Erik Chitty

English actor

Erik Chitty

Born	(1907-07-08)8 July 1907 Dover, Kent, UK
Died	22 July 1977(1977-07-22) (aged 70) Brent, Middlesex, UK
Alma mater	RADA
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1937-1977
Spouse	Hester Bevan
Children	3

Erik Chitty (8 July 1907 in Dover, Kent^[1] – 22 July 1977 Brent, Middlesex)^[2] was an English stage, film and television actor.^[3]^[4]

Early life

Chitty was the son of a flour miller, Frederick Walter Chitty and his wife Ethel Elsie Assistance née Franklin; they married in 1902. He attended Dover College and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he was one of the founders of the Cambridge University Mummers, before training at RADA and becoming a professional actor.^[5] He then ran his own repertory company in Frinton-on-Sea.

Personal life

Chitty and former actress Hester Bevan married 1936, and they had two daughters and one son. He was also a keen genealogist.^[6]

Television career

Early television (1936–1939)

Chitty was an early player in the fledgling BBC television output, which started in November 1936 until it was closed at the beginning of WWII.

Pyramus And Thisbe, 23 July 1937, Snout^[7]
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, 2 March 1938, Guildenstern^[8]
Henry IV 22 March 1938, "Valet"^[9]
The White Chateau, 11 November 1938,^[A] Trooper of Uhlans/Orderly/Linesman^[10]
Edna's Fruit Hat, 27 January 1939, Cousin Sid^[11]
The Tempest, 5 February 1939, Boatswain^[12]
The Unquiet Spirit, 7 March 1939 "Hall Porter"^[13]
Katharine and Petruchio, 12 April 1939, "A Tailor"^[14]
Annajanska, The Bolsjevik Empress 2 May 1939, "Stammfest"^[15]
The Day is Gone, 4 August 1939, Radio announcer's voice^[16]
The Advantages of Paternity 12 May 1939, "Brunov"^[17]^[18]

Television postwar (1946 onwards)

His television credits included a major role as the aged "Mr Smith" in Please Sir!, and multiple appearances in Dad's Army, Raffles, Doctor Who, Danger Man, Maigret, Man About the House and The Goodies.^[19]^[4] He appeared in the TV musical Pickwick for the BBC in 1969.^[20]

Filmography

Contraband (1940) – Cloakroom attendant (uncredited)
Oliver Twist (1948) – Workhouse Board member (uncredited)
Forbidden (1949) – Schofield
All Over the Town (1949) – Frobisher
Your Witness (1950) – Judge's clerk
Chance of a Lifetime (1950) – Silas Pike
Circle of Danger (1951) - Box-office clerk (uncredited)
John Wesley (1954) – Trustee of Georgia
Time Is My Enemy (1954) – Ballistics expert
Views on Trial (1954) – Sterling Silver
Raising a Riot (1955) – Mr Buttons (uncredited)
Footsteps in the Fog (1955) – Hedges
Windfall (1955) – (uncredited)
After the Ball (1957) – Waiter
Zoo Baby (1957) – Vulture man
Left Right and Centre (1959) – Deputy returning officer
The Devil's Disciple (1959) – Uncle Titus
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960) – Gudgeon (uncredited)
Not a Hope in Hell (1960) – Joe
Raising the Wind (1961) – Elderly Man at concert
Follow That Man (1961) – Doctor
First Men in the Moon (1964) – Gibbs, Cavor's hired man (uncredited)
The Horror of It All (1964) – Grandpa Marley
Doctor Zhivago (1965) – Old Soldier
Casino Royale (1967) – Sir James Bond's butler (uncredited)
Bedazzled (1967) – Seed – Sir Stanley Moon's butler (uncredited)
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) – Priest (uncredited)
Arthur? Arthur! (1969) – Uncle Ratty
A Nice Girl Like Me (1969) – Vicar
Twinky (1969) – Lawyer's elderly client
Song of Norway (1970) – Helsted
The Railway Children (1970) – Photographer
Lust for a Vampire (1971) – Professor Herz
The Statue (1971) – Mouser
Please Sir! (1971) – Mr Smith
The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972) – Mr Claverton
The Vault of Horror (1973) – Old waiter (segment 1 "Midnight Mess")
Op de Hollandse toer (1973) – Mr Molenaar
The Flying Sorcerer (1973) – Sir Roger
Fall of Eagles (1974) - Hertling, German Chancellor
One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975) – Museum guard
The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones (1976) – Sam (uncredited)
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) – The butler
Jabberwocky (1977) – Second door-opener / Servant (uncredited)
A Bridge Too Far (1977) – Organist

Notes

^ Armistice Day, 20th anniversary

References

^ British Film and Television Year Book 1975, 24th edition, Peter Noble, Cinema T.V. Today, 1975, p. 72
^ https://www.olddovorians.com/erick-chitty-english-stage-film-and-television-actor-famous-ods-profile/
^ "Erik Chitty - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
^ ^a ^b "Erik Chitty". Archived from the original on 15 Jan 2009.
^ Fabrique. "Eric Chitty – RADA". rada.ac.uk.
^ "Chitty of London: genealogy and family history". chittyoflondon.awardspace.co.uk.
^ Radio Times (23 Jul 1937), Pyramus And Thisbe, vol. 56, BBC Television, p. 46
^ Radio Times (2 Mar 1938), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, vol. 58, BBC Television, p. 18
^ Radio Times (22 Mar 1938), Henry IV, vol. 58, BBC Television, p. 17
^ Radio Times (11 Nov 1938), The White Chateau, vol. 61, BBC Television, p. 18
^ Radio Times (27 Jan 1939), Edna's Fruit Hat, vol. 62, BBC Television, p. 17
^ Radio Times (5 Feb 1939), The Tempest, vol. 62, BBC Television, p. 12
^ Radio Times (7 Mar 1939), The Unquiet Spirit, vol. 62, BBC Television, p. 16
^ Radio Times (7 Apr 1939), Katharine and Petruchio, vol. 63, BBC Television, p. 17
^ Radio Times (2 May 1939), Annajanska, The Bolsjevik Empress, vol. 63, BBC Television, p. 15
^ Radio Times (4 Aug 1939), The Day is Gone, vol. 64, BBC Television, p. 17
^ Radio Times (12 May 1939), The Advantages of Paternity, vol. 63, BBC Television, p. 15
^ The Advantages of Paternity (1939) at IMDb
^ McFarlane, Brian (2016). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. OUP.
^ "Pickwick (1969)". Archived from the original on 9 Mar 2016.