Line #5 Creator/PeterButterworth


1	[[quoteright:174:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/peter_butterworth.jpg]]
2
3	->''"When you're hurting from laughing too much, you sometimes stop and think 'I'm actually getting paid for this'."''
4
5	Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915 -- 16 January 1979) was an English actor who was known for his frequent appearances in the popular ''Film/CarryOn'' film series.
6
7	He began his adult life as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and served during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, where his torpedo bomber was shot down in Holland in 1940. He was captured and thrown in a prisoner of war camp, where he met fellow prisoner Creator/TalbotRothwell, and the two of them became close friends; when the prisoners tried to escape, they would be the distractions by singing songs and doing stand-up.
8
9	After the war, Butterworth married comedienne and impressionist Janet Brown in 1949, and the two of them had a son and daughter. He also began to appear in pantomimes and bit parts in movies and was first nationally noticed when he appeared in the Creator/TerryThomas sketch show ''How Do You View?'' playing chauffeur Lockitt. He later reunited with many of the ''How Do You View?'' cast in ''Series/FriendsAndNeighbours1954'', and then became a television presenter for children's television throughout the 1950s.
10
11	In 1965, he debuted in the ''Carry On'' movies in ''Film/CarryOnCowboy''. He wasn't actually considered at first by the production staff but good friend Talbot Rothwell (who had been the screenwriter for at least four of the movies at that point) convinced them to offer him the job. He continued to be in the series for 16 other films, mostly portraying timid bumbling sidekicks, as well as making a couple of uncredited cameos that were [[OneSceneWonder arguably very memorable.]]
12
13	In between the series, he appeared in a couple of Creator/ValGuest films and a movie adaptation of ''Theatre/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' in 1966. He also made a cameo in ''Series/DadsArmy'' and made a bit of ''Series/DoctorWho'' history portraying the first non-Doctor Time Lord to appear on the show, playing the "Meddling Monk" in two serials with the First Doctor Creator/WilliamHartnell.
14
15	After filming ''Literature/TheGreatTrainRobbery'', Butterworth appeared in a pantomime production of ''Aladdin'' as Widow Twankey in early January 1979. The production team were concerned that he hadn't shown up for the final rehearsal after the performance he'd turned up for the night before. When they arrived at his hotel, they found him dead at the scene, suspected of having a heart attack.
16
17	Out of respect, the pantomime was cancelled and Butterworth's recorded appearances were released posthumously. He was survived by his wife and two children.
18
19	Decades after his death, declassified records revealed that Butterworth was a key part of escape attempts out of the infamous Stalag Luft III, having participated in events fictionalised in works like ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' and ''Film/TheWoodenHorse''. Ironically, he auditioned for a role in ''The Wooden Horse'' but was rejected for not appearing athletic enough despite having been one of the men who regularly used the titular piece of equipment to cover for tunneling operations.
20
21	!!Works with pages on TV Tropes that he appeared in:
22
23	[[AC:Films]]
24	* ''Film/DoubleConfession'' (1950) -- Joe (UncreditedRole)
25	* ''Film/NightAndTheCity'' (1950) -- Thug (UncreditedRole)
26	* ''Film/MrDrakesDuck'' (1951) -- Higgins
27	* ''Film/AppointmentWithVenus'' (1951) -- Naval Rating
28	* ''Film/MurderSheSaid'' (1961) -- Ticket Collector
29	* ''Film/TheDayTheEarthCaughtFire'' (1961) -- Sub-Editor
30	* ''{{Film/Doctor in Distress\|1963}}'' (1963) -- Ambulance Man
31	* ''Film/CarryOnCowboy'' (1965) -- Doc
32	* ''Film/CarryOnScreaming'' (1966) -- Detective Constable Slobotham
33	* ''Film/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' (1966) -- Roman Sentry
34	* ''Film/DontLoseYourHead'' (1967) -- Citizen Bidet
35	* ''Film/FollowThatCamel'' (1967) -- Simpson
36	* ''Film/CarryOnDoctor'' (1967) -- Mr. Smith
37	* ''WesternAnimation/AsterixTheGaul'' (1967) -- Vitalstatistix (UncreditedRole)
38	* ''Film/PrudenceAndThePill'' (1968) -- Chemist
39	* ''Film/{{Oliver}}'' (1968) -- Shopkeeper in Court (UncreditedRole)
40	* ''Film/CarryOnUpTheKhyber'' (1968) -- Brother Belcher
41	* ''Film/CarryOnCamping'' (1969) -- Mr. Josh Fiddler
42	* ''Film/CarryOnAgainDoctor'' (1969) -- Shuffling Patient
43	* ''Film/CarryOnLoving'' (1970) -- "Dr. Crippen" (UncreditedRole)
44	* ''Film/CarryOnHenry'' (1971) -- Charles, Earl of Bristol (UncreditedRole)
45	* ''Film/CarryOnAbroad'' (1972) -- Pepe
46	* ''Film/CarryOnGirls'' (1973) -- Admiral
47	* ''Film/CarryOnDick'' (1974) -- Tom
48	* ''Film/CarryOnBehind'' (1975) -- Henry Barnes
49	* ''Film/RobinAndMarian'' (1976) -- Surgeon
50	* ''Film/TheRitz'' (1976) -- Patron in Chaps
51	* ''Film/CarryOnEngland'' (1976) -- Major Carstairs
52	* ''Film/CarryOnEmmannuelle'' (1978) -- Richmond
53	* ''{{Film/The Great Train Robbery\|1978}}'' (1978) -- Putnam
54	[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
55	* ''{{Series/Friends and Neighbours\|1954}}'', 6 episodes (1954) -- George Bird
56	* ''Series/DixonOfDockGreen'', episode "Dead Jammy" (1962) -- Jammy Tate
57	* ''Series/DangerMan'', episode "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" (1965) -- 'Umbrella'
58	* ''Series/DoctorWho'', serials "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E9TheTimeMeddler The Time Meddler]]" (1965) & "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan The Daleks' Master Plan]]" (1965-66) -- The Meddling Monk
59	* ''Series/InsideGeorgeWebley'', episode "Get Well Soon" (1968) -- Dr. Horniman
60	* ''Series/CarryOnChristmas'', 3 episodes (1969-73):
61	** ''Carry On Christmas'' (1969) -- Count Dracula/Street Beggar/Petunia/Haggie
62	** ''Carry On Stuffing'' (1972) -- Captain Alistair Dripping/Sir Francis Fiddler/Admiral Rene/Widow Holeinone
63	** ''Carry On Christmas'' (1973) -- Caveman/Guest/Dart Player/German/Ballerina/Friar Tuck
64	* ''Series/DadsArmy'', episode "The Face on the Poster" (1975) -- Mr. Bugden
65	* ''Series/CarryOnLaughing'', 9 episodes (1975):
66	** "The Prisoner of Spenda" -- Count Yerackers
67	** "The Baron Outlook" -- Friar Roger
68	** "The Sobbing Cavalier" -- Oliver Cromwell
69	** "Under the Round Table" and "Short Knight, Long Daze" -- Merlin
70	** "The Case of the Screaming Winkles" -- Admiral Clanger
71	** "And in My Lady's Chamber" -- Captain Silas Crawshaw
72	** "The Case of the Coughing Parrot" -- Lost Property Attendant
73	** "Lamp-Posts of the Empire" -- Lord Gropefinger

Context Creator / PeterButterworth