- Leslie Henson
who enjoyed a long stage career. He was famous for his bulging eyes, malleable face and raspy voice.
Life and career
Leslie Henson was born in
London, England , where he was educated atEmanuel School .Henson starred in the comic roles in hit West End musicals such as "To-Night's the Night" (1914), "
Theodore & Co " (1916), and "Yes, Uncle! " (1917). He also appeared in a number of films, beginning in 1916, and eventually on television. Henson signed up with theRoyal Flying Corps but was removed from active service to run a concert party group called "The Gaieties" in the fifth Army, to give shows for the troops in 1918. [ [http://www.huntscycles.co.uk/C%20L%203%20Leslie%20Henson.htm Information about Henson's activities during "World War I "] ] He then returned to the West End in musicals and comedies, including "Kissing Time" (1919), "Sally" (1921), "Tons of Money" (1922), some of the long-running "Aldwych Farces", and a string of comedies at theWinter Garden Theatre . [ [http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/icons/playbills/PLAYDAT3.htm Listing of shows in the 1920s noting the shows in which Leslie appeared] ]In 1930, Henson and his business partner Firth Shephard co-leased the
Novello Theatre and presented a series of farces, "It's A Boy!" (1930), "It's A Girl!", "Nice Goings On!" and "Aren't Men Beasts!" (1936), which starred a youngJohn Mills . Henson also returned to film work in the early 1930s. In 1935, he and Shephard took over theGaiety Theatre, London and produced four hit shows, "Seeing Stars", "Swing Along", "Going Greek", and "Running Riot". At the outbreak ofWorld War II , he returned to the UK from a tour of South Africa and, together withBasil Dean , formed theEntertainments National Service Association , also known as the "ENSA ".Henson was married three times, including the actresses
Madge Saunders andGladys Henson . His son from his third marriageNicky Henson also became an actor. He died inHarrow Weald ,Middlesex , aged 66.John Bodkin Adams
On
23 July 1956 , while inDublin performing, Henson heard that his close friend Bobbie Hullett had died inEastbourne . He was suspicious because her husband had died just four months earlier and their doctor wasJohn Bodkin Adams , about whom there had been many rumours. He phoned the Eastbourne police anonymously to warn them of his fears, instigating an investigation that would lead to the trial of Adams on two counts ofmurder . Adams was controversially acquitted on11 April 1957 , but the Home Office pathologist at the time, DrFrancis Camps , noted 163 suspicious deaths among Adams' patients between 1946 and 1956. [Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9]Filmography
*"Wanted: A Widow" (1916)
*"The Lifeguardsman" (1916) ... as Lt Spiff
*"The Real Thing at Last" (1916) ... asCharlie Chaplin
*"Broken Bottles" (1920) ... as Battling Barrows (also writer and director)
*"Alf's Button" (1920) ... as Alf Higgins
*"Tons of Money" (1924) ... as Aubrey Allington (also producer)
*"On with the Dance" (1927)
*"A Warm Corner" (1930) ... as Mr Corner
*"The Sport of Kings" (1931) ... as Amos Purdie
*"It's a Boy" (1933) ... as James Skippett
*"The Girl from Maxim's" (1933) ... as Dr Petypon
*"Oh, Daddy!" (1935) ... as Lord Pye
*"The Demi-Paradise " (1943) ... as Himself
*"Home and Away" (1956) ... as Uncle TomTelevision
* The Vise: Six Months to Talk (#5.19) (1958) (TV Episode) - Police Sergeant
References
External links
* [http://www.imdb.com The Internet Movie Database]
* [http://www.cyranos.ch/sphens-e.htm Photo and information about Henson]
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