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Raymond Huntley
Raymond Huntley
	Raymond Huntley as Sir Geoffrey Dillon in Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1975)
Born	Horace Raymond Huntley; 23 April 1904; King's Norton, Worcestershire, England
Died	15 June 1990 (aged 86); Westminster, London, England

Horace Raymond Huntley (23 April 1904 – 15 June 1990) was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s.^[1] He also appeared in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs as the pragmatic family solicitor Sir Geoffrey Dillon.^[1]^[2]

Life and career

Early life

Horace Raymond Huntley was born in Kings Norton, Worcestershire (now a suburb of Birmingham) in 1904.^[3]

Career

Stage

He made his stage debut at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on 1 April 1922, in A Woman Killed with Kindness. His London debut followed at the Court Theatre on 22 February 1924, in As Far as Thought can Reach.

He subsequently inherited the role of Count Dracula from Edmund Blake in Hamilton Deane's touring adaptation of Dracula, which arrived at London's Little Theatre on 14 February 1927, subsequently transferring to the larger Duke of York's Theatre. Later that year he was offered the chance to reprise the role on Broadway (in a script streamlined by John L. Balderston); when he declined, the part was taken by Bela Lugosi instead. Huntley did, however, appear in a US touring production of the Deane/Balderston play, covering the east coast and midwest, from 1928 to 1930. "I have always considered the role of Count Dracula to have been an indiscretion of my youth," he recalled in 1989.^[4]

After Dracula he made his Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on 23 February 1931, in The Venetian Glass Nephew. On returning to the UK, his many West End appearances included The Farmer's Wife (Queen's Theatre 1932), Cornelius (Duchess Theatre 1935), Bees on the Boat Deck (Lyric Theatre 1936) Time and the Conways (Duchess Theatre 1937), When We Are Married (St Martin's Theatre 1938), Rebecca (Queen's Theatre 1940; Strand Theatre 1942), They Came to a City (Globe Theatre 1943), The Late Edwina Black (Ambassadors Theatre 1948), And This Was Odd (Criterion Theatre 1951), Double Image (Savoy Theatre 1956), Any Other Business (Westminster Theatre 1958), Caught Napping (Piccadilly Theatre 1959), Difference of Opinion (Garrick Theatre 1963), An Ideal Husband (Garrick Theatre 1966), Getting Married (Strand Theatre 1967), Soldiers (New Theatre 1968)^[5] and Separate Tables (Apollo Theatre 1977).^[6] He also starred opposite Flora Robson in the Broadway production of Black Chiffon (48th Street Theatre 1950).^[5]

Film and television

Often cast as a supercilious bureaucrat or other authority figure, Huntley was also a staple figure in British films, his many appearances including The Way Ahead, I See a Dark Stranger, Passport to Pimlico and The Dam Busters. In his later years he became well known on television as Sir Geoffrey Dillon, the family solicitor to the Bellamys in LWT's popular 1970s drama series Upstairs, Downstairs. He also appeared as Mr. Justice Downes in the Granada Television daytime series, Crown Court.; Wodehouse Playhouse, ('Romance at Droitwich Spa', episode, 1975); and Danger Man, ("The Gallows Tree" episode), as Clements.

Death

Huntley died in Westminster Hospital, London in 1990.^[2] In his obituary the New York Times wrote, "During his long career the actor played judges, bank managers, churchmen, bureaucrats and other figures of authority. He could play them straight if necessary, but in comedy his natural dryness of delivery was exaggerated to the point where the character he was playing invited mockery as a pompous humbug."^[2]

