Wilfrid Brambell

[ChristineCB]

Wilfrid Brambell (1912 - 1985)



Any stories or tales about the man?



His IMDB credits start in 1935 and he appears to have been working for the rest of life, although his film credits start slowly - a 1935 uncredited role in THE THIRTY NINE STEPS, then two uncredited roles in 1947, a credited role in '48, then skipping some time before his credits mounted up from 1953 on, including the STEPTOE role from '62 to '74.



Has he achieved a deserved place in British comedy - whatever that might be?

[DB7]

There was a CH4 documentary called When Steptoe met Son on the relationship between Brambell and Corbett, and life behind the scenes on Steptoe and Son. I'm not sure how accurate the depiction was as many of these exposes of 60s and 70s stars (think Hancock, Benny Hill, Eric Morecambe etc) seems to focus more on the negative.

The tortured world of Steptoe and Son | | Guardian Unlimited Arts

[ChristineCB]

The above link's episodes, if true at all, answers the question about how some of his most biting and least-charming on-screen characters were created! Thanks.

[wearysloth]

But he was very clean, though...



Wilfrid Brambell



I recall the finale of Death and Transfiguration as being very hard to watch, and a frail Brambell was heartrending...

[penfold]

Absolutely superb as The White Rabbit in the Jonathon Miller version of Alice...

[knobbykins]

Outside of STEPTOE i can only recall him as a horse trader in WITCHFINDER GENERAL and as a lecherous old man after Butler's mum in HOLIDAY ON THE BUSES!

Somebody tell me a few more before i embarass myself.......too late.

[DB7]

The above link's episodes, if true at all, answers the question about how some of his most biting and least-charming on-screen characters were created! Thanks.

As I said I'm not sure how true that depiction of the duo was, and an interview on the culttv site with Galton and Simpson contradicts it somewhat. After working togther for so long a degree of mutual tedium would be understandable.

George: I have recently seen the ‘When Steptoe met Son’ documentary on Channel 4. Was that a fair depiction? Did they ever get on?





Alan: All this stuff about Steptoe and Son hating each other… if it was true it certainly came after the television series. And after the two films.





Ray: There wasn’t much of a clash while we were working with them.





Alan: There were a few minor irritations, but you get that working on any show. They were two different people, but nothing dramatic.

[penfold]

I do remember interviews with Bramble after Harry H. Corbett died....and he seemed inconsolable.

[Steptoes Son]

Can't let this post go without making a comment, steptoe and son, were and still is my favourite comedy, the writing and the actors were spot on, just made for each other.

I'd recently dug out my recording of when steptoe met son and watched this again, sometimes I think its better not to watch theese shows, somewhat spoils the show, even if untrue.

I also loved Wilfred in A Hard Day's Night as Paul's Grandfather and in the On the Buses film.

[fred kite]

take a look at him in the disney film .in search of the castaways.....as bill gaye...he is superb .steptoe for me is also thee best comedy ever ......nothing touches wilfed and harry h corbets timing ..sheer gold

[ChristineCB]

My post about "if true" wasn't so much questioning fact or fiction, but more of a curiosity about his characters' development. I've only seen maybe 3 dozen STEPTOEs and all of them stand as comedy favorites. His HARD DAY'S NIGHT performance probably brought a lot more attention to him worldwide, but he seemed to log most of his career in England.

[image45]

<but he seemed to log most of his career in England.> Indeed his agent seemed to have agreed such strong fees for his UK work that to go over the channel ( In more ways than one) would have made this work result in a Nil Return.



Most people seem to have cover the other areas above.

[Marky B]

I remember him an episode of Scotland Yard,or something of that ilk and era,where he appeared as,if I remember well,a forsensic expert. His accent was impeccable English,not the voice we remember him for from Steptoe & Son. Writers of sitcoms should study the Galton & Simpson scripts and perhaps gauge an insight of how comedy should be written,characters develope (and their relationships) and most of all bear in mind how make a comedy last for future generations to enjoy.

