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1038:(1957). An obituary of Naomi Sim noted in 1999: "Cole wasn't the only youngster to benefit from the Sims' generosity and love of youthful spirits. At least half a dozen others – 'our boys' as Naomi called them – mostly unhappy at home, have cherished memories of life at Forrigan, the welcoming woodland retreat built by the couple near Henley-on-Thames in 1947". They had a daughter, Merlith, who lives at Forrigan with her family. The actor George Cole lived next door to the family, remaining close to Naomi Sim to the end.
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The
American critic Greg Ferrara wrote, "Although there will always be dispute over which is Alastair Sim's finest screen performance, there's little doubt as to which is the best known. His 1951 characterisation of Charles Dickens' notorious curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge is ... generally regarded as
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over a television advertisement for its baked beans; the advertisement had a voiceover sounding remarkably like him, and he insisted that he would not "prostitute his art" by advertising anything. He lost the case and attracted some ridicule for his action, but he was conscious of the importance of
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Sim was among the top
British film stars of the early and mid 1950s, but his films of the late 1950s are considered by the critic Michael Brooke to be of lesser quality, because of poor scripts or lack of innovative direction. Sim made no films in the decade between 1961 and 1971; it is not clear
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in
November 1918, Sim was released from military service. On his return home, he told his family that he did not intend to resume his studies at the university but instead would become an actor. His announcement was so badly received that he left the parental home and spent about a year in the
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with a group of itinerant jobbing workers. Returning to
Edinburgh, he took a post in the burgh assessor's office. In his spare time, he joined poetry reading classes, winning the gold medal for verse speaking at the Edinburgh Music Festival. This led to his engagement to teach
1161:, "The St Trinian's films may be the first we think of, but Alastair Sim was a vastly versatile actor without whom the landscape of British cinema's heyday would be a less joyful place." Brooke describes Sim's Scrooge as the "unimpeachably definitive" cinema portrayal.
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Sim and his family guarded their privacy carefully. He seldom gave press interviews and refused to sign autographs. In his view, the public's interest in him should be solely confined to his stage or screen performances. In a rare interview with the magazine
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After a series of false starts, including a spell as a jobbing labourer and another as a clerk in a local government office, Sim's love of and talent for poetry reading won him several prizes and led to his appointment as a lecturer in elocution at the
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called the film "the gold standard by which all the other versions must be judged: the 1951 film in which
Alastair Sim, as Scrooge, gives the performance of his career". In Sim's own country he was at least as celebrated for other film roles: in
355:, Edinburgh. He held this post from 1922 to 1924. After taking an advanced training course in his subject, in 1925 he successfully applied to the University of Edinburgh for the post of Fulton Lecturer in Elocution, which he held for five years.
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While maintaining his university position, Sim also taught private pupils and later founded and ran his own drama school for children in
Edinburgh. This developed his skills as a director and occasional actor. One of his pupils,
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as a tepid comedy about a progressive young headmaster thwarted by a reactionary member of his staff; the second, billed as a pre-London tour, started and finished in the provinces; the last was castigated by
1120:, wrote that he worked after leaving school at fourteen; in his 2011 biography of Sim, Mark Simpson questions this, observing that Sim took his Intermediate School Certificate at the age of sixteen
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debuted on
British television (on "International Theatre") on 6 February 1956, and was later released theatrically in the U.S. in 1961, leading some reference sources to list it as a 1961 movie.
