Talfryn Thomas

John Talfryn Thomas (31 October 1922 – 4 November 1982) was a Welsh character actor, best known for supporting roles on television in the 1970s, including those of Private Cheeseman in Dad's Army (1973–1974) and Tom Price in Survivors (1975), while Thomas also appeared with Jon Pertwee in two Doctor Who serials.

Talfryn Thomas
Thomas as Mr Cheeseman in Dad's Army
Born	John Talfryn Thomas (1922-10-31)31 October 1922 Swansea, Wales
Died	4 November 1982(1982-11-04) (aged 60) Cardiff, Wales
Occupation	Actor

Biography

John Talfryn Thomas was born in Swansea on 31 October 1922. He trained as an instrument mechanic but joined the local amateur dramatic society. During World War II, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF), and was a rear gunner on a Lancaster bomber, flying on multiple raids into Germany. After surviving a crash in which all the other crew members were killed, he took up acting partly as therapy for the trauma, before training as an actor in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[1]

For some time Thomas acted in provincial theatres. In the late 1950s, he began making television appearances,[1] and in the 1960s appeared in two episodes of The Avengers - A Surfeit of H2O (1965) and Look Stop Me (1968) alongside stars Patrick McNee, Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson - as well as appearing with Roger Moore in The Saint (1968) and in The Persuaders! (as "The Poacher" in the episode 'A Home Of One's Own', 1971).[2] In 1973, Thomas appeared in the Seven of One episode "I'll Fly You for a Quid", appearing alongside Ronnie Barker in a community of Welsh gamblers.[3] Thomas also appeared with Jon Pertwee in the Doctor Who serials, Spearhead from Space (1970) and The Green Death (1973), and in the Worzel Gummidge episode The Scarecrow Wedding (1980).[4][5] Thomas excelled at playing quirky and sometimes seedy Welshmen. His distinctive appearance was enhanced by his protruding front teeth, which earned him the nickname 'Talf The Teef'.[6] Thomas is perhaps best remembered for his role as Mr. Cheeseman in the television series, Dad's Army (1973-1974).[7]

In 1975, Thomas appeared as Tom Price in seven episodes of the first series of the BBC TV series, Survivors, acting alongside main stars Carolyn Seymour, Ian McCulloch and Lucy Fleming, before the character of Tom was killed off in the tenth episode of the first series.[8] In 1979, Thomas appeared on The Ken Dodd Laughter Show with Rita Webb and Pat Ashton (and he was a regular on Ken Dodd's BBC radio comedy show).[9][10]

Talfryn Thomas' few films included Sky West and Crooked (1965) starring Hayley Mills, and Andrew Sinclair's adaptation of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood (1972), with Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole.[11][12] Like Burton, Talfryn Thomas had been in the BBC radio play.[13] He was also seen in Come Play with Me (1977) and the cult film, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980) from Vivian Stanshall.[9]

Thomas died of a heart attack on 4 November 1982, four days after his 60th birthday.

Selected television roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	The Citadel	Chenkin's Henchman / Miner
1964 to 1974	Z Cars	McCall / Greenough / Jake Morris
1965	The Avengers	Eli Barker / 'A Surfeit of H2O'
1967	St. Ives	Clausel
1968	The Saint	Owen Thomas
1971	The Persuaders!	The Poacher
1971	Edna, the Inebriate Woman	Tramp
1971 to 1972	Coronation Street	Dirty Dick
1970	Doctor Who – Spearhead from Space	Mullins
1973	Doctor Who – The Green Death	Dave
1973	Seven of One – I'll Fly You for a Quid	Mr Pugh
1973 to 1974	Dad's Army	Private Cheeseman
1975	Survivors – 7 episodes The Fourth Horseman Genesis Gone Away Starvation Spoil of War Law and Order The Future Hour	Tom Price
1975	Get Some In! – Call-Up	Corporal White
1977	Treasure Island	Tom Morgan
1977	King of the Castle	Vine / Vein
1979	The Ken Dodd Laughter Show	Various
1980	Worzel Gummidge – The Scarecrow Wedding	Soggy Boggart
1981	The Incredible Mr Tanner	Cledwyn
1982	Hi-de-Hi!	Gareth Davies

Films

• Sky West and Crooked (1966) - Brand
• Under Milk Wood (1972) - Mr. Pugh
• The Battle of Billy's Pond (1976) - Mr. Pugh
• Come Play with Me (1977) - Nosegay
• Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980) - Teddy Tidy

References

1. "Other Characters". The Dad's Army Appreciation Society. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
2. "Talfryn Thomas". www.aveleyman.com.
3. "I'll Fly You for a Quid (1973)". BFI.
4. "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Series Episode Guide - Cast and crew". www.bbc.co.uk.
5. "Worzel Gummidge: The Scarecrow Wedding/Fire Drill (1980)on Pickwick (United Kingdom VHS videotape)". www.videocollector.co.uk.
6. "The Avengers Forever: Talfryn Thomas". theavengers.tv.
7. Perry, Jimmy (2 October 2011). "Dad's Army: behind the lines of a comedy classic" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
8. "BFI Screenonline: Survivors (1975-77) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
9. "Talfryn Thomas". BFI.
10. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Ken Dodd Show, From 07/09/1975". BBC.
11. "Sky West and Crooked". www.aveleyman.com.
12. "Under Milk Wood (1971) - Andrew Sinclair - Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
13. "Under Milk Wood". 3 October 1963. p. 61 – via BBC Genome.

External links

• Talfryn Thomas on IMDb
• Article about Talfryn Thomas