Bryan Pringle

Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2002) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in theatre, television and film productions

Life and career Pringle was born in Glascote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, and then was brought up in the Lancashire town of Bolton. After boarding at St Bees School, Cumberland, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, winning the 1954 Bancroft Gold Medal, graduating in 1955 with an Acting (RADA Diploma).

In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had two children. She died in 1999, three years before he did. He then moved to Nottingham Playhouse, where he appeared in the Willis Hall drama Boys It's All Hell. Later that year, in October, Pringle appeared opposite Robert Shaw again in Guy Hamilton's production of the Beverley Cross play One More River at the Duke of York's Theatre. Then, having joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, he scored two personal successes in the summer of 1964, first as Stanley in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party (directed by the playwright), then as the dustbin-bound Nagg in the Samuel Beckett play Endgame. Among later theatre credits, he starred with Jane Asher and Brian Murphy in the Romain Weingarten play Summer at the Fortune Theatre in 1968, appeared as Malvolio in Twelfth Night at the Bankside Globe in 1973 (reprising the role at the Ludlow Festival 15 years later), was Michael Crawford's father in Billy at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1974, returned to Nottingham Playhouse in 1977 to play Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing and appeared opposite David Suchet in the John Hopkins play This Story of Yours (Hampstead Theatre, 1987). In his final decade he appeared in major revivals of My Fair Lady (as Doolittle; 1992) and Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane (as Kemp; 1999–2001).

Film work Pringle appeared in many films, beginning with Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)

Television work Pringle also made numerous television appearances, gaining fame as 'Cheese & Egg' in the Granada Television sitcom The Dustbinmen (1969–70). Other notable appearances were as landlord Arthur Pringle in Series 2 of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986),

In the early 1980s he also appeared in a series of International Direct Dialling adverts. In the first advert he had the classic line "Sydney who?" only to be told "Not Sydney who, Sydney Australia", at which point the shock causes him to forcefully spit out a mouthful of tea he has just taken. The theme continued in further adverts.

Death In later life Pringle lived in Northamptonshire, where he died on 15 May 2002; he was buried alongside his wife in the cemetery of St Laurence Church in Brafield on the Green.

Selected filmography

The Challenge (1960) – sergeant Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) – Jack H.M.S. Defiant (1962) – Sgt Kneebone Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – driver (uncredited) French Dressing (1964) – the Mayor The Early Bird (1965) – Austin How I Won the War (1967) – reporter Berserk! (1967) – Constable Bradford Diamonds for Breakfast (1968) – police sergeant Spring and Port Wine (1970) – bowler 3 The Boy Friend (1971) – Percy Parkhill / Percy Browne Mister Quilp (1975) – Mr Garland Jabberwocky (1977) – guard at gate Bullshot (1983) – waiter The Young Visiters (1984) – Minnit the butler Brazil (1985) – Spiro Haunted Honeymoon (1986) – Pfister Consuming Passions (1988) – gateman Drowning by Numbers (1988) – Jake Inspector Morse (1989) – Barker (The Porter) Getting It Right (1989) – Mr Lamb Crimestrike (1990) – Super Three Men and a Little Lady (1990) – old Englishman American Friends (1991) – Haskell The Steal (1995) – Cecil, bank doorman Restoration (1995) – watchman Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) – Father Gilbert The Legend of 1900 (1998) – civil servant B. Monkey (1998) – Goodchild Darkness Falls (1999) – Mr Hayter Lover's Prayer (2001) – Stepan

Television