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and lean as a buzzard… a grand performance". This was the start of an association between Sim and Bridie that lasted until the latter's death in 1951, with Sim starring in, and directing,
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at
Chichester and then in the West End. Once again he co-starred with Patricia Routledge. His last stage appearance was in a return to the role of Lord Ogleby in a new production of
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whether this was, as Brooke suggests, because he found the scripts offered to him unacceptable or, as
Simpson proposes, because film makers in the 1960s thought him unsuited to the
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as the litigious Mr
Haddock over whose court cases Swallow presided with benign shrewdness. Sim returned to the cinema in 1971 as the voice of Scrooge in an animated adaptation of
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saw one of Sim's productions for the school and encouraged him to become a professional actor. Through Drinkwater's influence, Sim was cast in his first professional production,
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performer, remaining so until his death in 1976. Starting in 1935, he also appeared in more than fifty British films, including an iconic adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novella
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praised for her "irresistible comic effect"; he thought Sim "enchantingly right". In the Pinero farce three years later, Trewin was equally approving of Sim and his co-star
1191:, who regularly imitated Sim, along with many others, as part of Moody's stage act. Sim evidently bore Moody no ill will, and they appeared together in the 1975 revival of
727:(1951) is considered by many to be the best portrayal of the title character on screen, and it is among his best-known film roles, particularly in the U.S. In the farcical
1026:, who lived with them on and off from 1940, when he was 15 years old, until 1952, when he married and bought a house nearby. Cole appeared with Sim in eight films from
720:, played it "with more than a hint of Sim about him", to the extent that according to Simpson many people thought then and still think that Sim played the part.
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he said, "I stand or fall in my profession by the public's judgement of my performances. No amount of publicity can dampen a good one or gloss over a bad one."
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1992:
706:(1949), saying, "I can't bear professional Scotsmen". An even more central role for which he was intended was the mad criminal mastermind Professor Marcus in
290:, the youngest child and second son of Alexander Sim, a ladies' tailor and clothier who served on several Edinburgh committees and was a school governor and
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By the mid-1940s, Sim was being cast in starring roles in films. His earliest successes as a leading man included the police detective in the thriller
504:(1935), in the role of the earnest but dim Sergeant McKay. There followed a sequence of films, a mixture of comedies and detective stories, including
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and other classics, to which he returned throughout his career. In the modern repertoire, he formed a close professional association with the author
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For a number of years in the 1950s, British film exhibitors voted him among the top ten local stars at the box office in an annual poll for the
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After Bridie's death in 1951, Sim appeared in only two stage productions during the rest of the decade. The first was a revival of Bridie's
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called his performance "a joy … a marvellous mixture of soap and vinegar". On the strength of this success Sim was cast in his first film,
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After doing little stage work in the 1950s, Sim resumed his theatre career in earnest in the 1960s. His range was wide, from Prospero in
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as "maladroit playmaking" with a tedious plot about political machinations. Sim's performances provided some consolation: in the first,
2037:
1284:
Margaret Rutherford, Alistair Sim, eccentricity and the British character actor, Chris Wilson, Sheffield Hallam University, 2005, p. 11
1076:, by his daughter Merlith McKendrick at a ceremony attended by George Cole. There is a plaque commemorating Sim's birth outside the
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his highly recognisable voice to his professional success. Brooke comments on Sim's "crowning glory: that extraordinary voice. Only
2077:
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said, his "treacherously sweet smiles, triple takes and unheralded spasms of apoplectic fury almost make the evening worth while".
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as portraying the relations between an urbane Roman emperor (Sim) and a Greek inventor with wildly anachronistic scientific ideas (
1975:
1999:
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in the United States. Though an accomplished dramatic actor, he is often remembered for his comically sinister performances.
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235:, which lasted from 1939 until the dramatist's death in 1951. Sim not only acted in Bridie's works but also directed them.
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and her shady brother. Having originally accepted the part of Clarence, Sim agreed to play in drag as Miss Fritton when
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Despite his late start, Sim soon became well known on the London stage. A period of more than a year as a member of the
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274:(1954). Later, he made fewer films and generally concentrated on stage work, including successful productions at the
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in 1925. He also ran his own private elocution and drama school, from which, with the help of the playwright
1939:
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in 1956, in which Sim moved from the role of the puritanical clergyman to that of the Devil. The second was
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had "a sly roguishness that was immensely alive." During the Old Vic season, Sim married his former pupil,
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area of the city. Sim was educated at Bruntsfield Primary school, and received his secondary education at
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1970:
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In the later 1940s and for most of the 1950s, Sim was a leading star of British cinema. They included
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who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular
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510:(1936), in which Sim and his wife both appeared, he as a Scottish minister, she as the maid;
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Alastair Sim- the Real Belle of St Trinian's, Mark Simpson, History Press, 2011, pp. 14-16
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as Duke Frederick "endowed the dukes with the properly fabulous touch of fairyland". In
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rivalled his tonal control and sensitivity to the musicality of the English language."
