John Laurie (25 March 1897 - 23 June 1980) was an actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. He is probably most recognisable for his role as Private James Frazer, the gaunt-faced, intense, pessimistic undertaker and Home Guard soldier in the popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 - 1981. March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (85th in leap years). ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Buccleuch St Bridge Devorgilla Bridge Overlooking Dumfries The Old Bridge House Dumfries ((IPA: ) pronounced dum-freece, not dum-fries) (Dùn Phris in Scottish Gaelic) is a Royal Burgh and town with a population of around 31,146 (37,846 including the Locharbriggs and Cargenbridge areas). ... Dumfriesshire (Siorrachd Dhùn Phris in Gaelic) was a county of Scotland. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Map sources for Chalfont St Peter at grid reference TQ000908 Chalfont St Peter is a village in south east Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. ... Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is one of the home counties in South East England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (85th in leap years). ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming An actor is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. ... The Buccleuch St Bridge Devorgilla Bridge Overlooking Dumfries The Old Bridge House Dumfries ((IPA: ) pronounced dum-freece, not dum-fries) (Dùn Phris in Scottish Gaelic) is a Royal Burgh and town with a population of around 31,146 (37,846 including the Locharbriggs and Cargenbridge areas). ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I... Private James Frazer is a fictional undertaker and Home Guard platoon member portrayed by John Laurie on the BBC television sitcom Dads Army, set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-On-Sea during World War Two. ... This article is about the vocation of a mortician and the death metal band; for the World Wrestling Entertainment superstar, see The Undertaker. ... A Home Guard is a part-time civilian reserve military force similar to a militia. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is one of the largest broadcasting corporations in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of more than £4 billion. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Dads Army was a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War, written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1981. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The son of a mill worker, he abandoned a career in architecture to serve in World War I. After the war he trained to become an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and first acted on stage in 1921. A factory (previously manufactory) is a large industrial building where goods or products are manufactured. ... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... The Central School of Speech and Drama is a United Kingdom government funded higher education college in London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ...

A prolific Shakespearian actor, Laurie spent much of the time between 1922 and 1939, playing Shakespearian parts including Hamlet, Richard III and Macbeth at the Old Vic or Stratford-upon-Avon. He starred in all three of his friend Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare films. During the Second World War, Laurie served in the Home Guard - the only future Dad's Army cast member to do so. William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, more commonly known as Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and is one of his best-known and most-quoted plays. ... Richard III may refer to: King Richard III of England Richard III, a play by William Shakespeare about the king Richard III may also refer to motion pictures based on the Shakespeare play: Richard III, 1995 (UK/USA), starring Ian McKellen Richard III, 1986 (Soviet Union) Richard III, 1980 (France... Scene from Macbeth, depicting the witches conjuring of an apparition in Act IV, Scene I. Painting by William Rimmer The Tragedy of Macbeth is among the most famous of William Shakespeares plays, as well as his shortest tragedy. ... The exterior of the Old Vic. ... Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon is a town in Warwickshire, England. ... Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907–11 July 1989) was an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and four-time Emmy winning English actor, director, and producer. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

His early work in films included Juno and the Paycock, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. His breakthrough third film, reunited him with Hitchcock, in the director's film 1935 The 39 Steps. Other work included the farmer recruit in The Way Ahead (1944), the brothel proprietor in Fanny by Gaslight (1944) and the repugnant Pew in Disney's Treasure Island (1950). Juno and the Paycock is a play by Sean OCasey, the second of his well-known Dublin Trilogy. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a highly influential film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The 39 Steps is a 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the adventure novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. ... The Way Ahead is a British Second World War drama released in 1944. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of buccaneers and buried gold. First published as a book in 1883, it was originally serialised in the childrens magazine Young Folks between 1881-82 under the title The Sea Cook, or Treasure Island. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

One of his final appearances, looking slightly frail, was in Return to the Edge of the World, directed by Michael Powell in 1978. MacGinnis, Chrystall and Berry in The Edge of the World. ... Michael Powell film-maker. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

External links

• John Laurie at the Internet Movie Database