Biography

A RADA scholar who was spotted by Laurence Olivier, Bernard Bresslaw got professional security from the "Carry On" films but was typecast (as TV's The Army Game (1957) had done earlier). He was beginning to extend himself through stage work when, in 1993, just before a performance in "The Taming Of The Shrew" in Regent's Park, London, he had a heart attack and died at the age of 59.

- IMDb mini biography by: van_whistler@hotmail.co.uk

His father was an East End tailors cutter and his mother was forced to take in sewing to help with the bills. At school with encouragement by his English teacher he won two of the annual London County Council awards to RADA where he was awarded the Emile Littler Award for the Most Promising Actor.in 1953. He toured army camps, prisons and hospitals playing the lead in 'The Hasty Heart.' He thought his height would be a disadvantage but it got him his first stage role when Laurence Olivier was looking for someone to play an Irish wrestler in The MacRoary Whirl at the Duchess Theatre . He made his London debut in 'Bachelors Honeymoon' which was a disaster opening on Thursday and closing on Saturday. He was put under contract by Hammer Film Productions appearing in 'Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) and as a hulking bearded circus freak in 'The Glass Cage (1955) but it was as the slow witted Pvt 'Popeye Popplewell in the tv series 'The Army Game' that launched him to fame and during which he made a record 'Mad Pashernate Love' originally for a joke but it reached no 4 in the record charts. In 1968 he joined the radio series 'Educating Archie' then made his pantomime debut in 'The Sleeping Beauty' at the London Palladium, followed by 'The Bernard Bresslaw Show' on television which only ran 4 episodes. a sit com 'Meet the Champ' in which he played an idiotic boxer only ran for 6 episodes, A sketch show 'Bresslaw and Friends fared even worse being cancelled after one show in 1961. He then decided to drop the comic character with which he'd made his name, turning down lucrative variety dates in favour of Shakespearean roles at basic Equity rates and joined Regents Park Open Air Theatre which resulted in him winning the Variety Club of Great Britain's Most Promising Newcomer Award. His dramatic roles include Quince in 'A Midsummer Nights Dream', the professor in Ionesco's 'The Lesson'. a 16th century monk in 'Rabelais' and the lead in the Old Vic's production of 'Oblomov'. Joining the 'Carry on'team established him as a top comedy actor and enabled him to switch from comedy to serious drama with The Royal Shakespeare Company, The English Stage Co. and with the National Theatre where he replaced Laurence Olivier in their 1969 production of 'Home and Beauty'. In 1980 he joined 'The New Shakespeare Company' playing Dogberry in 'Much Ado About Nothing', Bottom in 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' and Ferrovious in 'Androcles and the Lion' In 1983 he gave one of his most subtle performances as Pell the Cyclops in the film 'Krull' and 2 years later gave supported Fulton Mackay in the Thames sit com 'Man's Best Friend'.Theatre credits include the murderous Jonathan Brewster in 'Arsenic and Old Lace' at Chichester, Prospero in 'Hamlet at Ludlow Festival, Sgt Porterhouse on 'Run For Your Wife' at London's. It was at Regent'Park that he gave his last performances as Merlin in 'A Connecticut Yankee in the Court KIng Arthur' and Grummo in 'The Taming of the Shrew'

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- IMDb mini biography by: Tonyman 5