The son of a solicitor, David Tomlinson was an affable comedy character
actor with doleful features, popular on stage and in British films
from 1940 to 1970 making over 50 films; frequently as a bewildered
upper-class fool. Educated at Tonbridge School and briefly with the
Grenadier Guards, he made his West End stage debut in 1938, and was
spotted by director Anthony Asquith while touring in Quiet
Wedding and cast in the 1941 film, and followed that with an appearance
in Leslie Howard's Pimpernel
Smith (1941).
After RAF service in WW2, he continued in supporting roles, becoming
busy in the late 40s, when he featured more prominently in such Gainsborough
films as the popular mermaid comedy Miranda
(1948), plane crash melodrama Broken
Journey (1948), My
Brother's Keeper (1948) and in The
Chiltern Hundreds (1949), stands for both Tory and Labour as an
election candidate. In the 50S, he introduced a light touch in serious
films such as The
Wooden Horse (1950). A sighting of Tomlinson on stage by Walt
Disney led to his best remembered role, the prosperous Edwardian father
in Mary Poppins (1964), resulting in a string of Walt Disney successes
including The Love Bug (1968) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
His last film credit was with Peter Sellers in 1979's The Fiendish
Plot of Dr Fu Manchu. He died peacefully in his sleep after a series
of strokes, aged 83.
