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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Clive Dunn Passes On

Clive Dunn, perhaps best known for playing Lance Corporal Jones on Dad's Army, died today, 7 November 2012. He was 92 years old

Clive Dunn was born 9 January 1920 in London. He attended Sevenoaks School in Kent. At 16 he left school to seek a career in acting. He studied acting at  Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, in London. Before he had even left school, however, he had made his film debut in an uncredited bit part in Boys Will Be Boys in 1935. He would also play bit parts in Good Morning, Boys (1937) and A Yank at Oxford (1938). With World War II Mr. Dunn volunteered for the Volunteer Ambulance Service. In 1940 he was drafted into the British Army. He served in the 4th Hussars in Greece. Eventually he was captured by the German Army. He spent the remainder of World War II as a prisoner. After being liberated, he remained with the British Army until 1947.

In 1949 Clive Dunn returned to film with The Hasty Heart. He then appeared in the film Boys in Brown (1949); however, it would be on television where Mr. Dunn would spend most of his career. He made his television debut on an episode of  Five Children and It in 1951. During the Fifties he would be a regular on Happy Holidays, The Tony Hancock Show, and After Hours. He also appeared on the shows The Railway Children, Studio E, Musical Playhouse, and The Dickie Henderson Half-Hour. He appeared in the film Hot Money Girl (1959).

In the Sixties Clive Dunn was a regular on Bootsie and Snudge. It was in 1968 that he was cast as doddering, seventy year old Lance Corporal Jones on Dad's Army. He was also a regular on Orlando. He appeared on such shows as First Night, Room at the Bottom, HMS Paradise, No Hiding Place, and The Avengers. He appeared in the films What a Whopper (1961), She'll Have to Go (1962), The Fast Lady (1962) , The Mouse on the Moon (1963), You Must Be Joking! (1965), The Mini-Mob (1967), Just Like a Woman (1967), 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia (1968), The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968), Sophie's Place (1969), and The Magic Christian (1969).

In the Seventies Clive Dunn was a regular on the shows My Old Man and Granddad. He appeared on such shows as Full House, Sez Les, and Metal Mickey. He appeaerd in the films Dad's Army (1971), and The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu.

Clive Dunn was an extremely talented actor, particularly skilled at playing old men. He was actually one of the youngest members of the cast of Dad's Army (he was only 48 when he was cast as Lance Corporal Jones), but he played the oldest character on the show. He also played older characters on Bootsie and Snudge, My Old Man, and Granddad. Clive Dunn was also very gifted when it came to comedy. Jonesie was easily the funniest character on Dad's Army, turning the phrases "Don't panic!" and "They don’t like it up ’em!" into national catchphrases. When it came to actors in situation comedies, Clive Dunn was one of the best.

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