Bert Parnaby

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James Bertram "Bert" Parnaby (4 March 1924 – 30 July 1992) was a British actor who was notable for a string of TV and Film roles from the 1960s through the 1980s. His TV roles included performances in Blackadder, By the Sword Divided, Juliet Bravo, Inspector Morse and Last of the Summer Wine. In 1988, he appeared as Father Christmas in the BBC adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. His film credits included Prick Up Your Ears (1987), The Dressmaker (1988) and The Reunion (1989). Whilst living in Didsbury, Bert was a schoolmaster at Manchester Grammar School during the 1950s and early 1960s. Teaching English, he was greatly involved in the production of teachers’ plays. He subsequently became an HMI (one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools). On leaving the education profession, Parnaby worked as a producer and performer for the BBC. His monologues on breakfast radio often started ‘I hate …’, for example the edition about the Post Office, which was based on the Didsbury branch, albeit unnamed. Parnaby died in July 1992 at the age of 68, shortly after the death of his wife Jane. A bench in their memory was later erected in Drummer Street, Cambridge.

Filmography

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2019
Completely Bad News
Movie Neighbour
1991
Gas and Candles
Movie Bill
1990
Nightingales
TV show The Inspector
1989
Reunion
Movie Dr. Jakob Strauss
1988
The Dressmaker
Movie Mr Barnes
1988
The Chronicles of Narnia
TV show Father Christmas
1988
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe
Movie Father Christmas
1988
The Play on One
TV show Bill
1988
The Contract
TV show Adam Percy
1987
Prick Up Your Ears
Movie Magistrate
1987
On the Palm
Movie Slatterthwaite
1987
Inspector Morse
TV show Ben
1986
First Among Equals
TV show George Bainbridge
1986
Casualty
TV show Billie Jennings
1986
Lovejoy
TV show Sorrel
1985
Daemon
Movie Mr. Crabb