Leslie Phillips was born on April 20 1924 in Tottenham, Middlesex. His father died when he was ten years old and his family was forced to sell their house and move into an apartment. Money was short and the entire family had to work. Leslie Phillips had appeared in school plays and so his mother answered an ad for the the Italia Conti Academy. It was there he was given training in drama and dance. He was also taught to speak without his native Cockney accent.
He made his stage debut in 1937 in Peter Pan, starring Anna Neagle, at the London Palladium. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in Lassie from Lancashire in 1938. In the late Thirties he appeared in minor roles in the movies The Citadel (1938), Climbing High (1938), The Mikado (1939), The Four Feathers (1939), The Proud Valley (1940), and The Thief of Bagdad (1940).
In 1942 he was called up for service in the British Army. He became a lance-bombadier in the Royal Artillery and was later sent to officer training at Catterick. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1943. In 1944 he was declared unfit for duty due to a a neurological condition that caused partial paralysis and was demobilized the same year.
He returned to film in 1943 in a bit part in Rhythm Serenade. In the late Forties he appeared in small roles in The Magic Bow (1946), Anna Karenina (1948), The Red Shoes (1948), Train of Events (1949), and The Woman with No Name (1950). He made his television debut in the production Morning Departure in 1948.
It was in 1959 that Leslie Phillips made his first appearance in a "Carry On" film, Carry On Nurse. In 1960 he took over for Sir Dirk Bogarde in the "Doctor" series with Doctor In Love. In the Fifties he appeared in the films Pool of London (1951), The Galloping Major (1951), The Sound Barrier (1952), Time Bomb (1953), The Fake (1953), The Limping Man (1953), You Know What Sailors Are (1954), As Long as They Are Happy (1955), Value for Money (1955), The Gamma People (1956), The Big Money (1956), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957), Brothers in Law (1957), The Smallest Show on Earth (1957), High Flight (1957), Les Girls (1957), Just My Luck (1957), I Was Monty's Double (1958), The Man Who Liked Funerals (1959), The Angry Hills (1959), Carry On Nurse (1959), Carry On Teacher (1959), The Other Eden (1959), The Night We Dropped a Clanger (1959), Ferdinando I° re di Napoli (1959), The Navy Lark (1959), Please Turn Over (1959), Carry On Constable (1960), Inn for Trouble (1960), Doctor in Love (1960), Watch Your Stars (1960), and No Kidding (1960). He starred on television in the series My Wife Jacqueline and Tracey and Me. He guest starred on the shows BBC Sunday-Night Theatre, ITV Television Playhouse, Adventure Theatre, The Errol Flynn Theatre, Wire Service, Hour of Mystery, O.S.S., The World Our Stage, Saturday Playhouse, The Invisible Man, The Vise, and The Adventures of Robin Hood.
In the Sixties Leslie Phillips appeared in the movies A Weekend with Lulu (1961), Very Important Person (1961), Raising the Wind (1961), In the Doghouse (1961), Crooks Anonymous (1962), The Longest Day (1962), The Fast Lady (1962), Father Came Too! (1964), You Must Be Joking! (1965), Doctor In Clover (1966), Maroc 7 (1967), Some Will, Some Won't (1970), and Doctor In Trouble (1970). In the Sixties he starred on the TV shows Our Man at St. Marks, Foreign Affairs, and Culture Vultures. He guest starred on the shows Comedy Playhouse, ITV Play of the Week, Blandings Castle, Armchair Theatre, Theatre Date, and Galton and Simpson Comedy.
In the Seventies Leslie Phillips appeared in the movies The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1973), Not Now Darling (1973), Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1974), Spanish Fly (1976), and Not Now, Comrade (1976). He starred in the TV series Casanova '73. He guest starred on the shows Father, Dear Father. He provided the voice of Mr. Tumnus in the American version of the TV adaptation of C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
In the Eighties he appeared in the movies Out of Africa (1985), Scandal (1989), and Mountains of the Moon (1990). He starred on television on the TV show Chancer. He guest starred on the shows Live from Pebble Hill, Mr. Palfrey of Westminster, Supergran, Rumpole of the Bailey, and The Comic Strip Presents... He appeared in the mini-series Monte Carlo and Summer's Lease.
In the Nineties Leslie Phillips appeared in the movies King Ralph (1991), Carry On Columbus (1992), August (1996), The Jackal (1997) and Saving Grace (2000). He starred on the shows Honey for Tea and The House of Windsor. He appeared in the mini-series Love on a Branch and Take a Girl Like You. He guest starred on the shows Boon, Lovejoy, Performance, Screen One, Ruth Rendall Mysteries, Woof!, The Bill, Tales from the Crypt, Dennis the Menace, Liverpool I, Days Like This, and Dalziel and Pascoe.
In the Naughts Leslie Phillips was the voice of the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). He appeared in the movies Lara Craft: Tomb Raider (2001), Thunderpants (2002), Collusion (2003), Millions (2004), Churchill: the Hollywood Years (2004), Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story (2005), Venus (2006), and Is Anybody There? (2008). He starred in the TV series Revolver. He guest starred on the shows Outside the Rules, Monarch of the Glen, Holby City, Midsomer Murders, Where the Heart Is, Heartbeat, Agatha Christie's Marple, The Catherine Tate Show, The Last Detective, and Harley Street.
In the Teens Leslie Phillips once more provided the voice of the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part-2 (2011). He appeared in the movies Late Bloomers (2011) and After Death (2012).
Leslie Phillips was an extraordinary talent. He was easily one of the funniest men to appear in British comedies of the Fifties and the Sixties. He was easily a highlight of the "Carry On" films and it was always enjoyable to hear his catchphrase, "Hellooo." What is more, he was a delight in other films as well, from Les Girls to King Ralph. He was well known for playing upper crust characters, everything from ministers to military officers to judges. And most of his characters had an eye for the ladies. Of course, he didn't just play comic roles. He was outstanding as a prisoner of war in Empire of the Sun. Younger viewers may know Leslie Phillips best as the Sorting Hat in the "Harry Potter" films, but he played a wide variety of roles in his long career.
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