Tony Britton
Anthony Edward Lowry Britton (9 June 1924 – 22 December 2019) was an English actor. He appeared in a variety of films (including "The Day of the Jackal") and television sitcoms (including "Don't Wait Up" and "Robin's Nest" He is the father of presenter Fern Britton, scriptwriter Cherry Britton and actor Jasper Britton. Life and career. Britton was born in a room above the Trocadero public house in Temple Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Doris Marguerite (née Jones) and Edward Leslie Britton. He attended Edgbaston Collegiate School, Birmingham and Thornbury Grammar School, Gloucestershire. During the Second  World War he served in the Army and he also worked for an estate agent and in an aircraft factory. He joined an amateur dramatics group in Weston-super-Mare and then turned professional, appearing on stage at the Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He appeared in numerous British films from the 1950s onwards, including "Operation Amsterdam" (1959), "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1971) and "The Day of the Jackal" (1973). Britton won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor in 1975 for "The Nearly Man". He was the subject of "This Is Your Life" in 1977 when  he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews outside London's Cafe Royal. From 1983 to 1990, he starred with Nigel Havers and Dinah Sheridan in the BBC sitcom "Don't Wait Up", which became a highlight of his career. His other sitcom appearances included "...And Mother Makes Five", "Father, Dear Father" and as James Nicholls in "Robin's Nest". In September 2013 Sir Jonathan Miller directed a Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's "King Lear" at the Old Vic in London. Britton played the Earl of Gloucester. Britton and his first wife Ruth (née Hawkins) had two children, scriptwriter Cherry Britton  and TV presenter Fern Britton. Cherry was married to children's TV presenter Brian Cant. Fern is married to Phil Vickery. Britton's second wife was Danish sculptor and member of the wartime Danish resistance Eva Castle Britton (née Skytte Birkfeldt). They had one son, actor Jasper Britton. Britton died on 22 December 2019, at the age of 95.