Robert Aldous (born 1934 in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England) is an English stage and television actor.
Robert (Bob) trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, 1953–55. In a long and varied career, his main priority was the stage and he has acted with most of the major regional theatre companies and toured extensively in the UK and overseas. He was for two years associated with the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre and appeared in The School for Scandal at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, and in An Enemy of the People and Peter Pan at the National Theatre. For thirty years he was the “baddie” in big provincial pantomimes! On television he can claim appearances in Dad's Army, Dr Who, “Allo,”Allo! and The First Churchills, the first ever colour television serial. He also specialised in productions requiring the Nottingham dialect, with which he helped many performers. Robert has served on the Equity Council, the Arts Council’s Drama Advisory Panel and on the Actors’ Church Union Council of Management and on St Paul's Cathedral Friends’ Council. He retired at the age of 79 after a fifty-six years career.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | She Stoops to Conquer | Dick Muggins | TV film |
| 1960 | Saturday Night and Sunday Morning | Onlooker | Uncredited |
| 1973 | Matushka | Furmanov | London Film Festival |
| 1976 | The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd | Miner | TV film |
Also appeared in two documentaries for the National Coal Board.
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | The Golden Spur | David | Recurring role |
| Redgauntlet | Nicholas Faggot | 1 episode | |
| 1960 | Captain Moonlight: Man of Mystery | PC Stokes | 1 episode |
| 1961 | Probation Officer | Tom Eely | 1 episode |
| Drama 61-67 | Lt. Hilton | Episode: "Drama '61: The Face of the Enemy" | |
| 1962 | The Net | Episode: "Not Wanted on a Voyage" | |
| 1963 | Television Club | Assistant | Episode: "The Wade Family: A Day Trip to France - Channel Crossing" |
| 1964 | ITV Play of the Week | Dennis | Episode: "Goodnight to Heroes" |
| Doctor Who | Freedom Fighter | Episode: "World's End" | |
| 1966 | The Man in the Mirror | Cutler | 3 episodes |
| 1969 | The Elusive Pimpernel | Hubert | Episode: "The Hostage" |
| The First Churchills | Colonel Kirke | 2 episodes | |
| Dad's Army | German Parachutist | Episode: "Man Hunt" | |
| 1970 | Z-Cars | Dr. Daniels | Episode: "Nice Bit O' Stuff" |
| Tom Grattan's War | Otto Keller | 3 episodes | |
| Special Branch | Brian Daniels | Episode: "Error of Judgement" | |
| Softly, Softly: Taskforce | Sgt. Lugton | Episode: "Bearings" | |
| 1973 | Warship | Chief Petty Officer, HMS Omega | Episode: "Subsmash" |
| 1977 | Z-Cars | Mr. Adams | Episode: "Quarry" |
| 1986 | 'Allo 'Allo! | French Peasant | Episode: "Flight of Fancy" |
| 1990 | The Bill | George Foster | Episode: "Michael Runs the Family Now" |
| 1991 | Jeeves and Wooster | Manager | Episode: "The Con (or, Pearls Mean Tears)" |
Theatre
editWest End
edit| The Owl and the Pussycat went to see... | Westminster |
| The School for Scandal | Haymarket / European tour |
| The Wind in the Willows | Sadler's Wells |
| The Birthday Shoe Pantomime | Fortune |
| Serjeant Musgrave's Dance | Royal Court |
| Look Back In Anger | Royal Court and UK tour |
| Nekrassov | Royal Court / Edinburgh Festival |
| Lysistrata | Royal Court / Duke of York's |
| Roots | Royal Court / Duke of York's |
| Epitaph for George Dillon | Royal Court / Cambridge |
| The School for Scandal | Haymarket / Los Angeles tour |
Tours and Seasons
edit| Alice in Wonderland | Royal Shakespeare Theatre |
| The Marowitz Hamlet | Berlin (West German TV) |
| The Clandestine Marriage | UK tour |
| A Christmas Carol | Royal Court /Bournemouth |
| She Would If She Could | Windsor / UK tour |
| Heartbreak House | UK tour |
| The Skin Game | UK tour |
| The Devil's Disciple | UK tour |
| Dandy Dick | UK tour |
| The Cherry Orchard | UK tour |
| The Birthday Party | UK tour |
| Entertaining Mr Sloane | UK tour |
| Wuthering Heights | UK tour |
| Trap for a Lonely Man | UK tour |
| Mr & Mrs Nobody | UK tour |
Regional and Repertory Theatre
editHe was a leading player in seasons at Bristol Old Vic, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Glasgow Citizen's Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Leeds Playhouse, Salisbury Playhouse, Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, Victoria Theatre Stoke, Plymouth Theatre, Cardiff Sherman Theatre, Leicester Haymarket, Farnham Playhouse, Lincoln Theatre Royal and Pitlochry Festival Theatre.
Pantomime
editHis background as a straight actor meant that for nearly thirty years he was the used to play the “baddie” in big VARIETY productions, starring such performers as Arthur Askey, Danny La Rue (seven times), Terry Scott, Leslie Crowther, Jimmy Edwards Richard Murdoch and many others.