Percy Herbert (actor)

Quality 0.50 · 3 views · Updated 2 months ago

English actor (1920–1992)

title: "Percy Herbert (actor)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1920-births", "1992-deaths", "english-male-film-actors", "english-male-television-actors", "british-world-war-ii-prisoners-of-war", "royal-army-ordnance-corps-soldiers", "world-war-ii-prisoners-of-war-held-by-japan", "british-army-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "20th-century-english-male-actors", "alumni-of-the-royal-academy-of-dramatic-art", "military-personnel-from-london", "male-actors-from-london"] description: "English actor (1920–1992)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Herbert_(actor)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English actor (1920–1992) ::

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

FieldValue
namePercy Herbert
imagePercy Herbert 1967.JPG
captionHerbert in 1967
birth_date
birth_placeLondon, England
death_date
death_placeKent, England
educationRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
occupationActor
years_active1951–1987
spouseAmy Lindsay (m. 1947)
children2
::

| name = Percy Herbert | image = Percy Herbert 1967.JPG | caption = Herbert in 1967 | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = London, England | death_date = | death_place = Kent, England | education = Royal Academy of Dramatic Art | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1951–1987 | spouse = Amy Lindsay (m. 1947) | children = 2

Percy Herbert (31 July 1920 – 6 December 1992) was an English actor.

Early years

Herbert was born in east London. His father left home when Herbert was a young boy. The middle sibling, Herbert was brought up by his mother Ann Herbert along with his brother Lawrence and his sister Maisie. In his youth he learned boxing at Repton Boxing club.

Acting career

Post-war he returned to London. Dame Sybil Thorndike helped him secure an interview with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he won a scholarship. His acting work began in the theatre, including at John Gielgud's Old Vic Company.

Beginning in 1954, he went on to appear in 78 films. He often played soldiers including in The Cockleshell Heroes and The Bridge on the River Kwai. The Bridge on the River Kwai was about British POWs working on the Burma Railway (of which Herbert had lived experience). Herbert as well as being cast as Grogan, he was paid by Producer David Lean as a consultant on the film. It was Herbert who suggested using the well-known "Colonel Bogey March" that prisoners whistle in the film.

His other notable war films include Sea of Sand, Tunes of Glory, The Guns of Navarone, Guns at Batasi, Tobruk and The Wild Geese.

He was equally at home in comedies (Barnacle Bill, Casino Royale, 3 Carry On films), fantasy (One Million Years B.C., Mysterious Island), drama (Becket, Bunny Lake is Missing), and science fiction (Quatermass 2, Night of the Big Heat).

He also acted on television; he was a regular on the short-lived American series Cimarron Strip, during a brief foray to Hollywood. Other television work included Danger Man (re-titled Secret Agent on American TV), The Saint, Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green and Worzel Gummidge.

Death

Herbert died of a heart attack, aged 72, on 6 December 1992 in Broadstairs, Kent. He was survived by his childhood sweetheart and wife Amy, and his two daughters Vanessa and Katrina .

Complete filmography

References

References

  1. "Herbert, Percy". BFI.
  2. "Percy Herbert Biography". [[Allmovie]] (allmovie.com).
  3. "Percy Herbert – RADA".
  4. "Percy Herbert | Theatricalia".
  5. "Percy Herbert | Movies and Filmography".
  6. "Percy Herbert".
  7. (9 December 1992). "Percy Herbert".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1920-births1992-deathsenglish-male-film-actorsenglish-male-television-actorsbritish-world-war-ii-prisoners-of-warroyal-army-ordnance-corps-soldiersworld-war-ii-prisoners-of-war-held-by-japanbritish-army-personnel-of-world-war-ii20th-century-english-male-actorsalumni-of-the-royal-academy-of-dramatic-artmilitary-personnel-from-londonmale-actors-from-london