Cyril Shaps (13 October 1923–1 January 2003) was an English actor born in London of Polish descent, whose short stature and round face led to a steady flow of character roles in film and television for nearly five decades. is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Shaps' films included bit parts in a wide range of high profile, international films, including the 1962 Academy Award Best Picture winner Lawrence of Arabia (with Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, as the officer's club bartender), To Sir With Love (as neighbor Mr. Pinkus), and the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (as Dr. Bechmann). One of his showier turns came in 1993, in The Madness of King George, portraying Dr. Pepys, a royal physician obsessed with the color of His Majesty's stool. In 2002, at the age of 79, he made his final theatrical film appearances, as a pew opener in The Importance of Being Earnest, and a larger role as concentration camp victim Mr. Grun in another Best Picture Oscar winner, The Pianist.

Television work ranged from science fiction (multiple appearances on Doctor Who) to classic literature (in the BBC miniseries of Charles Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewitt and Our Mutual Friend) to detective shows (appearances in Lovejoy, The Saint, and as Emperor Franz Joseph in a 1992 Sherlock Holmes installment). He appeared in two Jim Henson Company television films, Gulliver's Travels (as an elderly madman in Bedlam) and Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (as "Bent Little Man," the peddler who sells beans to the original Jack).

His television appearances, include: Quatermass II, Danger Man, Supercar, The Mask of Janus, The Spies, Dixon of Dock Green, Z Cars, The Saint, Out of the Unknown, Alexander the Greatest, The Rat Catchers, Man in a Suitcase, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Department S, Doctor Who (in the serials The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Ambassadors of Death, Planet of the Spiders and The Androids of Tara), The Liver Birds, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, The Onedin Line, The Persuaders!, Porridge, The Sweeney, Wilde Alliance, The Young Ones, The Bill, Dark Season, Lovejoy, Midsomer Murders and Doctors. The opening title sequence of Quatermass II. Quatermass II is a British television science-fiction serial, the second in the popular and influential Quatermass series written by Nigel Kneale. ... This article is about the 1960s TV series which was also known as Secret Agent and shouldnt be confused with the 1990s television series Secret Agent Man. ... For other uses, see Supercar (disambiguation). ... The Mask of Janus is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1965. ... The Spies is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1966. ... Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series, which ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. ... Z-Cars (sometimes written as Z Cars, and always pronounced zed, never zee) was a British television drama series centred around the work of regular beat police officers in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby near Liverpool, in the north-west of England. ... The Saint was a long-running ITC mystery-cum-spy thriller, airing in Britain on ITV between 1962 and 1969. ... Alexander the Greatest was a British sitcom that starred Gary Warren that lasted for two series from 1971 to 1972. ... Man in a Suitcase was a 1967 television series produced by Lew Grades ITC Entertainment. ... Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is a cult late 1960s British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. ... Department S was a British espionage/science fiction adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. ... For other uses, see Doctor Who (disambiguation). ... The Tomb of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in four weekly parts from September 2 to September 23, 1967. ... The Ambassadors of Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from March 21 to May 2, 1970. ... Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. ... The Androids of Tara is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from November 25 to December 16, 1978. ... The Liver Birds, co-written by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor, was the distaff answer to the popular Geordie series, The Likely Lads. ... Frank Spencer sporting his trademark beret in a scene with Broadcaster David Jacobs Some Mothers Do Ave Em (1973-1978) was a BBC situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. ... Photograph from Radio Times depicting Peter Gilmore as James Onedin and Jessica Benton as Elizabeth Frazer. ... Not to be confused with The Persuaders (film) or The Persuaders (band). ... Porridge was a British BBC television sitcom (1974–1977), written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais and starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. ... The Sweeney is a British television police drama focusing on two crime-fighting members of the Flying Squad, an elite branch of the British police force specialising in armed robbery and violent crime. ... Wilde Alliance is a British television series produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in 1978. ... The Young Ones may refer to: The Young Ones (TV series), a 1980s British sitcom about four students living together The Young Ones (film), a film starring Cliff Richard The Young Ones (song), sung by Cliff Richard This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same... This article is about the British TV series. ... Dark Season title screen. ... There are other articles with similar names; see Lovejoy (disambiguation). ... Midsomer Murders is a popular British television drama series about murders that take place in the fictional English county of Midsomer. ...

External links

• Cyril Shaps at the Internet Movie Database

Shaps was also the voice of Mr Kipling's exceedingly good cakes advertisments! The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...