Terry Scott

2025-10-08T20:06:02Z

2A00:23C7:924:A801:893A:719E:17F9:F5F4: /* Career */

{{short description|English actor and comedian (1927–1994)}}
{{other people}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Terry Scott
| image = terry-scott.jpg
| caption = Terry Scott
| occupation = Actor, comedian
| birth_name = Owen John Scott
| birth_date = 4 May 1927
| birth_place = [[Watford]], [[Hertfordshire]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1994|7|26|1927|5|4|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Witley]], [[Surrey]], England
| years_active = 1957-1994
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Mary Howard|1949|1957|reason=divorce}}
* {{marriage|Margaret Peden|1957}}
}}
| children = 5
| other_names =
}}

'''Terry Scott''' (born '''Owen John Scott'''; 4 May 1927 – 26 July 1994) was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven of the ''[[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On films]]''.<ref name="Stevens">{{cite book |last=Stevens |first=Christopher |title=Born Brilliant: The Life of Kenneth Williams |publisher=John Murray |year=2010 |page=240 |isbn=978-1-84854-195-5}}</ref> He is also well known for appearing in the [[BBC1]] [[Situation comedy|sitcom]]s ''[[Happy Ever After (British TV series)|Happy Ever After]]'' and ''[[Terry and June]]'' with [[June Whitfield]].

==Early life==
Scott was born and brought up in [[Watford]], [[Hertfordshire]],<ref name="U"/> and educated at Watford Field Junior School and [[Watford Grammar School for Boys]]. He was the youngest of three children, and the only surviving son after his brother Aubrey died when Scott was six.<ref name="U">''[[The Unforgettable]]'', ITV1, 22 September 2010</ref> After [[National Service]] in the [[Royal Navy|Navy]] at the end of the [[Second World War]], he briefly studied accounting.

==Career==
Scott began his acting career with appearances on radio shows such as ''[[Workers' Playtime (radio programme)|Workers Playtime]]'', which were followed by appearances on television. He gained an opportunity to perform in [[farce]] when he joined the [[Whitehall farce|Whitehall Theatre Company]]. With [[Bill Maynard]] he appeared at [[Butlins|Butlin's Holiday Camp]] in [[Skegness]], [[Lincolnshire]] and partnered him in the TV series ''[[Great Scott - It's Maynard!]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1367370/index.html |title = BFI Screenonline: Scott, Terry (1927–1994) Biography}}</ref> During the 1960s he appeared alongside [[Hugh Lloyd]] in ''[[Hugh and I]]'' (1962–1967).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jul/16/television.television|last=Lloyd|first=Hugh|title=Much-loved comedy actor, he went on to more serious roles |newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 July 2008|access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref> They both appeared as Ugly Sisters in pantomime at The London Palladium; Scott reappeared in later years in the same role alongside [[Julian Orchard]]. Scott and Lloyd later appeared in ''[[Hugh and I Spy]]'' (1968) and, as [[gnome]]s, in the sitcom ''[[The Gnomes of Dulwich]]'' (1969).

Scott's novelty record "My Brother" (written by [[Mitch Murray]], and released in 1962 on [[Parlophone]]) was based on a schoolboy character (he dressed in school uniform to sing it on TV). In the 1970s he had a role in TV commercials for [[Curly Wurly]] caramel bars, in which he again appeared dressed as a schoolboy, with short trousers and cap. He repeated this performance several times on BBC TV's long-running variety show ''[[The Good Old Days (UK TV series)|The Good Old Days]]''. Scott had played a small role in the very first of the ''[[Carry On (franchise)|Carry On films]]'' series of films, ''[[Carry On Sergeant]]'' in 1958. In 1968 he returned to the series with a role in ''[[Carry On Up the Khyber]]'' (1968), playing main roles in six of the later films.

Scott starred alongside [[June Whitfield]] in several series of the comedy ''[[Happy Ever After (British TV series)|Happy Ever After]]'' and its successor ''[[Terry and June]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/dec/11/june-whitfield-interview|title=June Whitfield Interview|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 December 2011|access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref> They had first worked together making a series of the sketch show ''Scott On'' (1968).<ref name="U"/> They also featured in supporting roles together (as a couple) in the film version of ''[[Bless This House (film)|Bless This House]]''. Although both Scott and Whitfield made several ''Carry On'' appearances, they never appeared in the same film. From 1981 to 1992, Scott was the [[Voice actor|voice]] of [[Penfold (character)|Penfold]] the [[hamster]] in the [[animated series]] ''[[Danger Mouse (1981 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]''.