Complete filmography

What Happened Then? (1934) .... Minor role (uncredited)
Can You Hear Me, Mother? (1935) .... Dolan
Whom the Gods Love (1936) .... Langer
Rembrandt (1936) .... Ludwick
London Melody (1937) .... Policeman Outside Nightclub (uncredited)
Knight Without Armour (1937) .... White Officer
Dinner at the Ritz (1937) .... Gibout
When We Are Married (1938, TV Movie) .... Councillor Albert Parker
Let's Be Famous (1939) .... Singer in trio (uncredited)
The Lion Has Wings (1939) .... Minor role (uncredited)
Night Train to Munich (1940) .... Kampenfeldt
Bulldog Sees It Through (1940) .... Tramp Steamer Officer
Freedom Radio (1941) .... Rabenau
The Ghost of St. Michael's (1941) .... Mr Humphries
The Ghost Train (1941) .... John Price
Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It (1941) .... Dr Kerbishley
"Pimpernel" Smith (1941) .... Marx
Once a Crook (1941) .... Prison Governor
The Day Will Dawn (1942) .... Norwegian Under-Secretary (scenes deleted)
The New Lot (1943, Short) .... Barrington (uncredited)
When We Are Married (1943) .... Albert Parker
The Way Ahead (1944) .... Pte Herbert Davenport
They Came to a City (1944) .... Malcolm Stritton
I See a Dark Stranger (1946) .... J. Miller
School for Secrets (1946) .... Prof Laxton-Jones
So Evil My Love (1948) .... Henry Courtney
Men of Darkness (1948, TV Movie) .... Pisancon
Broken Journey (1948) .... Edward Marshall
Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill (1948) .... Moy-Thompson
It's Hard to Be Good (1948) .... Williams
Passport to Pimlico (1949) .... Mr Wix
The Late Edwina Black (1949, TV Movie) .... Henry Martin
Trio (1950) .... Mr Henry Chester (segment "Sanatorium")
The Long Dark Hall (1951) .... Chief Insp Sullivan
I'll Never Forget You (1951) .... Mr Throstle
Mr. Denning Drives North (1951) .... Wright
When We Are Married (1951, TV movie) .... Councillor Albert Parker
The Last Page (1952) .... Clive Oliver
Laxdale Hall (1953) .... Samuel Pettigrew, MP
Glad Tidings (1953) .... Tom Forester
Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953) .... Patterson
Hobson's Choice (1954) .... Nathaniel Beenstock
Orders Are Orders (1954) .... Colonel Bellamy
The Teckman Mystery (1954) .... Maurice Miller
Aunt Clara (1954) .... Rev Maurice Hilton
The Unguarded Hour (1955, TV Movie) .... Colonel William Mason
The Prisoner (1955) .... The General
The Constant Husband (1955) .... The Boss
The Dam Busters (1955) .... Official, National Physical Laboratory
Doctor at Sea (1955) .... Capt Beamish
Geordie (1955) .... Olympic Selector
The Last Man to Hang (1956) .... Attorney-General
The Green Man (1956) .... Sir Gregory Upshott
Town on Trial (1957) .... Dr Reese
Brothers in Law (1957) .... Tatlock QC
Jessica (1957, TV Movie) .... Stanley Baines
Dial 999 (TV series) (1958)....Myners
Next to No Time (1958) .... Forbes, Factory Supervisor
Room at the Top (1959) .... Mr Hoylake
Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959) .... Foreign Secretary Tufton Slade
Innocent Meeting (1959) .... Harold
The Mummy (1959) .... Joseph Whemple
I'm All Right Jack (1959) .... Magistrate
Our Man in Havana (1959) .... General
Bottoms Up (1960) .... Garrick-Jones
Breathless (1960) .... A Journalist (uncredited)
Follow That Horse! (1960) .... Special Branch Chief
Make Mine Mink (1960) .... Inspector Pape
A French Mistress (1960) .... Rev Edwin Peake
Sands of the Desert (1960) .... Bossom
Suspect (1960) .... Sir George Gatting, Minister of Defence
The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960) .... Judge
Line of Enquiry (1961, TV Movie) .... Mr Sinclair
Only Two Can Play (1962) .... Vernon
Crooks Anonymous (1962) .... Wagstaffe
Waltz of the Toreadors (1962) .... Ackroyd, Court President
On the Beat (1962) .... Sir Ronald Ackroyd
Nurse on Wheels (1963) .... Vicar
The Yellow Teddy Bears (1963) .... Harry Halburton
Father Came Too! (1964) .... Mr Wedgewood
The Black Torment (1964) .... Colonel John Wentworth
Rotten to the Core (1965) .... Prison Governor (uncredited)
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery (1966) .... Sir Horace, the Minister
Hot Millions (1968) .... Bayswater (uncredited)
Hostile Witness (1968) .... John Naylor
The Adding Machine (1969) .... Smithers
Arthur! Arthur! (1969) .... George Payne
Destiny of a Spy (1969, TV Movie) .... Supt Pode
Young Winston (1972) .... Old Officer (scenes deleted)
That's Your Funeral (1972) .... Emmanuel Holroyd
Symptoms (1974) .... Burke
A Voyage Round My Father (1982, TV Movie) .... Judge
Sleepwalker (1984) .... Old Englishman (final film role)

References

^ ^a ^b "Raymond Huntley". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Raymond Huntley, 86, A British Comic Actor". The New York Times. 20 June 1990. p. B 8. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
^ "Results for England & Wales Births 1837-2006". search.findmypast.co.uk.
^ David J Skal, Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of 'Dracula' from Novel to Stage to Screen, WW Norton & Co 1990
^ ^a ^b John Parker (ed), Who's Who in the Theatre (15th edition), Pitman Publishing 1972
^ "Raymond Huntley". theatricalia.com.