Laurie Main

For the New Zealand rugby union coach, see Laurie Mains.

Laurie Main
Photo by Harry Langdon
Born
Laurence George Main

(1922-11-29)29 November 1922
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died8 February 2012(2012-02-08) (aged 89)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1953–2003

Laurence George "Laurie" Main (29 November 1922 – 8 February 2012) was an Australian actor best known for hosting and narrating the children's series Welcome to Pooh Corner, which aired on The Disney Channel during the 1980s.

Born in Melbourne, Main moved to the UK at the age of 16, making his acting debut in The Yellow Balloon.[1][2] He emigrated to the United States in 1960, studying with Agnes Moorehead.[3]

His television and film guest appearances include Wagon Train, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Maverick, I Spy, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, The Andy Griffith Show, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze, That Girl, Ironside, The Monkees, Hogan's Heroes, Mayberry R.F.D., The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, Daniel Boone, Family Affair, Bewitched, The Partridge Family, McMillan & Wife, Land of the Lost, Little House on the Prairie, Punky Brewster and Murder, She Wrote.[4][1] Main also appeared in The Facts of Life Goes to Paris in 1982.[1]

His stage work included The Diary of a Nobody (1954/5)  and Waltz of the Toreadors (1956) in London's West End; and he made several appearances on Broadway.[5][6][7]

He also appeared on many television commercials.

Main also did considerable voice work for Disney, having supplied the voice of Dr. Watson in the 1986 animated film The Great Mouse Detective.[8] He also narrated the animated shorts Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons (1981) and Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (1983), as well as serving as the story reader on many Disney Read-Along records, audio cassettes and compact discs.[9]

Main died on 8 February 2012 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 89.[3]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c "Laurie Main, Narrator on TV's 'Welcome to Pooh Corner,' Dies at 89 | Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. 16 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Laurie Main | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  3. ^ a b "Actor Laurie Main dies at 89". Variety. 15 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Laurie Main". aveleyman.com.
  5. ^ Wearing, J. P. (16 September 2014). The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893085 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Production of The Waltz of the Toreadors | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  7. ^ "Laurie Main – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". ibdb.com.
  8. ^ "Laurie Main". BFI. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.
  9. ^ Minovitz, Ethan (16 February 2012). "Disney actor and narrator Laurie Main dead at 89". Big Cartoon News. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.

3. Demetria Fulton previewed Main on The Facts of Life; episode titled, "The Facts of Life Goes to Paris “(09/25/1982).