Charlie Drake
Actor, Writer
June 19, 1925 — December 23, 2006 (81 years)
Charlie Drake, was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer best known for his catchphrase "Hello. My darlings!". With his small stature (5 ft 1 in or 155 cm tall), curly red hair and liking for slapstick, he was a popular comedian with children in his early years, performing with Jack Edwardes in the double act Mick and Montmorency on children's TV. He subsequently made the break into primetime TV and critical and commercial acclaim with his solo show Drake's Progress (1955-1957). He was best known for his series The Worker (1965–70) in which he played a perpetually unemployed labourer who, in every episode, was dispatched to a new job by the ever-frustrated clerk at the local labour exchange. In the sixties, Drake made the transition to cinema, making several comedy films. By the 1980s, Drake reinvented himself as a straight actor, including a memorable performance as Smallweed in the 1985 BBC adaptation of Bleak House and playing Nagg in Samuel Beckett's Endgame in 1989. He suffered a series of strokes in 1995 and retired, passing away in 2006 at the age of 81.
Filmography
| 2004 | Sinderella Comes Again · as Baron Von Hard-On |
| 1995 | Sinderella Live · as Baron Hardon |
| 1994 | 99-1 · as Freddie Windsor |
| 1992 | Burning Ash · as Ethan Hawker |
| 1990 | Big Break · as Playing Card |
| 1988 | |
| 1988 | Ten Great Writers of the Modern World · as Marmeladov |
| 1985 | Screen One · as Lionel |
| 1985 | Bleak House · as Smallweed |
| 1984 | |
| 1979 | The Plank · as Delivery Man With Cake |
| 1977 | |
| 1974 | |
| 1967 | Mister Ten Per Cent · as Percy Pointer |
| 1963 | The Cracksman · as Ernest Wright |
| 1961 | Petticoat Pirates · as Charlie |
| 1960 | Sands of the Desert · as Charlie Sands |
| 1956 | Armchair Theatre · as Joey |
| 1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show · as Cast |
| 1982 | Wogan · as Self |
| 1979 | Give Us A Clue · as Self - Panellist |
| 1978 | 3-2-1 · as Self - Guest Star |
| 1975 | Arena (1975) · as Self |
| 1972 | Pebble Mill at One · as Self |
| 1971 | The Generation Game · as Self - Guest Star |
| 1968 | The Basil Brush Show · as Self |
| 1964 | Open House · as Self |
| 1959 | Juke Box Jury · as Self - Panellist |
| 1955 | Tonight at the London Palladium · as Self |
| 1955 | This is Your Life (UK) · as Self |
| 1953 | The Good Old Days · as Self - Performer |
| 1963 | The Cracksman · as Screenplay |
| 1967 | Mister Ten Per Cent · as In Collaboration With |
| 1961 | Petticoat Pirates · as Additional Material |
| 1960 | Sands of the Desert · as Additional Dialogue |