733:(1954) he played the dual roles of Millicent and Clarence Fritton, the headmistress of
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debut in October 1931. In 1932–33 he was engaged for sixteen months as a member of the
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327:
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1245:, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2011, retrieved 11 July 2014
326:. He worked—probably part time—in his father's shop and then for the men's outfitters
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314:; later, improved finances allowed for a move to 73, Viewforth, in the wealthier
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Sim and his wife Naomi promoted and encouraged young acting talent. Among their
294:, and Isabella (née McIntyre). His mother moved to Edinburgh as a teenager from
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Much more successful among Sim's 1960s appearances were two productions at the
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377:, London, in 1930; he understudied the three principal male roles (played by
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could find no suitable actress as an alternative. His "Burke and Hare" film
330:, displaying no talent for the retail trade. In 1918 he was admitted to the
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as "the fondest memory for many". and in 2005, Michael Brooke wrote in the
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1362:"Obituary: Mr Alastair Sim – Idiosyncratic comedian of stage and screen",
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363:, aged 12 when they met, became his wife six years later. The dramatist
1930:
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712:(1955). The role was written with him in mind but was finally taken by
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858:(1967); he directed all three productions. The first was dismissed by
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On television, Sim portrayed Mr Justice Swallow in the comedy series
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Alastair Sim: The Star of "Scrooge" and "The Belles of St Trinian's"
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to study analytical chemistry, but was called up for army training.
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was unveiled in July 2008 at his former home at 8 Frognal Gardens,
1053:. He held the post until 1951; when he stood down he was made an
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audiences as Ponsonby, a sycophantic bank director in the comedy
414:
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224:
1699:); and Hope-Wallace, Philip. "Number 10 at the Strand Theatre",
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On stage Sim returned to Pinero farce, playing Augustin Jedd in
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1547:"The Anatomist". British Film Institute. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
1178:; 1951 – 6th; 1952 – 2nd; 1953 – 4th; 1955 – 4th (8th overall).
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108:
1342:
Brooke, Michael. "The actors: Alastair Sim – Funny Peculiar",
902:. In the former he co-starred once more with Rutherford, whom
641:(1946); the headmaster of Nutbourne College, co-starring with
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and regular appearances in new and old works in the West End.
1978:– Sight & Sound profile of Alastair Sim by Michael Brooke
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Memorial stone near Sim's birthplace, Lothian Road, Edinburgh
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Sim died in 1976, aged 75, in London, from complications of
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speaker. The family lived above his father's shop at 96-98,
220:, he made the transition to the professional stage in 1930.
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1828:(fourteenth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.
651:(1950); and a writer of lurid crime fiction in the comedy
473:, on 2 August 1932. They had one daughter, Merlith Naomi.
1436:
Brown, Ivor. "The Week's Theatres – Youth at the Helm",
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Lyric Theatre. "Mr Sim again the Indulgent Pedagogue",
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For several months in 1934, Sim was incapacitated by a
184:(9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish
977:, his last role was as the Earl in the 1976 remake of
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proved unavailable, and the director and co-producer,
1888:
Quinlan's illustrated directory of film comedy stars
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Sim returned to substantial stage roles at the last
520:(1937), after a stage production of the same piece;
484:. When he recovered, he made a strong impression on
1401:, Internet Broadway database, accessed 15 July 2014
824:(1963, 1964 and 1968) and the hapless Mr Posket in
939:. The following year he appeared as the Bishop in
437:. He began to attract the attention of reviewers.
1783:, British Film Institute, retrieved 13 July 2014.
834:(1969). The new plays in which Sim appeared were
540:" series (1939–41), as the bumbling assistant of
2019:
1907:Dance and Skylark: Fifty years with Alastair Sim
1758:, British Film Institute, retrieved 13 July 2014
1500:, British Film Institute, retrieved 12 July 2013
1469:, British Film Institute, retrieved 13 July 2014
1093:Dance and Skylark: Fifty Years with Alastair Sim
388:
227:company brought him wide experience of playing
700:Sim turned down the role of Joseph Macroon in
385:) and played the small role of the messenger.
