The son of a solicitor, British character actor John Le Mesurier attended public school in Dorset, England, before embarking on a career in law. However, acting was his true calling, and at age 20, with his parents' approval, he began his acting career by studying drama at the Fay Compton School of Acting, where one of his classmates was Alec Guinness. After acting school he performed in repertory until World War II, when he served as a captain in the Northwest Indian Frontier. After the war he returned to the stage and made his film debut in Death in the Hand (1948). By the late 1950s Le Mesurier had made appearances in numerous films, especially those made by the Boulting Brothers, and also on television, particularly on Hancock's Half Hour (1956). In 1968 he landed arguably his most popular role, that of sgt. Wilson in the long-running television series Dad's Army (1968). Although preferring comedy, Le Mesurier also excelled in drama, winning a BAFTA award for Best Actor of the Year in 1971 for his performance in Dennis Potter's "Traitor (1971) (TV)". In 1977, during "Dad's Army", he had become very ill, but he recovered and continued acting until his death six years later.
Known For
Credits
Cast Credits
Brideshead Revisited (1981)
Guest starring as Father Mowbray
- Episode 1x06: Julia (Nov 16, 1981) [Special Guest Star]
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (1974)
Guest starring as Sidney Goldsmith
- Episode 1x13: Death of an Old-Fashioned Girl (Sep 25, 1975)
Dad's Army (1968)
Starring as Sgt. Arthur Wilson
(77 episodes)
- Episode 9x06: Never Too Old (Nov 13, 1977)
- Episode 9x05: Number Engaged (Nov 4, 1977)
- Episode 9x04: The Miser's Hoard (Oct 28, 1977)
- Episode 9x03: Knights of Madness (Oct 21, 1977)
- Episode 9x02: The Making of Private Pike (Oct 14, 1977)
- Episode 9x01: Wake-Up Walmington (Oct 7, 1977)
- Episode 8x06: The Face on the Poster (Oct 10, 1975)
- Episode 8x05: High Finance (Oct 3, 1975)
- Episode 8x04: Come In, Your Time Is Up (Sep 26, 1975)
- Episode 8x03: Is There Honey Still for Tea? (Sep 19, 1975)
- Episode 8x02: When You've Got to Go (Sep 12, 1975)
- Episode 8x01: Ring Dem Bells (Sep 5, 1975)
- Episode 7x06: Turkey Dinner (Dec 20, 1974)
- Episode 7x05: The Captain's Car (Dec 13, 1974)
- Episode 7x04: The Godiva Affair (Dec 6, 1974)
- Episode 7x03: Gorilla Warfare (Nov 29, 1974)
- Episode 7x02: Man of Action (Nov 22, 1974)
- Episode 7x01: Everybody's Trucking (Nov 15, 1974)
- Episode 6x07: The Recruit (Dec 12, 1973)
- Episode 6x06: Things That Go Bump in the Night (Dec 5, 1973)
- Episode 6x05: The Honourable Man (Nov 28, 1973)
- Episode 6x04: We Know Our Onions (Nov 21, 1973)
- Episode 6x03: The Royal Train (Nov 14, 1973)
- Episode 6x02: My British Buddy (Nov 7, 1973)
- Episode 6x01: The Deadly Attachment (Oct 31, 1973)
- Episode 5x13: Time on My Hands (Dec 29, 1972)
- Episode 5x12: Round and Round Went the Great Big Wheel (Dec 22, 1972)
- Episode 5x11: A Brush with the Law (Dec 15, 1972)
- Episode 5x10: Brain Versus Brawn (Dec 8, 1972)
- Episode 5x09: When Did You Last See Your Money? (Dec 1, 1972)
- Episode 5x08: All Is Safely Gathered In (Nov 24, 1972)
- Episode 5x07: The King Was in His Counting House (Nov 17, 1972)
- Episode 5x06: If the Cap Fits... (Nov 10, 1972)
- Episode 5x05: The Desperate Drive of Corporal Jones (Nov 3, 1972)
- Episode 5x04: Getting the Bird (Oct 27, 1972)
- Episode 5x03: A Soldier's Farewell (Oct 20, 1972)
- Episode 5x02: Keep Young and Beautiful (Oct 13, 1972)
- Episode 5x01: Asleep in the Deep (Oct 6, 1972)
- Episode 4x13: Fallen Idol (Dec 18, 1970)
- Episode 4x12: Uninvited Guests (Dec 11, 1970)
- Episode 4x11: A. Wilson (Manager) (Dec 4, 1970)
- Episode 4x10: The Test (Nov 27, 1970)
- Episode 4x09: Mum's Army (Nov 20, 1970)
- Episode 4x08: The Two and a Half Feathers (Nov 13, 1970)
- Episode 4x07: Put That Light Out (Nov 6, 1970)
- Episode 4x06: Absent Friends (Oct 30, 1970)
- Episode 4x05: Don't Fence Me In (Oct 23, 1970)
- Episode 4x04: Sgt - Save My Boy! (Oct 16, 1970)
- Episode 4x03: Boots, Boots, Boots (Oct 9, 1970)
- Episode 4x02: Don't Forget the Diver (Oct 2, 1970)
- Episode 4x01: The Big Parade (Sep 25, 1970)
- Episode 3x14: Sons of the Sea (Dec 11, 1969)
- Episode 3x13: No Spring for Frazer (Dec 4, 1969)
- Episode 3x12: Man Hunt (Nov 27, 1969)
- Episode 3x11: Branded (Nov 20, 1969)
- Episode 3x10: Menace from the Deep (Nov 13, 1969)
- Episode 3x09: War Dance (Nov 6, 1969)
- Episode 3x08: The Day the Balloon Went Up (Oct 30, 1969)
- Episode 3x07: Big Guns (Oct 23, 1969)
- Episode 3x06: Room at the Bottom (Oct 16, 1969)
- Episode 3x05: Something Nasty in the Vault (Oct 9, 1969)
- Episode 3x04: The Bullet Is Not for Firing (Oct 2, 1969)
- Episode 3x03: The Lion Has Phones (Sep 25, 1969)
- Episode 3x02: Battle School (Sep 18, 1969)
- Episode 3x01: The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones (Sep 11, 1969)
- Episode 2x06: Under Fire (Apr 5, 1969)
- Episode 2x05: A Stripe for Frazer (Mar 29, 1969)
- Episode 2x04: Sergeant Wilson's Little Secret (Mar 22, 1969)
- Episode 2x03: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker (Mar 15, 1969)
- Episode 2x02: The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage (Mar 8, 1969)
- Episode 2x01: Operation Kilt (Mar 1, 1969)
- Episode 1x06: Shooting Pains (Sep 11, 1968)
- Episode 1x05: The Showing Up of Corporal Jones (Sep 4, 1968)
- Episode 1x04: The Enemy Within the Gates (Aug 28, 1968)
- Episode 1x03: Command Decision (Aug 14, 1968)
- Episode 1x02: Museum Piece (Aug 7, 1968)
- Episode 1x01: The Man and the Hour (Jul 31, 1968)
All Gas and Gaiters (1967)
Guest starring as Timothy Post
- Episode 1x01: The Bishop Gets the Sack (Jan 31, 1967)
Hancock's Half Hour (1956)
Guest starring as Lord Chief Justice Williams
- Episode 3x09: The Lawyer - The Crown vs Sidney James (Dec 2, 1957)