Jimmy Hanley
| Jimmy Hanley | |
|---|---|
 Hanley as Leonard Parry in Little Friend (1934) | |
| Born |
22 October 1918 Norwich, Norfolk, England |
| Died |
13 January 1970 (aged 51) Fetcham, Surrey, England |
| Years active | 1933-1968 |
| Spouse(s) |
Dinah Sheridan (1942-1952) (divorced) (3 children) Maggie Hanley (1955-1970) (his death) (3 children) |
| Children |
Jeremy Hanley Jenny Hanley Jane Henby, Sarah and Katy/(Maggie Hanley)[1] |
Jimmy Hanley (22 October 1918 – 13 January 1970) was an English actor.[2]
Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Hanley began his career as a child actor before becoming popular in juvenile roles. He was groomed by the Rank Studio system during his teenage years and earned film stardom as a "boy-next-door" type.
The young star-struck actor attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and whilst he was studying there, made his stage debut at age 12 at the London Palladium, as John Darling in Peter Pan. He began to make films in his teens.
During the Second World War he served as an officer with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and in a commando raid in Norway he was wounded in the leg and was invalided out of the service.[2] He returned to films, including Salute John Citizen (1942), Henry V with Laurence Olivier (1944), For You Alone (1945) and the Huggetts films.
He later worked on radio and TV, appearing in several television series and hosting the ITV series Jim's Inn from 1957–1963, which combined advertising messages with the plot of a soap opera.
Hanley was married twice:
- Dinah Sheridan (1942–1953, three children, including Jenny Hanley and the Conservative politician Sir Jeremy Hanley. The third died in infancy.)
- Margaret Avery (1955–1970, three daughters: Jane, Sarah and Katy)
Hanley died from pancreatic cancer in Fetcham, Surrey, aged 51.
Selected filmography
- Red Wagon (1933)
- Those Were the Days (1933) (uncredited)
- Little Friend (1934)
- Royal Cavalcade (1935)
- Brown on Resolution (1935)
- Boys Will Be Boys (1935)
- The Tunnel (1935)
- Landslide (1937)
- Night Ride (1937)
- Cotton Queen (1937) (uncredited)
- Housemaster (1938)
- There Ain't No Justice (1939)
- Gaslight (1940)
- Salute John Citizen (1942)
- The Gentle Sex (1943)
- Henry V (1944)
- The Way Ahead (1944)
- Kiss the Bride Goodbye (1945)
- For You Alone (1945)
- 29 Acacia Avenue (1945)
- Murder in Reverse (1945)
- The Captive Heart (1946)
- It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)
- Holiday Camp (1947)
- Master of Bankdam (1947)
- Here Come the Huggetts (1948)
- It's Hard to Be Good (1948)
- The Huggetts Abroad (1949)
- Don't Ever Leave Me (1949)
- Boys in Brown (1949)
- The Blue Lamp (1950)
- Room to Let (1950)
- The Galloping Major (1951)
- The Black Rider (1954)
- Radio Cab Murder (1954)
- The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
- Satellite in the Sky (1956)
- The Lost Continent (1968)
Television series
- Jim's Inn (1957–1963, ITV advertising programme) as host
- Five O'Clock Club (1963–1966, ITV children's programme) as host
- Futurama (1964, ITV children's science programme) as host
- Crossroads (1966, ITV soap) as Jimmy Gudgeon, old friend of central character Meg Richardson (played by Noele Gordon)
References
- ↑ http://www.nndb.com/people/015/000091739/
- 1 2 "Mr Jimmy Hanley - Film and TV actor". Obituaries. The Times. London. 14 January 1970. p. 12.
External links
- Jimmy Hanley at the Internet Movie Database
- Biography at BFI Screenonline
- Jimmy Hanley at Find a Grave