Leslie’s passing is a loss to us all
WITH Leslie Phillips’s passing we lose one of the great characters of films from the late fifties and sixties such as The Navy Lark, the ‘Carry On’s, and Doctor in the House.
All of which are a great watch on a morning with the lack of entertainment available these days amongst reality TV and house sales shows.
In all Leslie spent more than eight decades on the screen, although I think these days his particular brand of humour and rather suggestive catchphrases may come with one of those viewer warnings we seem to get more frequently in these PC times.
His talents were not confined to comedy and he demonstrated a versatility for drama when he played opposite Peter O’toole in Venus, along with his voice-over in the Harry Potter series.
I was fortunate to meet him a few times and his wife Angela Scoular who was a former Bond girl. The last time was around 12 years ago when he had his autobiography out and he could not have been more of a warm, funny gentleman. And yes, he signed the book with his catchphrase “Ding, Dong” as I requested!