Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky, 10 April 1916 – 16 July 1987) was an English actor.
Was born in London in 1916 and was most often seen playing the part of a cockney and/or Jewish 'cloth cap' character. He had a number of minor parts in films during the late 1940's.
He was the youngest of ten children of Jacob Basalinsky and Ada Miller. After leaving school, he worked in his father's trade as a cabinet-maker. During this time he took part in amateur dramatics at a local boys' club.
Stage Career: Bass's acting career began at London's Unity Theatre in the late 1930s, appearing in Plant in the Sun alongside Paul Robeson, and as the pantomime King in Babes In the Wood.
His stage career included plays by Shakespeare and Shaw.
At the outbreak of World War II, he was rejected by the RAF, and went to work in an engineering factory. He was later called up into the Middlesex Regiment as a despatch rider. He maintained his interest in acting by appearing in concert parties and in Army Film Unit documentaries.
In 1946, he married Beryl Bryson, a dressmaker, in Liverpool. They had a son and a daughter.
From 1957 to 1960 he played Private 'Bootsie' Bisley in the TV series, The Army Game. Loosely based on the 1956 movie Private's Progress, the series was set in Hut 29 of the Surplus Ordnance Depot at Nether Wallop.
His fellow National Service conscripts included Corporal Springer (Michael Medwin), Private 'Cupcake' Cook (Norman Rossington), Private 'Professor' Hatchett (Charles Hawtrey, who would become a 'Carry On' film regular) and Private 'Popeye' Popplewell (Bernard Bresslaw, another 'Carry On' regular). Popplewell's catch phrase "I only arsked" became a national catch-phrase and was chosen as the title for a 1958 feature film based on the series.
They were all kept in order by the Sergeant Major, first played by William Hartnell (before he became Doctor Who) as Sgt Major Bullimore and then Bill Fraser who played Sgt Major Snudge. The officers included Captain Pocket, played by Frank Williams of Dads Army fame.
Bass took over from Chaim Topol in the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on the West End stage.
Films included: The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Hell Drivers (1957), A Tale of Two Cities (1958) and Alfie (1966) The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) (British title The Dance of the Vampires) The Beatles film Help! (1965)Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), James Bond - Moonraker (1979), I Was Monty's Double.
Television Appearances: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Journey into Space, Till Death Us Do Part , Are You Being Served?, Our Mutual Friend. 1979-1980, Dick Turpin, Minder (1982). Danger UXB, The Goodies.
He was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in March 1970, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.
Alfie Bass died in 1987 in Barnet General Hospital, north London, following a heart attack. His last home was in Well End, a suburb of Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky, 10 April 1916 – 16 July 1987) was an English actor.
Was born in London in 1916 and was most often seen playing the part of a cockney and/or Jewish 'cloth cap' character. He had a number of minor parts in films during the late 1940's.
He was the youngest of ten children of Jacob Basalinsky and Ada Miller. After leaving school, he worked in his father's trade as a cabinet-maker. During this time he took part in amateur dramatics at a local boys' club.
Stage Career: Bass's acting career began at London's Unity Theatre in the late 1930s, appearing in Plant in the Sun alongside Paul Robeson, and as the pantomime King in Babes In the Wood.
His stage career included plays by Shakespeare and Shaw.
At the outbreak of World War II, he was rejected by the RAF, and went to work in an engineering factory. He was later called up into the Middlesex Regiment as a despatch rider. He maintained his interest in acting by appearing in concert parties and in Army Film Unit documentaries.
In 1946, he married Beryl Bryson, a dressmaker, in Liverpool. They had a son and a daughter.
From 1957 to 1960 he played Private 'Bootsie' Bisley in the TV series, The Army Game. Loosely based on the 1956 movie Private's Progress, the series was set in Hut 29 of the Surplus Ordnance Depot at Nether Wallop.
His fellow National Service conscripts included Corporal Springer (Michael Medwin), Private 'Cupcake' Cook (Norman Rossington), Private 'Professor' Hatchett (Charles Hawtrey, who would become a 'Carry On' film regular) and Private 'Popeye' Popplewell (Bernard Bresslaw, another 'Carry On' regular). Popplewell's catch phrase "I only arsked" became a national catch-phrase and was chosen as the title for a 1958 feature film based on the series.
They were all kept in order by the Sergeant Major, first played by William Hartnell (before he became Doctor Who) as Sgt Major Bullimore and then Bill Fraser who played Sgt Major Snudge. The officers included Captain Pocket, played by Frank Williams of Dads Army fame.
Bass took over from Chaim Topol in the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on the West End stage.
Films included: The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Hell Drivers (1957), A Tale of Two Cities (1958) and Alfie (1966) The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) (British title The Dance of the Vampires) The Beatles film Help! (1965)Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), James Bond - Moonraker (1979), I Was Monty's Double.
Television Appearances: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Journey into Space, Till Death Us Do Part , Are You Being Served?, Our Mutual Friend. 1979-1980, Dick Turpin, Minder (1982). Danger UXB, The Goodies.
He was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in March 1970, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.
Alfie Bass died in 1987 in Barnet General Hospital, north London, following a heart attack. His last home was in Well End, a suburb of Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
