I'm looking for videos or DVD's of film movies that might still exist
for sale on various websites that have in them or feature a British
film actor that I use to see years ago, 60's, 70's and maybe into the
80's, in fact, I think he died in the late 80's maybe early 90's.  I
guess you could call him a comedian because he always made me laugh or
smile at the very least, but I'm not sure he ever had a leading
comedic role.   I think he was always a supporting actor, but I'm not
sure.  I don't know his name, but I always remember he had a wide
space between his top front teeth.  He had a mustache on his upper lip
which I believe was short but not as short as a Hitler type mustache. 
He always had a toothy grin.  I think he played shy parts, he usually
deferred to others but I enjoyed him a lot.  He seemed to relish his
part in any movie he appeared in.  He might have even gotten into one
or two U.S. films, but that would be it.  He was basically a British
film actor.  I think most of the time I saw him with a bowler type hat
on.

Do you know who I mean?  (It wasn't Charlie Chaplin!)

Can you narrow my description down to one or more and if so, is there
a site where I could see photos of the choices, that way I could tell
in an instant if that was him.

What was his name, some sample movies he appeared in, and where could
I purchase some of the movies he appeared in???

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 10 Oct 2003 13:13 PDT

Dear frankalex,

I am absolutely sure that this gentleman is the actor you have in
mind:
http://www.laughingplace.com/files/WDSPOpen04/Tomlinsonpic.jpg

On that picture, you can't see the gap between his front teeth - but I
assure you, it is there. Also, this photograph shows him with a larger
moustache than he usually had - it's a publicity shot from one of his
movies.
This British actor appeared in many movies, usually playing the
comical part of a snotty, arrogant, invidious character. His
appearance was normally a kind of caricature of an Englishman with
"typical" attributes like the bowler.
Among the movies he appeared in were "Mary Poppins", "It's a Mad Mad
Mad World", "The Love Bug" (The film that featured Herbie, the
Volkswagen).

Please let me know if you think this is the actor you are looking for.
Best regards,
Scriptor

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 10 Oct 2003 13:19 PDT

A small mistake occurred ... the actor I mentioned above did not
appear in "It's a Mad Mad Mad World" - that was this British actor:
http://www.accomplice.info/media/terry_thomas.jpg

Is he the one you have in mind?

Scriptor

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 10 Oct 2003 14:51 PDT

If this is the actor you're thinking of, I'll be glad to direct you to
information about him:

http://www.mortalwombat.com/Special/actor.jpg

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 10 Oct 2003 14:59 PDT

Here's another photo of the same actor, in a bowler hat:

http://www.mortalwombat.com/Special/actor2.jpg

---

Clarification of Question by frankalex-ga on 10 Oct 2003 15:08 PDT

The pictures of the 2 actor possibilities look very similar.  Are they
really different people?  I wish I could see the gap in the teeth of
the first picture.  At this time I would say the actor I am searching
for would be the one holding the cigar in the 2nd picture and that may
be him.  Do you have any more pictures of him?  About when did he pass
away?

---

Clarification of Question by frankalex-ga on 10 Oct 2003 15:16 PDT

My last clarification was in response to scriptor-ga's work.  I
thought only one researcher could work on it at a time and that it was
locked up for that person

Dear frankalex,

I came to the conclusion that indeed the actor on the second picture
is the one you have in mind. The first one, David Tomlinson, had not
the gap between the front teeth - I accidentally confused two pictures
I found.

The second actor is Terry-Thomas. His real name was Thomas Terry Hoar
Stevens, born 14 July 1911 in Finchley, London, UK; he died 8 January
1990 in Godalming, Surrey, UK, suffering from Parkinson's Disease.

Here is another picture of him, clearly displaying his typical
appearance:
http://images.art.com/images/PRODUCTS/large/10104000/10104257.jpg
(Source: art.com)

These photographs show Terry-Thomas in the 1963 movie "It's A Mad,
Mad, Mad, Mad World":
http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1041/9909_0010.jpg
http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1041/9909_0005.jpg
http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1041/9909_0004.jpg
(Source: Internet Movie Database)

Please follow this link to see a list of DVDs and VHS tapes of films
featuring Terry-Thomas that are available in the USA, in Great
Britain, and in Germany from Amazon's local branches:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0856103/forsale
(Source: Internet Movie Database)

You might want to pay special attention to "The Terry Thomas Movie
Collection", a 2-DVD-set containing three Terry-Thomas movies,
available from Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006423P/026-2637672-6070038
(Please note that those are Region 2 DVDs, so if you are located in
the USA, you will need a code-free DVD player for watching them).

Here are various websites containing biographical information,
filmographies, and additional pictures of Terry-Thomas:

Internet Movie Database: Terry-Thomas
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0856103/

Terry Thomas Tribute Page, by Myles Hartley
http://freespace.virgin.net/myles.hartley/

Britmovie:
http://www.britmovie.co.uk/actors/t/001.html

Yahoo! Movies: Terry-Thomas Biography
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800010572&cf=biog&intl=us

DougMacaulay.com: Great Character Actors - Terry-Thomas
http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_2.php?actor_first=Terry-&actor_last=Thomas


Special thanks to my fellow Researcher pinkfreud-ga for the fantastic
assistance!

Hope this is what you were looking for!
Best regards,
Scriptor

Very thorough, very complete, especially with the help of pinkfreud-ga.