Nicholas Parsons
Birthday: Born in 1923-10-10 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, UK
Deathday: 2020-01-28
Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show Just a Minute and hosted the game show Sale of the Century during the 1970s and early 1980s. Parsons was born and grew up in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and was educated at St Paul's School, London. He became a full-time actor following the Second World War and began appearing in various theatre, film and television roles, including support to Arthur Haynes. He began presenting Just a Minute in 1967 and never missed a show until 2018. In addition to his well-known roles on this and Sale of the Century, he appeared as a guest on other television shows, including Doctor Who and Have I Got News for You. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
TV Credits
Four Feather Falls
Character:
Four Feather Falls was the third puppet TV show produced by Gerry Anderson for Granada Television. It was based on an idea by Barry Gray, who also wrote the show's music. The series was the first to use an early version of Anderson's Supermarionation puppetry. Thirty-nine 13-minute episodes were produced, broadcast by Granada from February until November 1960. The setting is the late 19th-century fictional Kansas town of Four Feather Falls, where the hero of the series, Tex Tucker, is sheriff. T...
Doctor Who
Character: The Rev. Mr. Wainwright
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs....
Surprise, Surprise
Character: Self
Surprise, Surprise is a British television programme originally hosted by Cilla Black and produced by London Weekend Television for ITV. It ran for 14 series from 6 May 1984 to 5 September 1997, after which four annual specials were produced between 1998 to 2001. In 2012, the show returned after a 11-year hiatus. The revived version is produced by ITV Studios and presented by Holly Willoughby. The show is currently in its second series....
Countdown
Character:
The clock is ticking as contestants compete in games of lexical dexterity and numerical agility....
The Benny Hill Show
Character:
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show that starred Benny Hill and aired in various incarnations between 15 January 1955 and 30 May 1991 in over 140 countries. The show focused on sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody, and double-entendre. Thames Television cancelled production of the show in 1989 due to declining ratings and large production costs at £450,000 per show....
Good Omens
Character: Dagon (voice)
Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, join forces in order to prevent Armageddon. They attempt to raise the Antichrist in a balanced and human way, but are they focusing their efforts in the right direction?...
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Character: Sir Walter of the Glen
The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the surrounding vicinity. While some episodes dramatised the traditional Robin Hood tales, most episodes were original dramas created by the show's writers and producers....
Comedy World Cup
Character: Self
David Tennant hosts the competition to determine which of Britain's comedians have the biggest fountain of funny knowledge...
Celebrity Mastermind
Character:
Celebrity Mastermind is a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. The show is a spin-off of the long-running quiz show Mastermind, with the exception that all the contestants are celebrities. As with the main show, John Humphrys is the host and question-master. Magnus Magnusson was quizmaster on the 2003/04 episodes featuring Jonathan Meades as winner....
The Alphabet Game
Character:
...
What the Dickens?
Character: Self
What the Dickens is a television panel game hosted by Sandi Toksvig. Team captains were Dave Gorman and Tim Brooke-Taylor for the first series and Sue Perkins and Chris Addison for the second and third. It is recorded at Sky Studios in West London....
Just a Minute
Character: Himself (host)
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy and television panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003. The object of the game is for panellists to talk for sixty seconds on a given subject, "without repetition, hesitation or deviation". The comedy comes from attempts to keep within these rules and the banter among the participants. In...
An Audience with...
Character: Self
An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style....
Wogan
Character: Self
Chat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities....
Tales of the Tardis
Character: The Rev. Mr. Wainwright
Classic Doctor Who duos are reunited as they board a very special TARDIS on a nostalgic voyage through space and time....
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Character: Self
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry....
The New Statesman
Character: Nicholas Parsons
The New Statesman is a British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time....
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
Character: Self - Participant
Antiques experts accompany celebrities on a road trip around the UK searching for treasures and competing to make the most money at auction...
Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show
Character: Self
Frank Sidebottom's very own TV show, broadcast from the converted shed that functioned as his showbiz HQ. Also featuring diminutive sidekick Little Frank, the shows include Frank’s take on Crimewatch, Timperley’s contribution to Manchester’s Olympic bid, pioneering rocket science in the back garden, and even a staging of Live Aid 2!...
Agatha Christie's Marple
Character: Father Gorman
The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over....
Spatz
Character: Nicholas Parsons
Spatz is a children's comedy series that ran on CITV during the 1990s, produced by Thames Television and created by Andrew Bethell. The show originally ran from 21 February 1990 to 10 April 1992. The show centred around a fast food restaurant situated in a fictional shopping mall in Cricklewood, London. It was operated by two Canadians, Karen Hansson, Spatz International's European Co-ordinator, and Thomas "TJ" Strickland, the restaurant's manager. Vas Blackwood, Stephanie Charles, Jonathan Cope...
