James "Jimmy" Perry, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an English actor and scriptwriter, best known for devising and co-writing the British Broadcasting Corporation sitcoms Dad"s Army, lieutenant Ain"t Half Hot Mum, Hi-De-Hi and You Rang M"Lord?.
Background
Perry was born in Barnes, London on 20 September 1923. His father, Arthur was an antiques dealer and he was educated at two independent schools: at Colet Court and Street Paul"s School, which at the time were both based in Hammersmith in West London (now in Barnes).
Education
Royal Academy of Dramatic Artist
Career
1988–1993) with David Croft. Perry is credited with the original idea for Dad"s Army, which was based on his experiences in the Home Guard during World World War World War II He also collaborated with Croft on lieutenant Ain"t Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M"Lord? Sitcoms Many of the sitcoms Perry co-wrote with Croft drew heavily on his personal experience: at 16 he joined the Watford Home Guard (Dad"s Army). Two years later he was called up into the full-time forces, and was sent to Burma with the Royal Artillery, where he joined the Royal Artillery Concert Party and reached the rank of sergeant.
Demobbed and back in the United Kingdom, he trained as an actor at RADA, spending his holidays working as a Redcoat in Butlin"s Holiday Camps.
The Dad"s Army mummy"s boy character Private Pike was partly based upon the teenage Jimmy Perry, who said, "She didn"t go so far as making me wear a scarf, but she came pretty near". In an interview with the journalist Neil Clark, Perry said: "lieutenant amazes medical
I think it’s because it’s the thing that all British people savour: we were on our own at that time and we didn’t turn away. Dad’s Army reminds us of our finest hour." The two men continued their collaboration with lieutenant Ain"t Half Hot Mum (1974-1981), inspired by Perry"s wartime experience in the Royal Artillery Concert Party, and Hi-de-Hi! (1980-1988), using his time working as a Butlin"s Redcoat as an inspiration.
A solo effort, Room Service, written without Croft for Thames Television in 1979, and High Street Blues (1989), co-written with Robin Carr, "remain contenders for the title of worst British sitcom".
At the end of the 1970s, Perry became involved as presenter in a British Broadcasting Corporation series called Turns, dedicated to films of nearly forgotten music hall acts of the 1930s and 1940s. In the sixth episode of the first series of Dad"s Army, "Shooting Pains", Perry makes a cameo appearance as the entertainer Charlie Cheeseman. You Rang, M"Lord? (1990-1993) was his last collaboration with David Croft.
Perry"s grandfather had worked as a butler, and he heard many anecdotes about life "below stairs".
Music During the early 1960s, Jimmy Perry was actor-manager at the Watford Repertory, a role (perhaps intentionally) emphasised by his penchant for heavy checked tweeds, Inverness cape and deerstalker cap. Honour He received the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1978.
Views
Quotations:
"lieutenant amazes medical I think it’s because it’s the thing that all British people savour: we were on our own at that time and we didn’t turn away. Dad’s Army reminds us of our finest hour." The two men continued their collaboration with lieutenant Ain"t Half Hot Mum (1974-1981), inspired by Perry"s wartime experience in the Royal Artillery Concert Party, and Hi-de-Hi! (1980-1988), using his time working as a Butlin"s Redcoat as an inspiration. A solo effort, Room Service, written without Croft for Thames Television in 1979, and High Street Blues (1989), co-written with Robin Carr, "remain contenders for the title of worst British sitcom".
At the end of the 1970s, Perry became involved as presenter in a British Broadcasting Corporation series called Turns, dedicated to films of nearly forgotten music hall acts of the 1930s and 1940s.
In the sixth episode of the first series of Dad"s Army, "Shooting Pains".