2048:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
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1140:The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
967:. After playing Lord Harrogate in the 1976
570:he played Professor Hayman, making him, as
1946:
1811:, Filmhouse Cinema, retrieved 12 July 2014
1716:Trewin, J C. "Ha! Ha! That's Admirable!",
1512:, Screenonline, retrieved 30 December 2015
814:(1964), to the villainous Captain Hook in
716:, who, in the words of Mark Duguid of the
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2043:Academics of the University of Edinburgh
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1147:identifies Sim's harassed headmaster in
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397:with productions ranging from a musical
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1243:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
1239:"Sim, Alastair George Bell (1900–1976)"
1130:definitive", and in 2002 John Corry of
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14:
2063:Rectors of the University of Edinburgh
2020:
1449:"Malvern Festival: "Mr James Bridie's
1378:, Alastair Sim, retrieved 11 July 2014
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1091:. His widow Naomi published a memoir,
2088:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
2083:British Army personnel of World War I
2000:Rector of the University of Edinburgh
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1051:Rector of the University of Edinburgh
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1578:, Queensland, 29 December 1951, p. 1
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1095:in 1987. She died on 3 August 1999.
480:, which was successfully treated by
1904:
1809:"Alastair Sim's birthplace located"
1729:Trewin, J C. "Frenzy by Gaslight",
953:, and in 1975 he played a cameo in
785:In 1959, Sim sued the food company
24:
2053:Deaths from lung cancer in England
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1843:"Whiskey Galore!" and "The Maggie"
1570:"Vivien Leigh Actress of the Year"
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351:at a further education college in
25:
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2038:20th-century Scottish male actors
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657:(1951). His other films included
547:
1596:, Sydney, 28 December 1952, p. 4
1304:"Spellbinding times at Heriot's"
1187:The voice was that of the actor
554:Alastair Sim on stage and screen
2078:Scottish male television actors
1993:Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
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401:to a medieval costume drama by
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1149:The Happiest Days of Your Life
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648:The Happiest Days of Your Life
253:The Happiest Days of Your Life
13:
1:
1864:. Stroud, UK: History Press.
1376:"Biography – Annual Overview"
1116:In her memoirs, Sim's widow,
774:, a 1958 comedy described by
625:As Hawkins, the assassin, in
576:put it, "baleful as a shaven
463:wrote that Sim's Claudius in
389:Early stage and screen career
320:James Gillespie's High School
281:
1556:"Success of British Films",
1529:, retrieved 30 December 2015
1249:UK public library membership
1002:at the Savoy in April 1975.
7:
1174:: 1950 – equal eighth with
1035:Blue Murder at St Trinian's
909:The Illustrated London News
730:The Belles of St. Trinian's
682:Scrooge (A Christmas Carol)
265:The Belles of St. Trinian's
10:
2104:
2073:Scottish male stage actors
2058:Male actors from Edinburgh
1971:Internet Broadway Database
1817:
1703:, 16 November 1967, p. 6 (
1523:"A Christmas Carol (1951)"
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29:
27:Scottish actor (1900–1976)
2068:Scottish male film actors
2006:
1997:
1989:
1984:
1824:Gaye, Freda, ed. (1967).
1609:, 29 December 1955, p. 12
1588:"Comedian Tops Film Poll"
1575:Townsville Daily Bulletin
1498:"Ladykillers, The (1955)"
1049:In 1948, Sim was elected
1006:Personal life and honours
757:dramas then fashionable.
645:, in the farcical comedy
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41:
1841:McArthur, Colin (2003).
1826:Who's Who in the Theatre
1560:, 29 December 1950, p. 4
1440:, 24 February 1935, p. 5
1414:, 1 November 1932, p. 12
1193:The Clandestine Marriage
999:The Clandestine Marriage
893:The Clandestine Marriage
204:in Great Britain and as
178:Alastair George Bell Sim
76:Alastair George Bell Sim
30:Not to be confused with
1886:Quinlan, David (1992).
1731:Illustrated London News
1718:Illustrated London News
1695:, 4 April 1965, p. 22 (
1640:"The Brass Butterfly",
1455:The Manchester Guardian
1423:Brown, Ivor. "Hamlet",
1366:, 21 August 1976, p. 14
1065:in the early 1970s. An
1061:in 1953, and refused a
611:in the comedy-thriller
573:The Manchester Guardian
449:Sim as Duke Senior and
332:University of Edinburgh
214:University of Edinburgh
121:University of Edinburgh
1909:. London: Bloomsbury.
