Guy Standing (actor)

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title: "Guy Standing (actor)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1873-births", "1937-deaths", "english-male-film-actors", "english-male-stage-actors", "male-actors-from-london", "knights-commander-of-the-order-of-the-british-empire", "actors-awarded-knighthoods", "royal-navy-officers", "royal-naval-volunteer-reserve-personnel-of-world-war-i", "20th-century-english-male-actors", "artists'-rifles-soldiers", "standing-family", "burials-at-grand-view-memorial-park-cemetery"] description: "British actor (1873–1937)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Standing_(actor)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British actor (1873–1937) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
honorific_prefix	Sir
name	Guy Standing
honorific_suffix	KBE
image	Guy Standing, stage actor (SAYRE 9282).jpg
caption	Standing in 1906
birth_date
birth_place	London, England
death_date
death_place	Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.
yearsactive	1895–1937
spouse
children	3, including Kay Hammond
parents	Herbert Standing (father)
relatives	{{Unbulleted list
::

| honorific_prefix = Sir | name = Guy Standing | honorific_suffix = KBE | image = Guy Standing, stage actor (SAYRE 9282).jpg | caption = Standing in 1906 | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = London, England | death_date = | death_place = Hollywood Hills, California, U.S. | yearsactive = 1895–1937 | spouse = | children = 3, including Kay Hammond | parents = Herbert Standing (father) | relatives = {{Unbulleted list|Jack Standing (brother)|Percy Standing (brother)|Wyndham Standing (brother)| John Standing (grandson)}}

Sir Guy Standing (1 September 187324 February 1937) was an English actor.

Biography

Standing served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve throughout the First World War, reaching the rank of commander. He was seconded to MI6, but transferred to the Ministry of Information in December 1917. In 1918, he was part of the British War Mission to the United States. For this service, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1918 and raised to Knight Commander (KBE) in the 1919 New Year Honours.

After becoming a noted actor in British and American theatre, he moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s appearing in Paramount films. His best-known role is probably that of Colonel Stone, autocratic father of Lieutenant Stone (played by Richard Cromwell), in Henry Hathaway's Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935).

He was the son of Herbert Standing (1846–1923), a noted actor from the stage and in silent films. His brothers Jack Standing, Herbert Standing Jr., Percy Standing and Wyndham Standing were also actors, as was his first wife Isabelle Urquhart, and his third wife and mother of his three children, Dorothy Hammond (née Plaskitt), his son Guy Standing Jr. and his daughter, Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing) and grandson John Standing.

His son Michael Standing (died 1 December 1984), was the first live cricket commentator for BBC and first live radio commentator, known particularly for his "Standing on the Corner" slot in In Town Tonight. After a distinguished war record as Head of Outside Broadcasting, he went on to become Director of Variety. In this role he was responsible for commissioning such classics as The Goon Show, The Navy Lark, Hancock's Half Hour and Round the Horne. His later roles in radio management included the negotiation with the Musicians' Union to provide sufficient airtime for both recorded artists and live orchestras. The agreement he made enabled the start of Radio 1. Michael also wrote The Green Book, a book of rules and principles put into practice by the BBC of Lord Reith.

Death

Standing died from a heart attack on 24 February 1937. He was picking up his car from a garage when the attendant asked him how he felt. "Excellent," he replied, "In fact, I never felt better in my life." Standing then fell to the floor, writhing in pain and clutching his chest. He died at Hollywood Emergency Hospital a few minutes later, never having spoken another word. He was interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Rumours surrounding Standing's death suggested that he had died from the complications of either a black widow spider or rattlesnake bite, but this has been deemed false.

Filmography

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1914	Alone in New York
1933	The Eagle and the Hawk	Major Dunham
The Story of Temple Drake	Grandfather Judge Drake
Midnight Club	Commissioner Hope
Cradle Song	Don Jose - the Doctor
Hell and High Water	Rear Admiral
1934	Death Takes a Holiday	Duke Lambert
The Witching Hour	Judge Martin Prentice
Double Door	Mortimer Neff
Now and Forever	Felix Evans
1935	The Lives of a Bengal Lancer	Colonel Tom Stone
Car 99	Professor Anthony
Annapolis Farewell	Cmdr. Fitzhugh
The Big Broadcast of 1936	Doctor
1936	Palm Springs	Captain Smyth
The Return of Sophie Lang	Max Bernard
I'd Give My Life	Governor John Bancroft
Lloyd's of London	John Julius Angerstein
1937	Bulldog Drummond Escapes	Col. Reginald Nielson	(final film role)
::

References

References

1. "Guy Standing | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos".
2. Bennett, Gill. (2007). "Churchill's Man of Mystery: Desmond Morton and the World of Intelligence". Routledge.
3. {{London Gazette. (8 January 1919)
4. (25 February 1937). "Noted Film Actor Dies". The Los Angeles Times.
5. Ellenberger, Allan R.. (2001). "Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory". McFarland & Company.
6. Ellenberger, Allan R.. "Sir Guy Standing – death by rattlesnake?". allanellenberger.com.

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