==Personal life and death==
Scott suffered from ill health for several years in the latter part of his life. In 1979, he had a life-saving operation after a [[Intracerebral hemorrhage|brain haemorrhage]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12735203.Terry_Scott__epitome_of_the_English_sit_com__dies_aged_67/|title=Terry Scott, epitome of the English sit-com, dies aged 67|website=HeraldScotland|date=27 July 1994 |language=en|access-date=2018-01-09}}</ref> He also suffered from creeping [[paralysis]] and had to wear a [[Cervical collar|neck brace]].

Scott was also diagnosed with [[cancer]] in 1987 and besides voicing Penfold, gradually wound down his performing career. He died from its effects at his family home in [[Witley]], [[Surrey]], on 26 July 1994, at the age of 67.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-terry-scott-1416495.html|title=Obituary: Terry Scott|website=Independent.co.uk|access-date=24 October 2018|date=27 July 1994}}</ref> He said of his last illness: "I know it would be better to give up the [[Alcoholic beverage|booze]], [[Cigarette|fags]] and [[Casual sex|birds]], but life would be so boring, wouldn't it?"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/stars-carry-happened-next/terry-scott/|title=Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Williams, and the cast of Carry On: what happened next?|date=6 May 2017|newspaper=The Telegraph}}</ref>

When ''[[Terry and June]]'' ended in 1987, Scott suffered a nervous breakdown. The breakdown was in part brought on by his public confession that he had indulged in a series of affairs since his marriage to dancer Margaret Peden in 1957. The couple had four daughters.<ref name="U"/>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
! Title !! Year !! Role !!Notes
|-
|''[[Blue Murder at St Trinian's]]'' || 1957 || Police Sergeant ||
|-
|''[[Carry On Sergeant]]'' || 1958 || Sergeant O'Brian ||
|-
|''[[Too Many Crooks]]'' || 1959 || Fire Policeman James Smith ||
|-
|''[[The Bridal Path (film)|The Bridal Path]]'' || 1959 || Police Constable Donald ||
|-
|''[[I'm All Right Jack]]'' || 1959 || Crawley ||
|-
|''[[And the Same to You]]'' || 1960 || Police Constable ||
|-
|''[[The Night We Got the Bird]]'' || 1961 || P. C. Lovejoy ||
|-
|''[[Nearly a Nasty Accident]]'' || 1961 || Sam Stokes ||
|-
|''[[Double Bunk]]'' || 1961 || 2nd River Policeman ||
|-
|''[[Mary Had a Little...]]'' || 1961 || Police Sergeant ||
|-
|''[[No My Darling Daughter]]'' || 1961 || Constable ||
|-
|''[[Nothing Barred]]'' || 1961 || P. C. Budgie ||
|-
|''[[What a Whopper]]'' || 1961 || Sergeant ||
|-
|''[[A Pair of Briefs]]'' || 1962 || Policeman at Law Courts ||
|-
|''[[Father Came Too!]]'' || 1964 || Executioner ||
|-
|''[[Murder Most Foul (film)|Murder Most Foul]]'' || 1964 || Police Constable Wells ||
|-
|''[[Gonks Go Beat]]'' || 1965 || PM ||
|-
|''[[Doctor in Clover]]'' || 1966 || Robert ||
|-
|''[[The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery]]'' || 1966 || Policeman ||
|-
|''[[Carry On Up the Khyber]]'' || 1968 || Sergeant Major MacNutt ||
|-
|''[[Carry On Camping]]'' || 1969 || Peter Potter ||
|-
|''[[Carry On Up the Jungle]]'' || 1970 || Cecil The Jungle Boy ||
|-
|''[[Carry On Loving]]'' || 1970 || Terence Philpott ||
|-
|''[[Carry On Henry]]'' || 1971 || [[Cardinal Wolsey]] ||
|-
|''[[Carry On at Your Convenience]]'' || 1971 || Mr Allcock || (scenes deleted)
|-
|''[[Carry On Matron]]'' || 1972 || Dr Prodd ||
|-
|''[[Bless This House (film)|Bless This House]]'' || 1972 || Ronald Baines ||
|-
|}

==Discography==
*"Don't Light The Fire 'Til After Santa's Gone" / "My Brother", Parlophone R 4967 (December 1962)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.windmill-records.co.uk/terry-scott---my-brotherdont-light-the-fire-til-after-santas--gone-r-4967-ex-121402-p.asp|title=Terry Scott - My Brother/Don't Light The Fire 'Til After Santa's Gone (R 4967) Ex|website=Windmill-records.co.uk|access-date=26 August 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0779839}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Terry}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:Butlins Redcoats]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male comedians]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English male voice actors]]
[[Category:People educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys]]
[[Category:Male actors from Watford]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]
[[Category:British novelty song performers]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Comedians from Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Royal Navy sailors]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Hertfordshire]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Terry Scott