1860:Simpson, Mark (2009).
1687:, 3 July 1963, p. 13 (
1631:, 31 August 1956, p. 5
1457:, 8 August 1939, p. 11
1427:, 24 April 1932, p. 15
1350:, July 2005, pp. 34–36
1348:British Film Institute
1153:British Film Institute
1133:The American Spectator
1055:honorary Doctor of Law
1046:
925:(1967–71), written by
811:The Merchant of Venice
808:(1962) and Shylock in
718:British Film Institute
632:
618:
361:Naomi Merlith Plaskitt
324:George Heriot's School
198:, released in 1951 as
1720:, 11 June 1966, p. 31
1644:, 18 April 1958, p. 3
1527:Turner Classic Movies
1172:Motion Picture Herald
1044:
723:Sim's performance in
624:
602:
381:, Maurice Browne and
337:After the end of the
1890:. London: Batsford.
1845:. New York: Tauris.
1771:, Summer 1972, p. 10
1733:, 31 May 1969, p. 32
1099:Notes and references
974:Escape from the Dark
798:1960s and last years
666:London Belongs to Me
654:Laughter in Paradise
501:The Riverside Murder
292:Justice of the Peace
60:Sim as the Laird in
1905:Sim, Naomi (1987).
1697:The Elephant's Foot
1653:Simpson, pp. 150–51
1627:"Aldwych Theatre",
1605:"The Dam Busters",
1538:Simpson, pp. 121–22
1387:Gaye, pp. 1184–1185
1176:Margaret Rutherford
1057:. He was appointed
880:Chichester Festival
865:Philip Hope-Wallace
848:The Elephant's Foot
771:The Brass Butterfly
739:Margaret Rutherford
643:Margaret Rutherford
538:Inspector Hornleigh
523:Alf's Button Afloat
417:company, headed by
306:, and was a native
276:Chichester Festival
1944:TCM Movie Database
1752:"The Ruling Class"
1487:Simpson, pp. 91–92
1237:Gilbert, Michael.
1047:
914:Patricia Routledge
694:An Inspector Calls
633:
619:
344:Scottish Highlands
271:An Inspector Calls
2016:
2015:
2010:Alexander Fleming
2007:Succeeded by
1985:Academic offices
1871:978-0-7524-5372-9
1312:. 13 August 2009.
1247:(subscription or
936:A Christmas Carol
586:The Forrigan Reel
491:Youth at the Helm
206:A Christmas Carol
195:A Christmas Carol
175:
174:
135:Years active
16:(Redirected from
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2004:1948–1951
1990:Preceded by
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1078:Filmhouse Cinema
1067:English Heritage
965:Malcolm McDowell
946:The Ruling Class
922:Misleading Cases
688:Folly to Be Wise
671:Alfred Hitchcock
638:Green for Danger
560:Malvern Festival
526:(1938) with the
383:Ralph Richardson
286:Sim was born in
241:Green for Danger
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39:
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1410:"The Old Vic",
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890:'s 1766 comedy
836:Michael Gilbert
800:
766:William Golding
762:Mr Bolfry
709:The Ladykillers
609:Yvonne Mitchell
556:
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365:John Drinkwater
339:First World War
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186:character actor
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160: 1932)
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1976:Funny Peculiar
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1925:External links
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1451:What Say They?
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899:The Magistrate
844:William Trevor
831:The Magistrate
799:
796:
703:Whisky Galore!
568:What Say They?
