Ben Aris
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Patrick Aris was an English
actor
who was best known for his parts in Hi-de-Hi!
and To the Manor Born
, and was also very active on stage. He was often cast as an eccentric, upper-class man.
, and following World War II
, he trained at the Arts Educational School. At the age of only 16, he joined a national tour of the show Zip Goes a Million. He then did national service in the Army
and following that appeared in many musicals and films including The Plague of the Zombies
, The Charge of the Light Brigade
and Hamlet
.
Aris was in the 1960 production of "Pieces of Eight" at the Apollo Theatre
in London as well as the 1969 production of "Hamlet" at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
in New York
.
in 1973. The following year he appeared in Invasion of the Dinosaurs
, a 1974 Doctor Who
serial. His other early television roles included Sam and the River (1975), Crown Court
, Wodehouse Playhouse
and Target. During that time he also appeared in Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World
, Juggernaut
, Tommy
, The Music Lovers
and The Savage Messiah.
For three episodes, from 1980 to 1981, he played Mr Spalding in To the Manor Born
, and then in 1982, he made his first appearance in Hi-de-Hi!
as Julian Dalrymple-Sykes, a dancer. He became a regular in 1985 and played the part until the show's end in 1988. He also starred in Bergerac
, Agatha Christie's Poirot
, You Rang, M'Lord?
and Boon
. As well as acting with Penelope Keith
in To the Manor Born, he also appeared with her in Executive Stress
and No Job for a Lady
.
playing Geoffrey in Stepping Out
by Richard Harris
. His final stage appearance was in The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett
, opposite Dame Maggie Smith
. His final TV appearance was in the 2002 drama Ready. He died in Surrey
in 2003 aged 66. His son Jonathan Aris
followed him into acting.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who was best known for his parts in Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom that aired on the BBC from 1980-1988. It was set in a holiday camp during the 1950s and 1960s and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had written Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The title was the phrase used to greet the campers and in early episodes...
and To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher...
, and was also very active on stage. He was often cast as an eccentric, upper-class man.
Early career
Aris was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he trained at the Arts Educational School. At the age of only 16, he joined a national tour of the show Zip Goes a Million. He then did national service in the Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and following that appeared in many musicals and films including The Plague of the Zombies
The Plague of the Zombies
The Plague of the Zombies Hammer Horror film directed by John Gilling. It stars André Morell, John Carson, Jacqueline Pearce, Brook Williams and Michael Ripper...
, The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)
The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1968 British war film made by Woodfall Film Productions and distributed by United Artists . It was directed by Tony Richardson and produced by Neil Hartley....
and Hamlet
Hamlet (1969 film)
Hamlet is a 1969 British film adaptation of Shakespeare's play Hamlet, starring Nicol Williamson as Prince Hamlet. It was directed by Tony Richardson and based on his own stage production at the Roundhouse theatre in London...
.
Aris was in the 1960 production of "Pieces of Eight" at the Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
in London as well as the 1969 production of "Hamlet" at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 205 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse, on...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Television career
His first television role was in the sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'EmSome Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was a BBC situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice.The series followed the accident-prone Frank Spencer and his tolerant wife Betty through Frank's various attempts to hold down a job, which frequently end in...
in 1973. The following year he appeared in Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Invasion of the Dinosaurs is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 12 January to 16 February 1974.-Synopsis:...
, a 1974 Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial. His other early television roles included Sam and the River (1975), Crown Court
Crown Court (TV series)
Crown Court was an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984....
, Wodehouse Playhouse
Wodehouse Playhouse
Wodehouse Playhouse is a British television comedy series based on the short stories of P. G. Wodehouse. From 1975 to 1978, three series were made, with twenty half-hour episodes altogether in the entire series.-Overview:P. G...
and Target. During that time he also appeared in Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World
Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World
Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World is a 1973 British children's film starring Jim Dale, and directed by Joseph McGrath. A large supporting cast of British movie stalwarts includes Spike Milligan, Angela Douglas, Norman Rossington, Milo O'Shea, Dinsdale Landen and Victor Spinetti...
, Juggernaut
Juggernaut (film)
Juggernaut is a 1974 British thriller film. It was produced by David V. Picker Productions and released in 1974 by United Artists. The film was directed by Richard Lester, who took over after directors Bryan Forbes and Don Medford each left the project in pre-production.On taking over the film,...
, Tommy
Tommy (film)
Tommy is a 1975 British musical film based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album musical Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves...
, The Music Lovers
The Music Lovers
The Music Lovers is a 1970 British biographical film directed by Ken Russell. The screenplay by Melvyn Bragg, based on Beloved Friend, a collection of personal correspondence edited by Catherine Drinker Bowen and Barbara von Meck, focuses on the life and career of 19th century Russian composer...
and The Savage Messiah.
For three episodes, from 1980 to 1981, he played Mr Spalding in To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher...
, and then in 1982, he made his first appearance in Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom that aired on the BBC from 1980-1988. It was set in a holiday camp during the 1950s and 1960s and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had written Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The title was the phrase used to greet the campers and in early episodes...
as Julian Dalrymple-Sykes, a dancer. He became a regular in 1985 and played the part until the show's end in 1988. He also starred in Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
, Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
, You Rang, M'Lord?
You Rang, M'Lord?
You Rang M'Lord? is a British television series written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi! It was broadcast between 1990 and 1993 on the BBC...
and Boon
Boon (TV series)
Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV...
. As well as acting with Penelope Keith
Penelope Keith
Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE, DL is an English actress.Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life...
in To the Manor Born, he also appeared with her in Executive Stress
Executive Stress
Executive Stress is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988....
and No Job for a Lady
No Job for a Lady
No Job for a Lady is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1990 to 1992. Starring Penelope Keith, it was written by Alex Shearer, and directed and produced by John Howard Davies...
.
Later years
One of most memorable stage performances was in the West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
playing Geoffrey in Stepping Out
Stepping Out (play)
Stepping Out is a play written by Richard Harris in 1984. It was produced in the West End, London, where it received the Evening Standard Comedy of the Year Award, and on Broadway, New York.-Plot:...
by Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
. His final stage appearance was in The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
, opposite Dame Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
. His final TV appearance was in the 2002 drama Ready. He died in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
in 2003 aged 66. His son Jonathan Aris
Jonathan Aris
Jonathan Aris is a British actor who has appeared in films, television and the theatre. Aris is also a narrator for some documentaries.- Credits :Acting credits include:* Spooks * Sherlock * Being Human * Doc Martin...
followed him into acting.