# Reginald Marsh (actor)

Reginald Albert Saltmarsh, known by the stage name Reginald Marsh (17 September 1926 – 9 February 2001), was an English actor who is best remembered for supporting roles in many television sitcoms from the 1970s onwards.

## Early life and career

Marsh was born in London in 1926 and he grew up on the Sussex coast at Worthing. After he left school he worked in a bank. After realising how serious he was about acting, his father introduced him to a retired actress, who introduced him to an agent who got his first acting role, at the age of 16, as a juvenile in Eden End by J. B. Priestley. He then worked in rep.
In 1958, he started working behind the scenes of Granada Television, but he soon went back to acting. From the 1960s he appeared in many films, including The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), Jigsaw (1962), Berserk! (1967), The Ragman's Daughter (1972), Young Winston (1972) and The Best Pair of Legs in the Business (1973), and on television, in such series as Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars and The Persuaders!. He also played bookie Dave Smith in Coronation Street on and off from 1962 to 1976.
Marsh played works general manager Arthur Sugden in the boardroom drama The Plane Makers (1963–64). He also appeared in The Champions (1968), Hine (1971), The Stone Tape (1972), Emmerdale Farm (1973), Crown Court (1973–74), QB VII (1974), Bless This House (1974), The Sweeney (1975), and The Duchess of Duke Street (1976). From 1975, Marsh played Jerry Leadbetter's boss, managing director of JJM, in several episodes of The Good Life. He played a similar role in George and Mildred from 1976 to 1979, as Humphrey Pumphrey, Mildred's brother-in-law. From 1979 to 1987, Marsh played another similar role, Sir Dennis Hodge, Terry's boss, in Terry and June later reuniting with June Whitfield in the 1992 sitcom Terry and Julian, where he played Terry's boss George Wilson. From 1981 to 1985, Marsh played Reg Lamont in the soap opera Crossroads.
His play The Death is Announced ("A Murder Play") was produced in Leeds in 1964. He played Inspector Cullen. He described the play as a "comedy who-dun-it" and said that he wrote it "because he could never find a good 'copper' part for himself."

## Later life

In the 1980s and 1990s, Marsh had many small roles on television, including appearing in Only When I Laugh, Home to Roost, Bergerac, Boon, Minder, Alleyn Mysteries and Terry and June. One of his last television roles was in an episode of Paul Merton in Galton & Simpson's... aired on 14 October 1997.
Reginald Marsh was married to actress Rosemary Murray, and they had four children. Marsh had two other children by his first marriage, to actress Jenifer Coverdale. One of his sons had Down’s Syndrome, and during his retirement on the Isle of Wight Reginald Marsh supported MENCAP. Marsh died at his home in Ryde on 9 February 2001, aged 74.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | The Ugly Duckling | Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1961 | The Day the Earth Caught Fire | Picture Editor | Uncredited |
| 1961 | The Pursuers | Inspector | |
| 1962 | Two Letter Alibi | Salcombe | |
| 1962 | Two and Two Make Six | Plainclothes Policeman | Uncredited |
| 1962 | Jigsaw | Hilders | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Shadow of Fear | Oliver | |
| 1964 | The Sicilians | Inspector Webb | |
| 1965 | It Happened Here | IA Medical Officer | |
| 1967 | Berserk! | Sgt. Hutchins | |
| 1968 | Headline Hunters | Bogshot | |
| 1972 | The Ragman's Daughter | George | |
| 1972 | Young Winston | Prince of Wales | |
| 1973 | The Best Pair of Legs in the Business | Fred | |
| 1976 | No Longer Alone | Producer | |
| 1977 | Sky Pirates | Eddie | |
| 1987 | Three Kinds of Heat | Sir Hugh | |