The Comic Strip Presents...
Character: Himself
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents... which was labelled as an example of alternative comedy. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders and Alexei Sayle with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and others....
Cluedo
Character: Reverend Green
Cluedo was a UK television game show based on the board game of the same name. Each week, a reenactment of the murder at the stately home Arlington Grange of a visiting guest was played and, through a combination of interrogating the suspects and deduction, celebrity guests had to discover who committed the murder, which of six weapons and in which room it was committed, whilst viewers were invited to play along at home....
A Bit of Fry & Laurie
Character:
A British comedy television series with turns of phrase and elaborate wordplay, written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie....
The Comic Strip Presents...
Character: Nicholas Parsons
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents... which was labelled as an example of alternative comedy. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders and Alexei Sayle with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and others....
Have I Got News for You
Character: Self - Host
Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs....
Benny Hill Show
Character:
...
Movie Credits
The Long Arm
Character: Police Constable Bates
Scotland Yard detectives attempt to solve a spate of safe robberies across England beginning with clues found at the latest burglary in London. The film is notable for using a police procedural style made popular by Ealing in their 1950 film The Blue Lamp. It is known in the US as The Third Key....
Murder Ahoy
Character: Dr. Crump
During an annual board of trustees meeting, one of the trustees dies. Miss Marple thinks he’s been poisoned after finding a chemical on him. She sets off to investigate at the ship where he had just come from. The fourth and final film from the Miss Marple series starring Margaret Rutherford as the quirky amateur detective....
Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
Character: Rodgers
Great Britain has had an international agreement for the last 50 years with a small pacific island. It has been ignored until the death of their king brings it to the attention of the Foreign Office in Whitehall. They decide to send Cadogan de Vere Carlton-Browne to re-establish friendly relations....
Frost on Sketch Shows
Character: Self
Sir David Frost traces the development of the sketch show over the last fifty years, from variety theatre to primetime television....
13 Hours That Saved Britain
Character: Eyewitnesses
In this documentary, experts dissect the Battle of Britain, which took place on Sept. 15, 1940 — a day that determined the fate of the nation....
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
Character: Dudley Heath
George Lester is a man who is chasing rainbows, looking for the pot of gold at the end. When his wife, Pamela grows tired of being dragged all over the world, she leaves him. While she is away, George converts her family home into a discotheque, when she returns, she threatens to send George to jail for fraud, cause she didn't give her approval. George needing some fast bucks, decides to turn to an old cohort of his, William Homer but Willy's a little short. George then decides to steal the plan...
Lady Godiva
Character:
Quirky young art teacher Jemima takes up a £100,00 bet to ride through the town naked on horseback like Lady Godiva to keep her beloved Art Factory open....
Spy Story
Character: Ben Toliver
A nuclear war specialist returns from a mission gathering data on Soviet communications and electronic warfare techniques in the Arctic Ocean to find that his flat has been broken into and mysteriously re-decorated....
Mr Jolly Lives Next Door
Character: Himself
A couple of bored escorts find themselves suddenly involved with a hit gang and an ax murderer - Mr. Jolly. Gratuitous violence, rivers of blood, and maximum hilarity, all rolled into one....
Happy Is the Bride
Character: John Royd
In a quiet summer corner of Wiltshire that is forever England, David and Janet decide to tie the knot. Unfortunately this is the cue for everyone else to take over proceedings, to the dismay of the couple and the increasing despair of Janet's father....
S.S. France
Character: Narrator
An onboard documentary following the passengers and crew of S.S. France on a trip from Southampton to New York and back. The film includes a look behind the scenes at what it takes to operate all that goes on during a voyage....
Hospital!
Character: Wheelchair Man
Comedy about a brilliant young brain surgeon set in an unorthodox hospital. A "Naked Gun" type comedy from Britain, this one-off special was made specifically for the launch of Channel 5 in 1997....
Another Audience With Ken Dodd
Character: Self
Once again, Ken Dodd (with over 40 years in his trade) performs his unique set in front of a host of celebrities gathered to show their appreciation of his enduring talent....
Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric
Character: Reverend Wainwright
The Doctor and Ace arrive at a secret military base during World War II, where an ancient evil from the Doctor's past prepares to make his final deadly move. As hideous vampires rise from the sea and Russian commandoes begin to close in, they are confronted not only with a mystery from the distant past but also a terrifying vision of mankind's future......
The Ghost Goes Gear
Character:
Unbeknownst to the Spencer Davis Group, their manager is upper class, grew up in a haunted manor, and is called Algernon. When they visit his home, they find out that the family is broke, they don't have the money to pay the servants, and their home is going to ruin. Spencer suggests that they advertise the home (and the ghost) and charge admission....
