Arthur Malet

**Arthur Malet** (24 September 1927 – 18 May 2013) was an English stage, film and television actor based in the United States. He was known for his films *Mary Poppins*, *Halloween,* *The Secret of NIMH,* and *Hook*. His last film was *The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue* in which he did the voice for Mr. Ages.

## Life and career

Vivian Arthur Rivers Malet was born on 24 September 1927 in Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, England, the son of Henry Guy Rivers Malet and Olga Muriel Balfour; a scion of the Malet baronets.[*page needed*] He emigrated to the United States in the 1950s, changed his forename to Arthur, began acting onstage, and won two Drama Desk Awards in 1957. He came to some prominence in 1960s films, often playing characters much older than his real age, such as Mr. Dawes, Jr., in Disney's *Mary Poppins* (1964), and King Eidilleg in Disney's 1985 animated film *The Black Cauldron*.

He played undertaker Ted Ulam in Norman Jewison's 1967 film *In the Heat of the Night*, and Joe Fenwick in a 1972 episode of *Columbo*, "Dagger of the Mind". He went on to play a village elder in Mel Brooks's *Young Frankenstein* in 1974, the graveyard keeper in John Carpenter's *Halloween* in 1978, a houseman in the 1984 film *Oh God, You Devil*, Tootles in 1991's *Hook*, and Owen Owens in the 1992 film *Toys*.

His appearances on television included episodes of *The Donna Reed Show*, *The Rifleman*, *Adventures in Paradise*, *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour* ("The McGregor Affair"; originally aired 23 November 1964), *Gunsmoke* (S10E16’s “Run Sheep, Run” in 1964) and *Bewitched* ("The Trial and Error of Aunt Clara"; originally aired 2 February 1967), *Wonder Woman* and *Dallas*. In 1965 he appeared as murder victim Ralph Day in the *Perry Mason* episode, "The Case of the Golden Venom." He played a vagrant who claimed to have stolen Aunt Bea's pin on *The Andy Griffith Show* in 1966. In 1969 Malet appeared as the Night Clerk on the TV Series *The Virginian* in the episode titled "Journey to Scathelock." In 1995, he portrayed Charles Randolph in *A Little Princess*. In 1997, he did voice work in *Anastasia*. He voiced the character of "Mr. Ages" in *The Secret of NIMH* in 1982 and reprised the role in *The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue* in 1998. Malet had a regular role on the short-lived 1983 TVseries adaptation of the film *Casablanca*.

## Death

Malet died on 18 May 2013 at age 85, in Vigeois, Correze, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.

## Filmography

* *Convicts 4* (1962) as Storekeeper
* *The Man from Galveston* (1963) as Barney
* *Mary Poppins* (1964) as Mr. Dawes, Jr.
* *King Rat* (1965) as Blakeley
* *Munster, Go Home!* (1966) as Alfie
* *Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.* (1966) as Umbrella Man
* *Penelope* (1966) as Major Higgins
* *The Scorpio Letters* (1967) as Hinton
* *The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin* (1967) as Chinese Food Eater (uncredited)
* *In the Heat of the Night* (1967) as Ulam
* *The Helicopter Spies* (1968) as White Hunter
* *The Great White Hope* (1970) as Barrister (uncredited)
* *Vanishing Point* (1971) as Second Male Hitchhiker
* *Bedknobs and Broomsticks* (1971) as Mr. Widdenfield - Museum Guard (restored version) (uncredited)
* *The Culpepper Cattle Co.* (1972) as Doctor
* *Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies* (1973) as Brother Watson
* *Young Frankenstein* (1974) as Village Elder
* *The Enforcer* (1976) as Innocent Bystander in Opening Action Sequence (uncredited)
* *Monster Squad* (1976) as The Wizard
* *Heaven Can Wait* (1978) as Everett
* *Halloween* (1978) as Graveyard Keeper
* *Disaster on the Coastliner* (1979) as the Conductor of Southbound 3
* *Savage Harvest* (1981) as MacGruder
* *The Secret of NIMH* (1982) as Mr. Ages (voice)
* *Oh, God! You Devil* (1984) as Houseman
* *City Heat* (1984) as Doc Loomis
* *The Black Cauldron* (1985) as King Eidilleg (voice)
* *Worth Winning* (1989) as Ticket Taker
* *Dick Tracy* (1990) as Diner Patron
* *Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time* (1991) as Wendel
* *The Runestone* (1991) as Stoddard
* *Hook* (1991) as Tootles
* *Toys* (1992) as Owen Owens
* *Felidae* (1994) as Jesaja (voice) (uncredited)
* *A Little Princess* (1995) as Charles Randolph
* *Anastasia* (1997) as Travelling Man / Major Domo (voice)
* *The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue* (1998) as Mr. Ages (voice) (final film role)

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## References

1. **^** Birth record transcript GRO Birth Registry Civil registration event: Birth Name: MALET, Vivian R. Registration district: Fareham County: Hampshire Year of registration: 1927 Quarter of registration: Oct-Nov-Dec Mother's maiden name: Balfour Volume no: 2B Page #818
2. **^**
3. **^**
4. **^** Arthur Malet profile at Allmovie.com; retrieved 2 January 2007.

## External links

* Arthur Malet at IMDb
* Arthur Malet at the Internet Broadway Database
* Arthur Malet at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

* VIAF
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