Peter Gawthorne

Peter Gawthorne was an Anglo-Irish actor who became one of Britain's busiest supporting players in the 1930s and 1940s, remembered for his appearances opposite Will Hay and other British comedians. Born in Queen's County, now County Laois, he trained at the Academy of Dramatic Art and spent more than twenty years on the London stage, beginning with a walk-on at His Majesty's Theatre in 1906 and later playing Albany Pope in the musical The Boy. He studied singing, toured Australia, South Africa and America, and made his film debut in Hollywood before settling back in Britain, where he worked mostly for Gainsborough Studios. He specialized in military officers and stern authority figures, often set against the bumbling characters of George Formby and the Crazy Gang, and his prolific output ranged from comedies to Pimpernel Smith (1941), Goodbye, Mr. Chips and The Young Mr. Pitt. He died in 1962.