cecil The Jungle Boy
Carry On Loving 1970 Terence Philpott
Carry On Henry 1971 Cardinal Wolsey
Carry On at Your Convenience 1971 Mr Allcock (scenes deleted)
Carry On Matron 1972 Dr Prodd
Bless This House 1972 Ronald Baines

Discography

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  • "Don't Light The Fire 'Til After Santa's Gone" / "My Brother", Parlophone R 4967 (December 1962)[9]

References

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  1. ^ Stevens, Christopher (2010). Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams. John Murray. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-84854-195-5.
  2. ^ a b c d The Unforgettable, ITV1, 22 September 2010
  3. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Scott, Terry (1927–1994) Biography".
  4. ^ Lloyd, Hugh (16 July 2008). "Much-loved comedy actor, he went on to more serious roles". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  5. ^ "June Whitfield Interview". The Guardian. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Terry Scott, epitome of the English sit-com, dies aged 67". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Obituary: Terry Scott". Independent.co.uk. 27 July 1994. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Williams, and the cast of Carry On: what happened next?". The Telegraph. 6 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Terry Scott - My Brother/Don't Light The Fire 'Til After Santa's Gone (R 4967) Ex". Windmill-records.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
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