## Selected television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1947 | The Man Who Came to Dinner | Westcott | Television film. First screen role |
| 1957-66 | ITV Play of the Week | Various | 6 episodes |
| 1959 | The Army Game | Newspaper Reporter/Professor Steinberg | 2 episodes |
| 1959-61 | Crime Sheet | Inspector Nicholson | 3 episodes |
| 1960-65 | Here's Harry | Various | 9 episodes |
| 1961-62 | The Cheaters | Inspector Martin | 5 episodes |
| 1961-63 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Murphy/Jack Vaughan | 2 episodes |
| 1962 | Compact | Harry Kane | 6 episodes. Also played Mr Connelly in one episode (1965) |
| 1962-1973 | Z-Cars | Various | 6 episodes |
| 1962-76 | Coronation Street | Dave Smith | 110 episodes. Also played Mr Lawther (1 episode, 1961) |
| 1963 | The Avengers | Higby | 1 episode |
| 1963 | The Handy Gang | Colonel Capp-Fitzwearitt | 9 episodes |
| 1963-64 | The Plane Makers | Arthur Sugden | 18 episodes. Also played Wally in one episode (1963) |
| 1964-65 | Dixon of Dock Green | Frank Rogers/Mr Bellamy | 2 episodes |
| 1965 | Armchair Theatre | Detective Inspector Wadcot | 1 episode |
| 1965 | Emergency Ward 10 | Councillor Vallance | 3 episodes |
| 1965 | The Wednesday Play | Arthur | 1 episode, "A Designing Woman" |
| 1965 | Scales of Justice | Harry Turner | 1 episode "The Material Witness" |
| 1965 | Pardon the Expression | Mr Granger | 1 episode |
| 1966 | The New Forest Rustlers | Inspector Foster | 4 episodes |
| 1966-67 | The Baron | Chief Inspector Filmer/Captain Brenner | Filmer, 1 episode; Brenner, 2 episodes |
| 1966-67 | The Rat Catchers | Arthur Dent/Barlow | Barlow, 1 episode; Dent, 3 episodes |
| 1967 | Mrs Thursday | Herbert Blakey | 3 episodes |
| 1967 | The Big M | Seymour Tancred | 6 episodes |
| 1968 | The Newcomers | Jack Stebbings | 6 episodes |
| 1968 | The Saint | Ed Brown | 1 episode |
| 1968 | The Champions | Captain Conrad Schultz | 1 episode |
| 1968-69 | The Old Campaigner | L.B. | 6 episodes |
| 1969 | Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) | James Laker | 1 episode: When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things? |
| 1970 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Inspector Pennycuick | 1 episode |
| 1970 | Never Say Die | Mr Hebden | 6 episodes |
| 1970 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Mr Wilson | 1 episode |
| 1971 | Hine | Charles Bulfitt | 1 episode |
| 1971 | The Persuaders! | Dr Fowler | 1 episode |
| 1972 | The Stone Tape | William Crawshaw | Television film |
| 1972-73 | Harriet's Back in Town | Harvey Tyler | 8 episodes |
| 1973 | Emmerdale Farm | Bob Molesworth | 6 episodes |
| 1973 | Crown Court (TV series) | Charles Baker/ John Stainsby | 3 episodes of each, in 1973/'74. |
| 1973 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Jack Cooper | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Bless This House | Mr Parker | 1 episode |
| 1974 | Comedy Playhouse | Arnold | Episode "A Girl's Best Friend" |
| 1974 | My Name is Harry Worth | George Bailey | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | QB VII | Inspector Henderson | 1 episode |
| 1974-75 | How's Your Father? | Mr Winterbottom | 8 episodes |
| 1975 | The Sweeney | Arnold Foss | 1 episode |
| 1975-77 | The Good Life | Sir Andrew | 6 episodes |
| 1976 | Rogue's Rock | Scoop | 3 episodes |
| 1976 | The Duchess of Duke Street | Mr Atkinson | 1 episode |
| 1976-78 | George & Mildred | Humphrey Pumphrey | 7 episodes |
| 1977 | Midnight is a Place | Silas Hobday | 5 episodes |
| 1978 | Rumpole of the Bailey | Mr Myers | 1 episode |
| 1979-80 | The Ravelled Thread | Higby | 6 episodes |
| 1979-87 | Terry and June | Sir Dennis Hodge | 25 episodes |
| 1980 | The Two Ronnies | Cheryl | 2 episodes |
| 1980-85 | The Setbacks | Mr Everybody | 21 episodes |
| 1981 | Only When I Laugh | Sir Julian Briggs | 1 episode |
| 1981 | Scarf Jack | Sir William Wynne | 6 episodes |
| 1981-82 | Crossroads | Reg Lamont | 59 episodes. Also played Noel Lamont (5 episodes, 1980) |
| 1984 | Minder | Johnny Winstanley | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Mann's Best Friends | Mr. Beasley | 1 episode |
| 1986 | Home to Roost | Jim Brown | 1 episode |
| 1988-90 | Bread | Doctor | 5 episodes. Also played Mr Rachel (1 episode, 1987) |
| 1989 | Bergerac | Arnold Trowbridge | 1 episode |
| 1989 | Boon | George Boxall | 1 episode |
| 1990 | The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries | Colonel Pascoe | 1 episode |
| 1992 | Terry and Julian | Mr Wilson | 1 episode |
| 1993 | KYTV | Undertaker | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Searching | Chancy's father | 3 episodes |
| 1997 | Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's... | Uncle George | 1 episode: "Being Sound of Mind" |
| 1997-98 | Mr Wymi | Henry | 29 episodes. Final screen role |

### Radio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1951 | Richard II | Keeper | First radio role |
| 1962 | Saturday Night Theatre | Jack Vaughan | "The Mather Story" |
| 1963 | Every Pebble on the Beach | Willie Smith | |
| 1965 | Afternoon Theatre | Tom Walker | "Border of Barbarity" |
| 1972 | Afternoon Theatre | Joe | "And You, Arnold" |
| 1977 | Albert and Me | Mr Simpson | Episode: "Spanner in the Works" |
| 1978 | Malcolm | Mr Parker | "Malcolm and a House" |
| 1978 | Share and Share Alike | Managing Director | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Wireless Wonderland | Himself | |
| 1979 | Rush Hour | Himself | |
| 1981 | The Monday Play | Allenby | "Ross" |
| 1984 | It Sticks Out Half a Mile | Sir Wensley Smithers | Episode: "War Damage" |
| 1985 | Saturday-Night Theatre | Dr Elston | "A Bumper Year for Dahlias" |
| 1987-89 | Blandings | Sir Gregory Parsloe | Various |
| 1987 | Crime at Christmas | Chief-Inspector Mitchell | "Inspector French and the Starvel Tragedy" |
| 1989 | Saturday-Night Theatre | Desmond Dean | "The Deep End" |
| 1989 | The Hedge Priest | Sir Philip Bowfounder | |
| 1992 | Butterflies Don't Count | Peter | First of two-part drama |
| 1992 | The Broken Butterfly | Peter | Second of two-part drama |
| 1992 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Sir George | "The Rhino and the Love Pavilion" |
| 1998 | The Saturday Play | Major Crowe | "The Black Spectacles" |