Arthur Gould-Porter
Gould-Porter in Torn Curtain (1966)
Born	( 1905-01-04 ) 4 January 1905 Penzance , Cornwall , England
Died	2 January 1987 (1987-01-02) (aged 81) Los Angeles , California , U.S.
Other names	Arthur E. Gould-Porter A. E. Gould-Porter
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1931–1977

Arthur Gould-Porter (4 January 1905 ? 2 January 1987) was an English actor who appeared in films and on television and stage. His film and TV career spanned from 1942 to 1977, and although mainly a character actor he is remembered for his part as Captain Greer in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and for his reoccurring role as Ravenswood the butler in The Beverley Hillbillies . He was sometimes credited as Arthur E. Gould-Porter and A. E. Gould-Porter .

Early life [ edit ]

Gould-Porter was born in Penzance , Cornwall , in 1905 to Archibald Gould-Porter and his wife, Mabel Amor. By the early 1930s Gould-Porter had moved to the United States and in 1931 he appeared at the Palm Beach Playhouse in A.A. Milne's Mr. Pim Passes By , to good reviews. ^[1]

Career [ edit ]

In February 1932 he appeared at the Forrest Theatre on Broadway in the comedy play New York to Cherbourg . He returned to Broadway in 1935 to start an 18-month run at the Broadhurst Theatre in Laurence Housman 's play Victoria Regina . Other Broadway appearances included Bachelor Born (1938-39) and Oscar Wilde (1938-39).

By 1942 Gould-Porter was branching into film roles, with uncredited roles in Eagle Squadron , The Black Swan and Random Harvest . He also received his first credited role in 1942 when he appeared as Freddie in the American thriller Nightmare . Gould-Porter continued to find work throughout the 1940s, appearing in minor parts in a string of Hollywood films, including roles in Jane Eyre (1943), National Velvet (1944) and A Double Life (1947). He took a break from film in 1948 and returned to the stage, appearing at the Booth Theatre in Keith Winter 's The Rats of Norway . The play lasted just three days before closing, and in 1951 he was again finding roles in film, appearing as a chauffeur in Kind Lady .

In 1952 Gould-Porter made his first appearance on television, appearing in an episode of the American detective series Saber of London . He followed this with further small film parts before landing his largest role to date in the comedy The Girls of Pleasure Island . Despite this larger role, it did not lead to greater success, but work continued to follow with an appearance in the Tony Curtis -led biopic Houdini (1953) and a part as the bartender in Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953). More television work followed, and between 1955 and 1957 Gould-Porter appeared in The Colgate Comedy Hour , The 20th Century-Fox Hour , Topper , Lux Video Theatre and The Joseph Cotten Show .

From 1955 Gould-Porter began appearing in more notable film roles, included credited parts in Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) and Top Secret Affair (1957). Although now appearing as a credited film actor, he instead found himself being drawn to more television work, and between 1956 and 1960 he starred in eight episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents . He followed this with more small-screen outings in Adventures in Paradise , One Step Beyond , Sea Hunt and The Rogues , amongst others. Of all the television shows he appeared in during the 1960s, he only appeared once as a recurring character, that of Ravenswood the butler in the comedy series Beverley Hillbillies , appearing in eight episodes between 1962 and 1966. In 1966 Gould-Porter made an appearance in an actual Alfred Hitchcock movie, taking the role of Freddy the Bookseller in Torn Curtain . This was followed with a bit part in Richard Fleisher's 1967 British musical film Doctor Dolittle , but he did not return to acting until 1970, when he made an appearance in another musical, Darling Lili . One of his final movie credits was as Captain Greer in the Disney musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks . His final television role came in 1977, when he played Winston Churchill in Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years .

Death [ edit ]

He retired to Los Angeles , where he died in 1987. He was never married.

Filmography [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arthur Gould-Porter .

• Arthur Gould-Porter at IMDb
• Arthur Gould-Porter at the Internet Broadway Database