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Leslie Phillips dies at 98.
The “Move On” actor, known for the catchphrase “Ding Dong” and “I Said” from the film, died on Monday (07/11/22) after a long illness.
His wife Zara, 63, said: “I have lost a wonderful husband and the public has lost a truly great performer.
“He was literally a national treasure. People loved him. He was mobbed everywhere he went.
“When we got married, he brazenly introduced me as a royal, insisting I was the new Zara Phillips and that I was related to the Queen.”
Leslie recently attracted a new generation of fans with his voice over the Sorting Hat in the “Harry Potter” films, and has starred in more than 200 films, TV and radio series during his decades-long career.
The multi-talented Shakespeare actor often jokes that his playful “Go on” sign will follow him to the grave, one of which may be engraved on his headstone.
He was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth in 1998 and a CBE 10 years later for his service to the show business.
His death made Jim Dyer, 86, the last surviving regular in the “Go On” movie.
Leslie Samuel Phillips was born in 1924, the third child of a working-class family, to Fred, a factory worker who died at the age of 44 in a smoky surroundings.
His mum Margaret sent him to the Conte stage school in Italy to get rid of his London accent, Leslie said: “All my friends and family are Londoners, real Londoners. They find it difficult Recognizing the new me, although my voice has undoubtedly played a huge role in my success.”
By the age of 14, he was working in West End plays with Hollywood icons such as Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison, and two years later he made his film debut in “Baghdad Thieves.”
He is also a World War II veteran and served as a second lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry Regiment, but was declared unfit for service due to a partially paralyzed illness just days before the D-Day.
His love and family life was full of tragedy.
Leslie married actress Penelope Bartley in 1948, with whom they had two sons and two daughters.
After an extramarital affair with Caroline Mortimer (Bailey’s Rumpole) creator John Mortimer’s stepdaughter, Penny divorced him in 1965 and died in a house fire in 1981.
Leslie was in a play in Australia when Penny died and did not return to the UK.
He married Bond girl Angela Scoular the following year, and more tragedy struck the actor in 1993 when his mum was robbed at a bus stop by a 92-year-old teenager.
Several of her bones were broken by thugs dragging her along the road, and she died a few weeks later.
His sister Doris, their mum’s carer, never recovered from the shock and died of a stroke six months later.
Leslie’s wife Angela then took a cocktail of drugs and alcohol to ease the pain of terminal bowel cancer and died in hospital the next day.
He later married Zara Carr after she helped him through the ordeal of Angela’s death, and she once saved his life by rushing him to hospital after he suffered a severe stroke that left him in a wheelchair.
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