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Bernard Miles

Bernard Miles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE (27 September 1907–14 June 1991) was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century. Miles was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex and attended Bishopshalt School in Hillingdon. While his parents were respectively a farm labourer and a cook, he was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford. He entered the theatre in the 1930s, soon appearing in films. Like many actors, he featured prominently in the patriotic cinema during the Second World War, including classics of the genre such as In Which We Serve and One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. He also had an uncredited role in the WWII classic The First of the Few, released in the US as Spitfire. His typical persona as an actor was as a countryman, with a strong accent typical of the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire counties. He was also, after Robert Newton, the actor most associated with the part of Long John Silver, which he played in a British TV version of Treasure Island, and in an annual performance at the Mermaid commencing in the winter of 1961-62. Actors in the annual theatrical productions included Spike Milligan as Ben Gunn, and, in the 1968 production, Barry Humphries as Long John Silver. It was Miles who, impressed by the talent of John Antrobus originally commissioned him to write a play of some sort. This led to Antrobus collaborating with Milligan to produce a one-act play called The Bed Sitting Room, which was later adapted to a longer play, and staged by Miles at The Mermaid on 31 January 1963, with both critical and commercial success. He had a pleasant rolling bass-baritone voice that worked well in theatre and film, as well as being much in demand for voice-overs. As a performer, he was most well known for a series of comic monologues, often given in a rural dialect. These were recorded and sold as record albums, which were quite popular. Some of his comic monologues are currently available on youtube.com. Miles was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1953, was knighted in 1969, and was granted a life peerage as Baron Miles, of Blackfriars in the City of London in 1979. He was only the second British actor ever to be given a peerage (the first was Laurence Olivier). Miles's written works include "The British Theatre" (1947), "God's Brainwave" (1972), and "Favorite Tales from Shakespeare" (1972). In 1981, he co-authored the book Curtain Calls with J.C. Trewin. He died in Yorkshire. His daughters are the actress Sally Miles and the artist Bridget Miles. His son John Miles was a Grand Prix Driver in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the Lotus team. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bernard Miles, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Personal information

Birthday

1907-09-27

Birth Place

Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, UK

Movies and TV shows :

Band Waggon

Band Waggon

1940

5.0

Movie
Barbara Hepworth

Barbara Hepworth

1961

0.0

Movie
Carnival

Carnival

1946

7.6

Movie
Chance of a Lifetime

Chance of a Lifetime

1950

6.3

Movie
Contraband

Contraband

1940

6.9

Movie
Crown v. Stevens

Crown v. Stevens

1936

6.3

Movie
Fame Is the Spur

Fame Is the Spur

1947

6.5

Movie
Fortune Is a Woman

Fortune Is a Woman

1957

6.7

Movie
Freedom Radio

Freedom Radio

1941

6.3

Movie
Great Expectations

Great Expectations

1946

7.3

Movie
Heavens Above!

Heavens Above!

1963

6.2

Movie
Henry Moore

Henry Moore

1951

0.0

Movie
In Which We Serve

In Which We Serve

1942

6.8

Movie
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

1988

6.0

Movie
Late Extra

Late Extra

1935

5.5

Movie
Moby Dick

Moby Dick

1956

7.1

Movie
poster

Nathaniel Titlark

1956

0.0

TV
Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go

1953

5.6

Movie
One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

1942

6.4

Movie
Pastor Hall

Pastor Hall

1940

7.6

Movie
Quiet Wedding

Quiet Wedding

1941

4.2

Movie
Run Wild, Run Free

Run Wild, Run Free

1969

6.0

Movie
Sabotage!

Sabotage!

1942

0.0

Movie
Saint Joan

Saint Joan

1957

6.5

Movie
Sapphire

Sapphire

1959

7.0

Movie
Strange Boarders

Strange Boarders

1938

0.0

Movie
poster

Tales of the Unexpected

1979

6.7

TV
Tawny Pipit

Tawny Pipit

1944

6.2

Movie
The Big Blockade

The Big Blockade

1942

6.5

Movie
The Challenge

The Challenge

1938

5.9

Movie
The Citadel

The Citadel

1938

6.3

Movie
The Common Touch

The Common Touch

1941

7.0

Movie
The Dawn Guard

The Dawn Guard

1941

0.0

Movie
The Day Will Dawn

The Day Will Dawn

1942

5.6

Movie
The Guinea Pig

The Guinea Pig

1948

7.0

Movie
The Guv'nor

The Guv'nor

1935

7.3

Movie
The Lady and the Highwayman

The Lady and the Highwayman

1988

5.4

Movie
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

1947

6.4

Movie
The Lion Has Wings

The Lion Has Wings

1939

6.2

Movie
The Love Test

The Love Test

1935

6.0

Movie
The Magic Box

The Magic Box

1952

6.3

Movie
The Man Who Knew Too Much

The Man Who Knew Too Much

1956

7.5

Movie
The New Lot

The New Lot

1943

0.0

Movie
The Rebel Son

The Rebel Son

1938

0.0

Movie
The Smallest Show on Earth

The Smallest Show on Earth

1957

6.6

Movie
The Specialist

The Specialist

1966

5.5

Movie
The Spy in Black

The Spy in Black

1939

6.4

Movie
The Vision of William Blake

The Vision of William Blake

1958

0.0

Movie
They Drive by Night

They Drive by Night

1938

5.8

Movie
poster

This Is Your Life

1955

6.4

TV
Tiger in the Smoke

Tiger in the Smoke

1956

7.1

Movie
Tom Thumb

Tom Thumb

1958

6.2

Movie
Treasure Island

Treasure Island

1982

10.0

Movie
poster

Treasure Island

1951

0.0

TV
Tunisian Victory

Tunisian Victory

1944

6.2

Movie
Twelve Good Men

Twelve Good Men

1936

0.0

Movie
Two Fathers

Two Fathers

1944

7.0

Movie
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

1980

6.4

Movie
Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights

1958

0.0

Movie
Zarak

Zarak

1956

4.7

Movie