, 'I sa-a-ay!' (ditto) and 'Hell-o!' (ditto again, a mixture of breathy appreciation and lustful anticipation). Phillips was also a familiar face on television, with roles including the local Mr Fixit opposite John Gielgud in John Mortimer's Summer's Lease (1989); a judge in The Trials of Oz (1991); Lord Lane in the drama-documentary Who Bombed Birmingham?; appearances in the Chancer series (1990-91) and, a decade later, in Midsomer Murders, Marple, The Catherine Tate Show and other series. Phillips was also a familiar face on television, with roles including the local Mr Fixit opposite John Gielgud in John Mortimer's Summer's Lease (1989); a judge in The Trials of Oz (1991); Lord Lane in the drama-documentary Who Bombed Birmingham?; appearances in the Chancer series (1990-91) and, a decade later, in Midsomer Murders, Marple, The Catherine Tate Show and other series. Phillips' reputation as a comedian rested on a streak of innocence which pervaded his pursuit of young women, and his refusal to be thwarted by mishap. While this naughty t){kind=link}
He was often saddled with the ex-officer image forged in his early film comedies, reinforced further by such catchphrases as ‘ding-dong!’
Leslie Phillips, the actor and director who has died aged 98, was one of the most successful light comedians in the post-war West End theatre, but he most enduringly known as the skirt-chasing “silly ass” in the Doctor and Carry On films of the 1960s; although with his twitching moustache, roving eye, leering looks and air of cheerful mischief, he became a leading exponent of light-hearted lechery, his brand of suave geniality could also strike a sinister note.
In old age he remained in demand for his distinctively languid tones, which became familiar to a new generation when he provided the voice of the magical Sorting Hat of Hogwarts school in several Harry Potter films.
Although Phillips was a fine actor of limitless range, he was often saddled with the ex-officer image forged in his early film comedies, reinforced further by such catchphrases as “ding-dong!” (delivered rallentando when appraising a pretty girl for the first time), “I sa-a-ay!” (ditto) and “Hell-o!” (ditto again, a mixture of breathy appreciation and lustful anticipation).
Phillips was also a familiar face on television, with roles including the local Mr Fixit opposite John Gielgud in John Mortimer’s Summer’s Lease (1989); a judge in The Trials of Oz (1991); Lord Lane in the drama-documentary Who Bombed Birmingham?; appearances in the Chancer series (1990-91) and, a decade later, in Midsomer Murders, Marple, The Catherine Tate Show and other series.