552:Main article:
549:
548:Starring roles
546:
471:Naomi Plaskitt
446:As You Like It
425:, two each by
419:Peggy Ashcroft
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1769:Focus on Film
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1967:Alastair Sim
1962:Screenonline
1954:Alastair Sim
1940:Alastair Sim
1931:Alastair Sim
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1425:The Observer
1424:
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1411:
1406:
1398:The Venetian
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1309:The Scotsman
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1082:Lothian Road
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963:(1975) with
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949:(1972) with
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907:
904:J. C. Trewin
897:
891:
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872:
869:The Guardian
868:
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839:
829:
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746:
735:St Trinian's
728:
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676:Stage Fright
674:
664:
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571:
567:
564:James Bridie
557:
531:
521:
517:The Squeaker
515:
505:
499:
489:
478:slipped disc
475:
464:
456:The Observer
454:
444:
438:
409:he made his
407:The Venetian
406:
403:Clifford Bax
394:
392:
379:Paul Robeson
368:
357:
336:
312:Lothian Road
285:
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233:James Bridie
222:
210:
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193:
177:
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103:(1976-08-19)
61:
43:Alastair Sim
36:
18:Alistair Sim
2033:1976 deaths
2028:1900 births
1767:Interview,
1089:lung cancer
1070:blue plaque
1032:(1941), to
1024:George Cole
960:Royal Flash
941:Peter Medak
931:Roy Dotrice
896:(1966) and
850:(1965) and
805:The Tempest
780:George Cole
691:(1953) and
592:(1947) and
536:, and the "
423:Shakespeare
405:, in whose
316:Bruntsfield
300:Small Isles
268:(1954) and
247:Hue and Cry
229:Shakespeare
2022:Categories
1916:0747500525
1897:0713461497
1852:1417520396
1705:Number Ten
1203:References
1063:knighthood
993:Dandy Dick
980:Rogue Male
856:Number Ten
605:John Mills
590:Dr Angelus
566:'s comedy
533:The Terror
528:Crazy Gang
496:Ivor Brown
482:osteopathy
461:Ivor Brown
431:Drinkwater
282:Early life
127:Occupation
92:, Scotland
82:1900-10-09
1685:The Times
1642:The Times
1629:The Times
1607:The Times
1558:The Times
1412:The Times
1364:The Times
1251:required)
1189:Ron Moody
1074:Hampstead
983:opposite
873:The Times
860:The Times
828:'s farce
821:Peter Pan
787:H J Heinz
776:The Times
594:Mr Gillie
582:Mr Bolfry
578:John Knox
440:The Times
349:elocution
288:Edinburgh
138:1930–1976
111:, England
90:Edinburgh
1793:"People"
1689:Windfall
1346:, 15.7,
1020:protégés
842:(1963),
840:Windfall
697:(1954).
685:(1951),
679:(1950),
669:(1948),
663:(1944),
614:Escapade
596:(1950).
588:(1945),
584:(1943),
486:West End
435:Sheridan
411:Broadway
304:Hebrides
262:(1951),
256:(1950),
250:(1947),
244:(1946),
190:West End
168:Children
1969:at the
1956:at the
1942:at the
1834:5997224
1818:Sources
929:, with
888:Garrick
792:Gielgud
725:Scrooge
415:Old Vic
395:Othello
373:at the
370:Othello
328:Gieve's
302:in the
259:Scrooge
225:Old Vic
201:Scrooge
162:
154:
63:Geordie
1913:
1894:
1868:
1849:
1832:
969:Disney
884:Colman
826:Pinero
816:Barrie
631:, 1956
617:, 1955
466:Hamlet
308:Gaelic
143:Spouse
109:London
66:, 1955
1118:Naomi
1104:Notes
971:film
603:With
562:; in
399:revue
353:Dalry
156:(
152:
130:Actor
1935:IMDb
1911:ISBN
1892:ISBN
1866:ISBN
1847:ISBN
1830:OCLC
1754:and
1022:was
886:and
607:and
429:and
427:Shaw
322:and
296:Eigg
98:Died
72:Born
1960:'s
1958:BFI
1933:at
1453:",
1155:'s
1080:in
1059:CBE
957:'s
943:'s
906:in
867:in
854:'s
846:'s
838:'s
818:'s
782:).
768:'s
673:'s
514:'s
182:CBE
47:CBE
2024::
1795:,
1676:^
1590:,
1572:,
1525:,
1355:^
1327:^
1306:.
1241:,
1210:^
1143:,
916:.
882::
544:.
494:.
459:,
180:,
158:m.
1919:.
1900:.
1874:.
1855:.
1836:.
1707:)
1274:.
1195:.
171:1
84:)
80:(
34:.
20:)
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