# Geoffrey Toone

Geoffrey Toone (15 November 1910 – 1 June 2005) was an English actor and former matinee idol, born in Ireland. Most of his film roles after the 1930s were in supporting parts, usually as authority figures, though he did play the lead character in the Hammer Films production The Terror of the Tongs in 1961.

## Early life

Toone was born in Dublin, Ireland, to English parents, and was educated at Charterhouse School and Christ's College, Cambridge. He served in the Royal Artillery during World War II, but was invalided out in 1942.

## Career

Toone's notable appearances include:
* As Sir Edward Ramsay in the musical film The King and I (he dances with Deborah Kerr in the banquet sequence, much to the annoyance of the King).
* As retired boxer and pimp Denny Lipp in "Jeff", a noteworthy 1960 episode of the TV series The Westerner, produced, directed and co-written by Sam Peckinpah. The episode also featured in a small role Warren Oates, who became a Peckinpah stalwart.
* The BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who:
** As Temmosus in the film of Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)
** As Hepesh in the television story The Curse of Peladon in 1972.
* In Freewheelers as the Nazi officer Karl von Gelb who continually tries to avenge Germany's World War II defeat.
* As R. A. Crichton in "The Greasy Pole", a 1981 episode of Yes Minister.
* As Lord Ridgemere, owner of the stately home where Delboy and Rodney dropped a chandelier in the Only Fools and Horses episode, "A Touch of Glass".
* As Lord Bittlesham, a recurring character in the TV adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster.

## Personal life

For many years Toone shared a house with his close friend, the actor Frank Middlemass. "To their general amusement", they were often mistaken to be lovers, but in fact were not.

## Death

Toone died from natural causes, aged 94, at Denville Hall in Northwood, London. At the time of his death, Toone was one of the last survivors of the Old Vic theatre company of the 1930s, having appeared alongside the likes of John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier in productions of Shakespeare. At the time, he was also the longest-lived actor to have appeared in Doctor Who.

## Selected filmography

* Queer Cargo (1938) .... Lieutenant Stocken
* Luck of the Navy (1938) .... Commander Clive Stanton
* Night Journey (1938) .... Johnny Carson
* Sword of Honour (1939) .... Bill Brown
* Poison Pen (1940) .... David
* An Englishman's Home (1940) .... Peter Templeton
* Hell Is Sold Out (1951) .... Swedish Consulate Clerk
* The Woman's Angle (1952) .... Count Cambia
* The Great Game (1953) .... Jack Bannerman
* The Man Between (1953) .... Martin Mallison
* Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) (Season 1 Episode 5: "Into Thin Air" aka "The Vanishing Lady") - Basil Farnham
* Captain Lightfoot (1955) .... Captain Hood
* Diane (1956) .... Duke of Savoy
* The King and I (1956) .... Sir Edward Ramsey
* Johnny Tremain (1957) .... Major Pitcairn
* Zero Hour! (1957) .... Dr. Baird
* Murder at Site 3 (1959) .... Sexton Blake
* Once More, with Feeling! (1960) .... Dr. Richard Hilliard
* The Entertainer (1960) .... Harold Hubbard
* The Terror of the Tongs (1961) .... Captain Jackson Sale
* Captain Sindbad (1963) .... Mohar
* Echo of Diana (1963) .... Colonel Justin
* Dr. Crippen (1963) .... Mr. Tobin
* Blaze of Glory (1963) .... Roche
* The River Line (1964) .... Julian
* Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) .... Temmosus
* The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) .... Marquis de St. Cyr
* The Stone Carriers (1982) .... Narrator