Ronald Shiner
Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 in London – 29 June 1966 in London) was a British stand-up comedian and comedic actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.
Career
When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, after which he became a signalman and a wireless operator, then a farmer. Army concerts gave him a taste for the stage.
In 1952 he was voted Britain's most popular local male star in cinema.[1] He was particularly well known for military comedies.[2]
He starred in the London production of Aladdin as Widow Twankey with Bob Monkhouse at the Coliseum in 1960. In retirement he owned a pub at Blackboys in Sussex. British Pathe News filmed a newsreel of him in his pub, being visited by Jimmy Edwards, in 1954.[3]
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1958 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre.
Partial filmography
- Wild Boy (1934)
- My Old Dutch (1934)
- Doctor's Orders (1934)
- It's a Bet (1935)
- Gentlemen's Agreement (1935)
- Regal Cavalcade (1935) also known as Royal Cavalcade in the America
- Squibs (1935)
- Once a Thief (1935)
- While Parents Sleep (1935)
- Line Engaged (1935)
- Invitation To The Waltz (1935)
- King of Hearts (1936)
- Limelight (1936)
- Excuse My Glove (1936)
- Dreaming Lips (1937)
- London Melody (1937)
- Dr Syn (1937) based on a series of novels by Russell Thorndike
- The Black Tulip (1937) based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas
- Beauty and the Barge (1937)
- Silver Blaze (1937)
- Dinner at the Ritz (1937)
- A Yank at Oxford (1938)
- The Constant Nymph (1938) based on a novel by Margaret Kennedy
- Prison Without Bars (1938)
- Sidewalks of London (1938)
- They Drive by Night (1938)
- The Gang's All Here (1939) also known as The Amazing Mr. Forrest (1943)
- The Mind of Mr. Reeder (1939) based on a novel by Edgar Wallace also known as The Mysterious Mr. Reeder
- Trouble Brewing (1939) based on a novel by Joan Butler
- The Nursemaid Who Disappeared (1939)
- I Killed the Count (1939)
- Flying Fifty-Five (1939) based on the 1922 novel by Edgar Wallace
- Discoveries (1939)
- The Lion Has Wings (1939)
- Come On George! (1939)
- Bulldog Sees It Through (1939)
- The Missing People (1940) based on a novel by Edgar Wallace
- The Spider (1940)
- The Middle Watch (1940)
- Let George Do It! (1940)
- The Case of the Frightened Lady (1940) also known as Frightened Lady based on a play by Edgar Wallace
- Call a Cop (1940) originally known as Spare a Copper
- Salvage with a Smile (1940)
- The Seventh Survivor (1941)
- Old Bill and Son (1941)
- South American George (1941)
- They Flew Alone (1942)
- The Soldier's Food (1941)
- Those Kids from Town (1942)
- The Big Blockade (1942)
- Those Kids from Town (1942)
- The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942)
- Unpublished Story (1942)
- Sabotage at Sea (1942)
- The Young Mr Pitt (1942)
- King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942)
- The Balloon Goes Up (1942)
- Appearances Are Deceptive (1942)
- The Gentle Sex (1943)
- Get Cracking (1943)
- Miss London Ltd. (1943)
- Thursday's Child (1943)
- My Learned Friend (1943)
- The Butler's Dilemma (1943)
- The Night Invader (1943)
- Bees in Paradise (1944)
- I Live in Grosvenor Square (1945) also known as A Yank in London (1945)
- Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) also known as Caesar & Cleopatra in the United States of America
- George in Civvy Street (1946)
- The Man Within (1947) based on a novel, also known as The Smugglers in the United States of America
- Dusty Bates (1947)
- Brighton Rock (1947)
- Rise and Shiner (1948) - Promotion documentary film about Shiner's daily life.
- Forbidden (1949)
- Reluctant Heroes (1951)
- Worm's Eye View (1951)
- The Magic Box (1951)[4]
- Little Big Shot (1952)
- Wonders Never Cease (1952)
- Top of the Form (1953)
- Innocents in Paris (1953) also known as Weekend-a Paris (1952)
- Laughing Anne (1953)
- Up to His Neck (1954)
- Aunt Clara (1954)
- See How They Run (1955)
- Keep It Clean (1956)
- Dry Rot (1956)
- My Wife's Family (1956)
- Carry on Admiral (1957)
- Not Wanted on Voyage (1957)
- Girls at Sea (1958)
- Val Parnell's Spectacular (1958)
- The Navy Lark (1959)
- Operation Bullshine (1959)
- The Night We Got the Bird (1961)
- BBC Sunday-Night Play (1962)
- The Rhine Light (1965)
References
- ↑ "COMEDIAN TOPS FILM POLL.". The Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1949 - 1953). Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 28 December 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ↑ "WHAT'S NEWS IN THE MOVIE WORLD.". Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 28 November 1954. p. 39. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ↑ Pathe News : Guv'nor Shiner(1954)
- ↑ Release date for The Magic Box, in IMDb.