Lance Percival
Lance Percival | |
---|---|
Born | John Lancelot Blades Percival 26 July 1933 |
Died | 6 January 2015 London, England | (aged 81)
Years active | 1961–1990 |
John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to improvise comic calypsos about current news stories. He later became successful as an after-dinner speaker.[1]
Biography
Percival was born in Sevenoaks, Kent,[2] and was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset, where he learnt to play the guitar. He then did national service with the Seaforth Highlanders as a lieutenant and was posted to Egypt. In 1955 he emigrated to Canada where he worked as an advertising copywriter, writing jingles for radio. He also formed a calypso group as "Lord Lance" which toured the US and Canada.[3]
He first became well known in the early 1960s for performing topical
He also appeared in his own
Working, like many British comics of the era, with
Later he provided the voice of both
He starred alongside Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson and Jeremy Kemp in the musical film Darling Lili (1970) and also appeared in There's a Girl in My Soup. Also in 1970, he appeared in a rare dramatic role in the war film Too Late the Hero starring Michael Caine and Cliff Robertson.
On 14 December 1970, he was involved in a fatal three-car crash in his Jaguar XJ on a notorious stretch of the A20, south of Farningham, Kent, known as Death Hill.[10] Percival was in hospital for a month, he almost lost the sight of one eye and required 123 stitches.[11] Following his recovery, he was charged with causing death by dangerous driving. In court he testified remembering the car drifting left and right, but his memory of the accident was vague. He was acquitted after evidence showed that a tyre on his car had probably deflated before the crash.[12] Percival accepted liability for the accident and in a legal action that reached the Court of Appeal he paid a total of £35,781 in damages to his two passengers and to the widow and the two children of the driver who was killed (equivalent to £330,000 in 2019).[13][14][15][16][17]
Percival returned to film work in the
Percival appeared on BBC Radio light entertainment programmes such as Just a Minute throughout the 1980s and was also the author of two books of verse, Well-Versed Cats and Well-Versed Dogs, both illustrated by Lalla Ward. Subsequently, he gained a reputation as a writer and later as an after-dinner speaker.[18]
Percival died on 6 January 2015, aged 81, after a long illness.
Filmography
Film
- The Devil's Daffodil (1961) – Französischer Gendarme / French gendarme (uncredited)
- Raising the Wind (1961) – Harry
- On the Fiddle (1961) – MacTaggart (uncredited)
- What a Whopper (1961) – Policeman at Roundabout
- Postman's Knock (1961) – Joe
- Twice Round the Daffodils (1962) – George Logg
- Carry On Cruising (1962) – Wilfred Haines, Ship's Cook
- In the Doghouse (1962) – Policeman (uncredited)
- The V.I.P.s (1963) – B.O.A.C. Officer
- It's All Over Town (1964) – Richard Abel
- Hide and Seek (1964) – Dancer (uncredited)
- The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) – Assistant Car Salesman
- Joey Boy (1965) – Clarence Doubleday
- You Must Be Joking! (1965) – Young Man (uncredited)
- The Big Job (1965) – Timothy 'Dipper' Day
- Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968) – Percy Sutton
- Yellow Submarine (1968) – Old Fred (voice)
- Too Late the Hero (1970) – Cpl. McLean
- Darling Lili (1970) – T.C. Carstairs
- The Weekend Murders (1970) – Supt. Grey
- There's a Girl in My Soup (1970) – Willie the Bridegroom (uncredited)
- Up Pompeii (1971) – Bilius
- The Magnificent Six and ½: Up the Creek (1971)
- Up the Chastity Belt (1971) – Reporter
- Up the Front (1972) – Von Gutz
- Our Miss Fred (1972) – Smallpiece
- Confessions from a Holiday Camp (1977) – Lionel
- The Water Babies (1978) – Terence the Sea Horse (voice)
- Rosie Dixon – Night Nurse (1978) – Jake Fletcher
- Quincy's Quest (1979) – Jack
- Jekyll & Hyde(1990) – Beresford Mount, Prince's Private Secretary (final film role)
Television
- That Was the Week That Was (1962–1963) – Himself
- Citizen James (1962)
- The Beatles (1965–1967) – Paul McCartney / Ringo Starr
- Jason King (1972) – Alfred Trim
- Who Do You Do? (1972–1973) – Various Impressions
- Chico the Rainmaker aka The Boy with Two Heads (1974) – Stanley Thornton
- Oscar the Rabbit in Rubbidge (1977) – narrator (English version)
- Shoestring (1980) – Jake Rivere
- Bullseye (1983) – Himself
Discography
- 1963 – Riviera Cayf / You're Joking of Course (7", Single) [Parlophone – R 5032]
- 1963 – The Beetroot Song / Dancing in the Streets Tonight (7", Single) [Parlophone – R 5071]
- 1965 – There's Another One Behind / Shame and Scandal in the Family (7", Single) [Parlophone – R 5335]
- 1966 – If I Had Wings / My Girl, My Shirll (7", Single) [Parlophone – R 5417]
- 1966 – End of the Season / Our Jim (7", Single) [Parlophone – R 5517]
- 1967 – I'm Beautiful / I've Been Left Behind (7", Single) [Parlophone – R 5657]
- 1967 – The Maharajah of Brum / Taking the Maharajah Apart (7", Single) [Parlophone – R 5587]
References
- ^ a b "PERCIVAL". Announcements.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111886. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Lance Percival Guardian Obituary. Retrieved 9 January 2015
- ^ a b "Comedy and satire star Percival dies". BBC. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Obituaries: Actor and revue performer, Lance Percival". Irish Independent. Dublin. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Discogs". Discogs. 26 July 1933. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ^ "Reviews & Ratings for Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter". IMDb. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ^ "Lance Percival – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. London. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Newsman's Diary – Death Hill". Norwood News. 4 March 1960. p. 10. Retrieved 17 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Lance Leaves Hospital". Kensington Post. 15 January 1971. p. 4. Retrieved 17 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Comic Lance Percival is cleared of car death charge". Daily Mirror. 26 May 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 17 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Lance Percival to face charge". The Herald. Glasgow. 10 February 1971. p. 5. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ "Lance Percival for trial". The Herald. Glasgow. 24 March 1971. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ "Operation to save actor's eye". The Guardian. London. 16 December 1970. p. 20.
- ^ "Percival to pay £5,200". The Guardian. London. 27 July 1974. p. 12.
The court increased from £18,331 to £25,531 damages awarded to Mrs. Jillian Young, aged 31, for the death of her husband [...] Last year Mr. Percival, himself seriously injured in the accident, agreed to pay damages totalling £12,250 to his two passengers.
- Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2018). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Lance Percival, Book After Dinner Speaker Lance Percival". Tmcentertainment.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
External links
- Lance Percival at IMDb
- Obituary at BBC
- Obituary at The Guardian
- Obituary at The Independent