Creator / John Bluthal

Is this Britain's most boring man?

John Bluthal, born Isaac Bluthal, (12 August 1929 –- 15 November 2018), was a Polish-born Australian actor working in the UK best known for playing Frank Pickle in The Vicar of Dibley.

He was born in Poland and emigrated with his family to Australia in 1938 due to the rising anti-Semitism in Poland. He began acting in Melbourne's Yiddish Theatre and went to the University of Melbourne to study drama. In 1949, he travelled across Europe, ending up in the United Kingdom, where he appeared in pantomimes.

In 1960, he moved to the United Kingdom permanently. Some of his biggest TV appearances at the time were as Charlie in Citizen James, Manny Cohen in Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width, and Commander Zero in Fireball XL5. At the same time, he worked in the theatre, playing Fagin in Oliver!.

Back in Australia, he took over for Ronnie Stevens in the satire The Mavis Bramston Show and starred as Enzo Pacelli in Home Sweet Home, the Transatlantic Equivalent of Bless This House. In England, he was a familiar face in popular films of the time, racking up roles in two Doctor films, three Carry On films, A Hard Day's Night, The Knack... and How to Get It, Help!, and Casino Royale (1967).

In The '90s, he was cast in his best-known role as Frank Pickle in The Vicar of Dibley. Frank was notoriously boring and pedantic, and also came out as gay in Series 2. Bluthal's final acting role was in 2018 alongside his daughter, Lisa, in her short film By Any Other Name.

He died at the age of 89.

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Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:

Films

• Doctor in Distress (1963) — Railway Porter (Uncredited Role)
• A Hard Day's Night (1964) — Car Thief (Uncredited Role)
• Carry On Spying (1964) — Head Waiter/Voice of Dr. Crow
• The Knack... and How to Get It (1965) — Angry Father
• Help! (1965) — Bhuta
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) — Roman Chief Guard
• Casino Royale (1967) — Casino Doorman/MI5 Man
• Follow That Camel (1967) — Corporal Clotski
• The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968) — Judge
• Doctor in Trouble (1970) — Taxi Driver
• Carry On Henry (1971) — Moshe Montmorency (Uncredited Role)
• The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) — Blind Beggar
• Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) — Cemetary Guard
• The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) — Deli Owner
• Superman III (1983) — Pisa Vendor
• Labyrinth (1986) — Goblin
• The Fifth Element (1997) — Professor Pacoli
• Dark City (1998) — Karl Harris
• Hail, Caesar! (2016) — Professor Marcuse
• Jungle (2017) — Uncle Nissim

