Clive Dunn
Clive Dunn OBE (born January 9, 1920) is a retired English actor, singer and entertainer best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom, Dad's Army.
Born in London, a cousin of actress Gretchen Franklin, Dunn played small film roles from the 1930s onwards. After a break for service in World War II, in the course of which he spent four years in a prisoner-of-war camp, it was not until the 1960s that he finally broke into television comedy, making his name by appearing with Tony Hancock, Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan and Dick Emery, among others, before winning the role of Jones in Dad's Army in 1968.
From an early time his trademark character was that of a doddering old man. This first made an impression in the show Bootsie and Snudge, a spinoff from The Army Game. Dunn played the old dogsbody at a slightly seedy gentlemen's club where the characters Pvt. "Bootsie" Bisley (Alfie Bass) and Sgt. Claude Snudge (Bill Fraser) found work after leaving the Army.
Dunn was actually one of the younger members of the cast, at 48, when he took on the role of the elderly butcher whose military service in earlier wars made him the most experienced member of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard, as well as being the most decrepit.
Dunn's strong Socialist beliefs often caused him to fall out with Arthur Lowe, who was a committed Conservative and played Captain George Mainwaring. In fact, when the series ended and Dunn finally accepted an OBE, after many offers, it was reported that Lowe would only accept a higher-rated honour from the Queen.[1]
After Dad's Army ended, Dunn capitalised on the role by playing the title character in the children's TV series Grandad, from 1979 to 1984. He had previously had a number one hit single with the song "Grandad" in 1971, accompanied by a children's choir. After the cancellation of Grandad in 1984, he effectively disappeared from the screen, retiring to Portugal. [2]
A 2006 article described Dunn as having eye trouble and sometimes being unable to see, but otherwise he appears to be in good health.[3]
He is, along with Ian Lavender, Bill Pertwee, Frank Williams, Eric Longworth, Pamela Cundell and Colin Bean, who played Private Sponge, one of the few surviving members of the Dad's Army cast.
Dunn was also, unusually, voted 'The death list'Favourite' as he has appeared in 'The Death List' every year for 30 years. The Death List is a list of all the famous people who are forecast to die in that year, Dunn, having appeared in The List since 1987, is however, still alive.
Notes
External links
- Clive Dunn at the Internet Movie Database
- "Don't panic, Arthur!". iccoventry. Retrieved January 26.
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