Carry On Regardless
Character: Wolf
After a bunch of no-hopers approaches an employment agency, the anarchy mounts as they do a series of odd jobs, including a chimp's tea party, trying to stay sober at a wine tasting… and demolishing a house....
Doctor in Love
Character: Dr. Hinxman
Doctors Burke and Hare leave the confines of St Swithins for the world of general practice, stopping off on the way as patients at the Foulness Anti-cold Unit. Hare then takes up a position as junior in a well-healed G.P.'s surgery while Burke continues to sow his doctorial wild oats....
The Best Of Benny Hill
Character:
A theatrical film compilation of the popular Benny Hill show....
The Wrong Box
Character: Alan Frazer Scrope
In Victorian England, a fortune now depends on which of two brothers outlives the other—or can be made to have seemed to do so....
Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
Character: Himself
Kenneth Williams was the star of the Carry Ons and Round the Horne. Despite his fame, he led a life full of mental torture as he tried to overcome his homosexuality in 1950s Britain. This film follows his life and eventual death based on the many diaries he kept...
Eyewitness
Character: House Surgeon
After a fight with her husband, Lucy runs out of the house, and into a night of terror. She heads for the local cinema, and in doing so, becomes the only eyewitness to a couple of crooks, who are robbing the cinema's safe. In her haste to escape the thieves, she is knocked down by a passing bus, and is taken to the local hospital. The two crooks follow, and wait for a chance to finish her off, and thus eliminate the only person who can tie them to the robbery....
Every Day's a Holiday
Character: Julian Goddard
A group of teenagers take jobs at a holiday camp for the summer and enter a TV talent show...
Brothers in Law
Character: Charles Poole
Roger Thursby is an overly keen, newly-qualified barrister who rubs his fellow barristers up the wrong way. When he is thrown in at the deep-end, with a particularly hot-tempered judge and tricky case, Thursby learns how to prove himself not only to the judge and fellow barristers but also to the public gallery....
Simon and Laura
Character: TV Producer
A couple of bickering, married performers agree to star in a "Mr. and Mrs." TV show....
The Incredible Story of Marie Antoinette's Watch with Nicholas Parsons
Character: Himself - Presenter
Nicholas Parsons explores his life-long enthusiasm for clocks when he goes in search of the most valuable and famous watch in the world - the so-called Marie Antoinette....
An Alligator Named Daisy
Character: News Interviewer (uncredited)
Returning from a cricket match in Ireland, Peter Weston gains a pet alligator from another passenger who abandons it with him. He is horrified and while his first instinct is to get rid of it he develops a relationship with a young Irishwoman who appears to be entwined with the reptile. He soon discovers that Daisy is tame and seems to be the way to Moira's heart....
Upstairs and Downstairs
Character: Brian
On marrying the boss's daughter, Richard takes his father-in-law's advice to hire a live-in domestic. He soon finds good help is hard to come by. Run-ins follow with dipsomaniacs, bank robbers, a Welsh lass who takes one look at London and runs, and an Italian charmer who turns the place into a bawdy house. Then when Ingrid arrives from Sweden things actually start to get complicated....
The Master of Bankdam
Character: Edgar Hoylehouse
Generational family struggles for control of a family business in 19th century Yorkshire, and to be the Master of Bankdam....
Too Many Crooks
Character: Tommy
Accident-prone Fingers runs a pretty unsuccessful gang. They try and rob wealthy but tricky Billy Gordon - who distrusts banks and fears the Inland Revenue - but he sees Fingers and the boys off. So they decide to kidnap his daughter, only to end up with his wife Lucy. Gordon makes out he couldn't be more pleased, spuring Lucy to take charge of the hopeless bunch of villains....
There Is No Plane to Zagreb
Character: English cuckold
A retrospective of events in director Louis van Gasteren’s life from 1964 to 1969, filmed by him in that period and reflected on from his vantage point over 40 years later at the age of 90....
Filmed in Supermarionation
Character: Self
The definitive documentary about the iconic television series developed by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and their production companies (AP Films and Century 21 Pictures). Supermarionation was a revolutionary technique used in all their programmes throughout the 1960s including Stingray, Captain Scarlet and, most famously, Thunderbirds....
Brains of Britain (or How Quizzing Became Cool)
Character: Self
We all love a good quiz. So here's a question - when did ordinary contestants turn into the pro-quizzers of today? Giving the answers are Victoria Coren Mitchell, Judith Keppel, Chris Tarrant, Mark Labbett, Nicholas Parsons and many more. Narrated by Ben Miller....
Is Benny Hill Still Funny?
Character: Self
A documentary looking at the life of Benny Hill and with the use of an audience reaction test finding out if he is still funny to contemporary audiences....