Series

• Hancock's Half Hour, episode "The Radio Ham" (1961) — Radio Voice
• Fireball XL5, 39 episodes:
  • 38 episodes (1962-63) — Commader Wilbur Zero
  • "Planet 46" (1962) — Subterrain Leader
  • 4 episodes^{show list} "Planet 46", "Wings of Danger", "Dangerous Cargo", "Space City Special" (1962-63) — Subterrain
  • "The Doomed Planet" (1962) — Saucer Man
  • "Space Immigrants" (1962) — Minotran
  • 2 episodes^{show list} "Space Immigrants", "Plant Man from Space" (1962) — Captain Ken Ross
  • 8 episodes^{show list} "Space Immigrants", "Plant Man from Space", "Space Pirates", "Flying Zodiac", "Dangerous Cargo", "The Robot Freighter Mystery", "A Day in the Life of a Space General", "Space City Special" (1962-63) — Jock Campbell
  • "The Sun Temple" (1962) — Kazak
  • "XL5 to H20" (1962) — Jerek
  • "Space Pirates" (1962) — Patch
  • "Flying Zodiac" (1962) — Caravan Leader
  • 2 episodes^{show list} "Flying Zodiac", "Space Monster" (1962) — Captain Ken Johnson
  • "Space Pen" (1962) — Al
  • "The Last of the Xanadus" (1963) — Major Jim Ireland
  • "Planet of Platonia" (1963) — Bizan
  • "The Triads" (1963) — Snaff
  • "Convict in Space" (1963) — IPN Newsreader
  • "Space Vacation" (1963) — Jankel
  • "The Forbidden Planet" (1963) — Privator/Announcer
  • "Robert to the Rescue" (1963) — Proton
  • "Mystery of the TA2" (1963) — Colonel Harry Denton/Iceman
  • "Drama at Space City" (1963) — Uncle Hans
  • "1875" (1963) — Deputy Sheriff Dodgem
  • "The Granatoid Tanks" (1963) — Dr. Simpson
  • "The Robot Freighter Mystery" (1963) — Edmundo
  • "Whistle for Danger" (1963) — Floran
  • "Faster Than Light" (1963) — Major Duncan
  • "The Day the Earth Froze" (1963) — Rader
  • "Space City Special" (1963) — General Rossiter/Johnny Jackson
  • "Ghosts of Space" (1963) — James Frazer/Halla
  • "Hypnotic Sphere" (1963) — Suventan Brain
  • "Sabotage" (1963) — Ultra Arcon/Kelly
  • "Space Magnet" (1963) — Captain Ross
• The Saint, 2 episodes:
  • "The Damsel in Distress" (1964) — Guido Naccaro
  • "The Happy Suicide" (1965) — Ziggy Zaglan
• Best of Friends, episode "Stars and Strife" (1963) — Man
• The Avengers, episode "Two's a Crowd" (1965) — Ivenko
• Man in a Suitcase, episode "Jigsaw Man" (1968) — Berger
• Sykes, episode "The Band" (1974) — Henry
• The Goodies, episode "Clown Virus" (1975) — Major Cheeseburger
• Whodunnit?, episode "A Deadly Tan" (1976) — General Malkol
• Doctor Down Under, episode "I Gotta Horse" (1979) — "Chalky" White
• Reilly, Ace of Spies, 2 episodes^{show list} "After Moscow", "Shutdown" (1983) — Leonid Krassin
• 'Allo 'Allo!, episode "Savile Row to the Rescue" (1984) — Klein
• Minder, episode "The Return of the Invincible Man" (1985) — Solly Salmon
• The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, 2 episodes (1986) — Angus
• Super Gran, episode "Supergran and the Heir Apparent" (1987) — Inside Legg
• Turn on to T-Bag, episode "Gangsters" (1988) — Big Ed Malone
• T.Bag and the Revenge of the T.Set, episode "Hazel Knutt's Muesli Bar" (1989) — Herr Krimper
• Bergerac, episode "My Name's Sergeant Bergerac" (1990) — Edward Emanuelson
• One Foot in the Grave, episode "I'll Retire to Bedlam" (1990) — Mr. Jellinek
• T.Bag and the Pearls of Wisdom, episode "Tut Tut" (1990) — High Priest
• Rumpole of the Bailey, episode "Rumpole a la Carte" (1991) — Gaston LeBlanc
• Birds of a Feather, episode "We'll Always Have Majorca" (1991) — Pete "Pedro Ramirez" Morgan
• Taggart, 3 episodes^{show list} "Ring of Deceit Part One", "Ring of Deceit Part Two", "Ring of Deceit Part Three" (1992) — Albert Newman
• Inspector Morse, episode "Twilight of the Gods" (1993) — Victor Ignotas
• The Vicar of Dibley, 20 episodes (1994-2007) — Frank Pickle
• Lovejoy, episode "Fruit of the Desert" (1994) — Popov
• CASUAL+Y, episode "Halfway House" (1995) — Mr. Malinowski
• Last of the Summer Wine, episode "Brushes at Dawn" (1995) — Barber
• Jonathan Creek, episode "Jack in the Box" (1997) — Jack Holiday
• Blue Heelers, 2 episodes^{show list} "Too Good to Be True: Part 1", "Too Good to Be True: Part 2" (2003) — Sid Harrison
• Spirited, 6 episodes^{show list} "The Man Who Fell to Earth", "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead", "Wild Horses", "I Remember Nothing", "Cat's in the Cradle", "Time After Time" (2010-11) — Rocco

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