British Comedy Guide

Old Comedy Actors

One of the main characters in my sitcom is an old, possibly Jewish man, who is around 80 years old, and I'm looking for suggestions of actors who could play him. Obviously, if my sitcom is made, I won't have much involvement in the casting, but I was just curious to see which actors were suggested. The actors don't have to be as old as the character, as they could easily be made to look older with make-up, eg recently I've been thinking Alexei Sayle might be a good choice, especially as the character is a landlord, just like his character in The Young Ones. As for real 80-year-olds, I was wondering, does Mike Winters still act?

No idea about the Winter brothers, but how about John Bluthal or Trevor Peacock (don't know if the latter is Jewish but he could certainly pass) or maybe Melvyn Hayes (who is).

Or you could go top of the range with Warren Mitchell.

Brian Blessed!

Bernard Cribbins!

Quote: AndreaLynne @ February 6 2010, 6:10 PM GMT

Bernard Cribbins!

Oooooooooooooooh. Yes.

Quote: Timbo @ February 6 2010, 6:06 PM GMT

No idea about the Winter brothers, but how about John Bluthal or Trevor Peacock (don't know if the latter is Jewish but he could certainly pass) or maybe Melvyn Hayes (who is).

Actually, there's only one Winters brother left. Bernie, who would've been perfect for the role, died years ago.

Try Christopher Benjamin
Warren Mitchell
Andrew Sachs
David Suchet
Ron Moody

Quote: catskillz @ February 6 2010, 6:18 PM GMT

Actually, there's only one Winters brother left. Bernie, who would've been perfect for the role, died years ago.

Had a vague feeling he might have done, but I wasn't certain whether if was him or Schnorbitz who'd checked out.

If Bernie would have been perfect, then Alan's suggestion of Christopher Benjamin might be a good one.

Or how about Gorden Kaye?

Some great suggestions there everyone, thanks. Just to elaborate on the character a bit, I'm going for an English equivalent of Arthur, from The King of Queens, mixed in with a touch of Arthur Daley, Grandpa Simpson and Alexei Sayle's Landlord character from The Young Ones.

In which case Geoffrey Bayldon and Eric Sykes are mercifully too old for the part.

Ariel Sharon.

He's not doing much these days

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