The venerable British stage and film actor A.E. Matthews was born Alfred Edward Matthews on November 22, 1869 in Bridlington, Yorkshire, England. The actor nicknamed "Matty" established himself on the British and American stage and in British films, taking up the craft after working as a clerk in a London bookstore. He said that after he learned ...
Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK
Profession
Actor
Star Sign
Sagittarius
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Quote
1
[on the play Bulldog Drummond, in which he played the title character] I'd have said to myself that there is no play and there isn't. The thing is not to be taken seriously. If there had been need of a curtain speech at the opening I should not have referred to 'Bull Dog Drummond' as a play, but as an entertainment, and that is what we try to make it. My chief fear on the opening night was that the audience might not take it as we intended. We endeavored to play it as a joke, we hoped the audience would take it as a joke, and, fortunately, we think they took it exactly in this spirit. And so did the critics.
2
[on warning audiences of Zeppelins approaching London during performances of the play Nothing but the Truth] Invariably when I made this announcement, the response would be 'Go on with the bloody play.' Not one person left the theater in those days. That certainly showed what London playgoers thought of 'Nothing but the Truth,' didn't it?
3
I pick up 'The Times' every morning and if I'm not in the obituary list then I go to work.
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Fact
1
He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1951 King's Birthday Honours List for his services to drama.
2
Elderly British actor affectionately regarded by many as "Matty", he moved from leading men to distinguished character player on stage. A few silent roles came his way before coming into his own in WWII-era British films as a crusty but charming and distinguished white-haired oldster. Worked until nearly the very end at age 90.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Inn for Trouble
1960
Sir Hector Gore-Blandish
ITV Television Playhouse
1959
TV Series
Earl of Lister
Theatre Night
1959
TV Series
Mr. Peebles
The Sky Larks
1958
TV Series
Vice-Admiral Sir Godfrey Wiggin-Fanshawe, KBE, DSO, DSC, RN
The Royalty
1957-1958
TV Series
Lord Charters
The Ship Was Loaded
1957
Admiral Sir Maximillian Godfrey K.C.B.
Doctor at Large
1957
Duke of Skye and Lewes
The Square
1957
Short
Three Men in a Boat
1956
Crabtree, 1st Old Gentleman
Around the World in Eighty Days
1956
Club Member
Loser Takes All
1956
Elderly Man in Casino
Jumping for Joy
1956
Lord Reginald Cranfield
Dead by Morning
1955
Mr. Potts
Aunt Clara
1954
Simon Hilton
Tonight's the Night
1954
General O'Leary
The Manor of Northstead
1954
TV Movie
The Earl of Lister
Young and Willing
1954
Harry Wicks, Mabel's beau
Man with a Million
1954
Duke of Frognal
Skid Kids
1953
The man in the taxi
Made in Heaven
1952
Hillary Topham
Penny Princess
1952
Selby
Something Money Can't Buy
1952
Lord Haverstock
The Passionate Sentry
1952
Sir Arthur Cornwall
Castle in the Air
1952
Blair
The Magic Box
1951
Old Gentleman (as A. E. Matthews)
Laughter in Paradise
1951
Sir Charles Robson
The Galloping Major
1951
Sir Robert Medleigh
Mister Drake's Duck
1951
Brig. Matthews
Landfall
1949
Air Raid Warden
The Amazing Mr. Beecham
1949
Lord Lister
The Chiltern Hundreds
1949
TV Movie
The Earl of Lister
Whisky Galore
1949
Colonel Linsey-Woolsey (uncredited)
The Forbidden Street
1949
Mr. Bly
Edward, My Son
1949
Lord George Trelby (uncredited)
William Comes to Town
1948
Minister for Economic Affairs
Just William's Luck
1948
The Tramp
The Ghosts of Berkeley Square
1947
Gen. Bristow
Piccadilly Incident
1946
Sir Charles Pearson
Flight from Folly
1945
Neville
Twilight Hour
1945
General Fitzhenry
A Lady Surrenders
1944
Col. Pitt Smith
They Came to a City
1944
Sir George Gedney
The Way Ahead
1944
Col. Walmsley
Escape to Danger
1943
Sir Thomas Leighton
The Man in Grey
1943
Auctioneer (uncredited)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
1943
President of Tribunal
Thunder Rock
1942
Mr. Kirby
The Great Mr. Handel
1942
Charles Jennens
'Pimpernel' Smith
1941
Earl of Meadowbrook (as A. E. Matthews)
This England
1941
uncredited
Quiet Wedding
1941
Arthur Royd
Men Are Not Gods
1936
Skeates (as A. E. Matthews)
The Iron Duke
1934
Lord Hill
Castle of Dreams
1919
Gerald Sumner
The Lackey and the Lady
1919
Once Upon a Time
1918
Guy Travers
The Lifeguardsman
1916
Lt. Tosh
The Real Thing at Last
1916
Short
Murdered
Wanted: A Widow
1916
Short
A Highwayman's Honour
1914
Short
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Jack Paar Tonight Show
1960
TV Series
Himself
This Is Your Life
1958
TV Series documentary
Himself
Meet Mr. Lucifer
1953
Himself (uncredited)
Known for movies
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) as Club Member
Man with a Million (1954) as Duke of Frognal
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) as President of Tribunal
The Manor of Northstead (1954) as The Earl of Lister
$4 Million
