Edward Chapman

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Edward Chapman (13 October 1901 - 9 August 1977) was an English actor who starred in many films and television programmes, but is chiefly remembered as "Mr. Wilfred Grimsdale", the officious superior and comic foil to Norman Wisdom's character of Pitkin in many of his films from the late 1950s and 1960s. Chapman was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. On leaving school he became a bank clerk but later began his stage career with Ben Greet's Company in June 1924 at the Repertory Theatre, Nottingham, playing Gecko in George du Maurier's Trilby. He made his first London stage appearance at the Court Theatre in August 1925 playing the Rev Septimus Tudor in The Farmer's Wife. Among dozens of stage roles that followed, he played Bonaparte to Margaret Rawlings's Josephine in Napoleon at the Embassy Theatre in September 1934. In 1928 he attracted the attention of Alfred Hitchcock, who gave him the role of "The Paycock" in the 1930 film, Juno and the Paycock. In the same year he also made an appearance in Caste (of which no prints are known to exist). He had a role in The Citadel in 1938 and appeared alongside George Formby in the Ealing Studios comedy Turned Out Nice Again in 1941. During the Second World War he took a break from acting and joined the Royal Air Force. After training he was posted to 129 (Mysore) Squadron as an intelligence officer. This Spitfire squadron was based at Westhampnett and Debden. The squadron was heavily engaged in combat during this period and many of Chapman's fellow squadron mates were killed in action. Chapman first starred alongside Wisdom in 1957's Just My Luck in the role of Mr. Stoneway, but the next year in The Square Peg he appeared as Mr. Grimsdale for the first time opposite Wisdom's character of Norman Pitkin. In 1960 he and Wisdom acted together again in The Bulldog Breed, playing the roles of Mr. Philpots and Norman Puckle - Mr. Grimsdale and Pitkin in all but name. Wisdom appeared alone as Norman Pitkin in On the Beat in 1962, while Chapman branched out, starring in the Danish folktale Venus fra Vestø, but Grimsdale and Pitkin were reunited for 1963's A Stitch in Time. Their final performance together was in The Early Bird in 1965, Wisdom's first film in colour. In all, he appeared alongside Norman Wisdom in five films. After Sir John Gielgud was arrested for "persistently importuning male persons for immoral purposes", Chapman started a petition to force him to resign from Equity. Sir Laurence Olivier reportedly threw Chapman out of his dressing room when he solicited his signature for the petition. From 1965 Chapman played mostly characters roles on television. His final role was as Mr. Callon for nine episodes of the BBC's seafaring melodrama The Onedin Line between 1971 and 1972. Chapman died of a heart attack in Brighton, East Sussex, England at the age of 75. Description above from the Wikipedia article Edward Chapman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Pippa Passworthy / Raymond Passworthy

Things to Come

Guard

The Queen's Affair

Ted Markham

Murder!

John Elliott

X: The Unknown

George Sandigate

It Always Rains on Sunday

Gloatbridge

School for Scoundrels

Mr. Duncalf

The Card

Mr. Philpots

The Bulldog Breed

Private Wilfred Grimsdale

The Square Peg

Mr. Grimsdale

A Stitch in Time

Mr. Stoneway

Just My Luck

Captain Boyle

Juno and the Paycock

McPherson

Hide and Seek

Mr. Peachy

The October Man

Major Grigsby

The Man Who Could Work Miracles

Fabrizius

Rembrandt

Father in Family Group

The Magic Box

Dawker

The Skin Game

Mr. Johnson

The History of Mr. Polly

Joe Morgan

The Citadel

Sammy Sanders

There Ain't No Justice

Dick Parry

The Proud Valley

Mr. James

Gone to Earth

Mr. Johnson

They Flew Alone

Thomas Jones

Bhowani Junction

Uncle Arnold

Turned Out Nice Again

Minister for War

The Spider and the Fly

Wormwood

The Church Mouse

The Cocktail Party

Mr. Robinson

A Day to Remember

The Admiral

His Excellency

Mr. Blenkinsop

Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It

Captain Edwin Fraser

Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday

Birkland

Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill

Mordan

Marigold

Stranger

The Ringer

Mr. Thomas Grimsdale

The Early Bird

Meyerhoffer

Blossom Time

Mr. Gaunt

Mister Cinders

The Nursemaid Who Disappeared

Chief Inspector Mitchell

Man on the Run

Mr. Jansen

Jeannie

Grey

Girls Will Be Boys

George Connor

The Young and the Guilty

Venus fra Vestø

Len Griffin

Poison Pen

B.J. Burrell

The Four Just Men

Manley

Innocent Sinners

Sir Pierson Cale

The Big Deal

Captain Eckersley

Convoy

Price

Someone at the Door

Papadopoulos

Ships with Wings

Saverio Mercadante

The Divine Spark

Marquis of Queensberry

Oscar Wilde

Mr. Jones

Eating Out with Tommy Trinder

Charley Briggs

The Briggs Family

Sam Gerridge

Caste

Percy Welwyn

Tilly of Bloomsbury

Sedeman

The Flying Squad

Mr Longworth

The Love Match

Ackland

Mandy

Lowden

The Intruder

Inspector Chortley

Who Killed John Savage?

Hoskins (uncredited)

Night and the City

Joseph Byres M.P.

Folly to Be Wise

Tom Hobson

Joey Boy

Duke of Fontenham

A Yank in Ermine

Wilkins

Doctor at Large

Edgar Selwyn

Lisbon

Barton

The Man Who Haunted Himself

Alf Small

Now You're Talking

Mr. Bunting

The Crowded Day

Works Manager

The End of the Road

Detective Inspector Bray

Law and Disorder

Colonel

Happy Ever After

Lohrmann

Premiere