Leslie Phillips was also well-known to younger fans as the Sorting Hat’s voice in the Harry Potter movies. The audience has lost a brilliant showman, and I’ve lost a fantastic spouse, his spouse Zara informed the Sun.
Simply put, he was a national treasure. Everyone adored him. Everywhere he went, he was mobbed. According to Phillips’ agent Jonathan Lloyd, the famous person died on Monday while sleeping.
Over the course of his eight-decade career, the comedic actor appeared in over 200 movies, TV shows, and radio programs. In 1959’s Carry on Nurse, he played Jack Bell, and his catchphrases included “Ding dong,” “I say,” and “Well, hello,” all of which he delivered in a provocative tone.
The actor claimed that despite participating in only four of the 31 Carry-On films, his well-known catchphrases stayed with him for the rest of his career. The final surviving cast member from the Carry On films is Jim Dale, 86, who replaced Barbara Windsor two years earlier.
The Sorting Ceremony
Worked with Phillips on Coronation Street actor Tony Maudsley, who tweeted: “RIP Leslie Phillips. Working with him was a delight. And yes, he did say DING DONG (because I wanted him to).”
In a clip from the “great” Phillips’ own BBC programme, The Kumars at No 42, which actor and comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar shared, the late actor and comedian described how he once became trapped in the London Underground besieged by onlookers who insisted he perform his catchphrases.
Bhaskar described him as “truly a kind, humorous, and gentleman.”
Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting, paid tribute to Phillips online and wrote in his post that he “always liked his pater.” According to journalist Piers Morgan, who called Phillips a “wonderful character and superb humorous performer,” it was “awful news.”
Melanie Blake, the author, stated, “Another legend gone, thanks for the pleasure, old chap.” Phillips was actually an estuary English speaker who was born in Tottenham, north London, despite his popularity growing from his thick accent and exaggerated portrayals of the English upper class.
Between 1942 to 1945, when he was invalided out of the war, he attended Italia Conti Stage School before enlisting as a lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry.
His first film roles had come in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until much later in his career—in 1959 and 1960—that he took the lead in Carry On Nurse, Carry On Teacher, and Carry On Constable.
He gained notoriety for his appearances in the Doctor film series, filling in for Dirk Bogarde in films like 1960’s Doctor in Love, and for his work with Scottish comic and impressionist Stanley Baxter in a number of fast-paced comedies.
Along with Brothers in Law and The Smallest Show on Earth, he also starred in The Man Who Liked Funerals. He co-starred for 17 years in The Navy Lark, a well-known BBC radio programme, alongside Ronnie Barker and Jon Pertwee.
He also took up dramatic roles, such as his appearance alongside Peter O’Toole in 2006’s Venus, which received a Bafta nomination.
Phillips, a devoted supporter of Tottenham Hotspur, made an appearance on the field at the halftime show of the team’s home game versus Swansea City in 2012.
Phillips was awarded an OBE in the 1998 Birthday Honours list and a CBE in the 2008 New Year’s Honours list.
The actor had two strokes six months apart when he was 90.