Ta Ta

Marky B

[D Cairns]

He's enjoyable in his guest spot in WITCHFINDER GENERAL. I was slightly startled to hear that he spent his free time between jobs high-stepping it in the homosexual fleshpots of Hong Kong, but each to his own.

[Carmel]

What a great actor Wilfred Bramble was, and i dont think he gets the recocnition he deserves. He always played great roles even in the bit parts he did. Crooks in Cloisters, In search of the castaway's and many more.

[ChristineCB]

...i dont think he gets the recocnition he deserves.

That's sort of the opinion I've heard from others, and that's why I started this thread to see if the BritMovie folks had opinions about his performances and their place in entertainment history.



C. Aubrey Smith is an often imitated but inimitable character in my mind. Laughton,too. Absolutely irreplaceable, along with others. I think Brambell is among those, too - Alistair's been a perfect representative of Scrooge, but when I think of "crotchety old men", Brambell always comes to mind first and foremost. A little sinister, always sly, with great abilities to mutter and rant.

[image45]

Alistair's been a perfect representative of Scrooge, but when I think of "crotchety old men", Brambell always comes to mind first and foremost.

Is that due to Alistair Simm playing scrooge as a film part while brambell played "crotchety old men", in series format so is generally more memorable in this role!

[ChristineCB]

Perhaps. I'm not sure. I'm wondering if Alistair and Brambell could have switched roles, and how they might have done.



Brambell has some shifty-eye expressions that always made Steptoe (and Grandfather from HARD DAY'S NIGHT) appear SO sneaky and suspicious. I'm not sure any actor could match Brambell's expressions.



And for Brambell to be Scrooge? Alistair's Scrooge possesses a self-righteousness that seems beyond anyone else's criticism. There's almost a grandeur to Scrooge - and certainly there is in Scrooge's mind. Alistair captures that perfectly. Would Brambell?



I like to think that good actors can turn a familiar role into their own, even if it takes a while for my expectations to catch up!



Do you keep up with Fell's notes about Jenny Agutter, and attending rehearsals? This "role switch" play time is one thing I enjoy watching occur in some rehearsals, where actors will swap roles for a while to see if they gain advantages by seeing how others might play a scene. I'd love to have seen Alistair and Wilfrid seriously take a turn in the other's shoes. (Uh oh - I feel a new thread coming on - !)

[Hackett]

I think Wilfred would have enjoyed playing a few scenes in Jenny Agutters slingbacks if the documentary I watched of him was anything to go by.

[Moor Larkin]

Wilfrid Brambell (1912 - 1985)

Any stories or tales about the man?

Here's a little bit of biography about him from a TV book of 1967:



Wilfred Brambell was born in Dublin in 1912. He always wanted to be an actor or singer. As a singer he won a gold medal as a baritone in the Dublin Festival of 1937 – a far cry from Albert Steptoe. At 18, Wilfred joined the Irish Times as a general office boy. He stayed there for nine years and in that time spent most of his wages paying for acting lessons at the Abbey School of Acting. His acting chance came when he was taken on at the famous Abbey Theatre and then at the Gate Theatre. In 1942 he joined E.N.S.A. and at the end of the war came to London for the first time. Repertory work followed and then came TV. “I played a stinking old tramp in ‘The Quatermass Experiment’, he said.



He became known rapidly for his wonderful character studies on stage, screen and television. In ‘Steptoe and Son’ countrywide acclaim of his talent was immediate. It all began in 1962, when scriptwriters Ray Galton and Alan Simpson were commissioned to write a show for ‘The Comedy Playhouse’ series. This was so successful that the public demanded to see more. So a 13-week series was produced……….



I think I mentioned on another thread about Wilfred appearing in regional repertory with Patrick McGoohan, as well as early TV, and later in the Disney movie Thomasina - and my wondering if they were 'work buddies'....... It turns out that Wilfred did a turn at the repertory theatre at Sheffield as late as 1955 (I don't know what play, but the Rep Company would pull in guest actors for specific roles - 3-week contracts I think) so they might well have had plenty to chat about!!.....