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IMDbPro

Lionel Jeffries(1926-2010)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Lionel Jeffries
Witnessing an assassination, a boy claims the assassins are hunting him. With his older sister, the pair escape numerous attacks and are aided by their grandfather and a resourceful young bystander even under the spectre of martial law.
Play trailer3:11
Sudden Terror (1970)
6 Videos
29 Photos
With his bald head, firm jawline and bristling moustache, Lionel Jeffries played a nice line of English eccentrics. This belied his RADA training. Following military service in WWII, he played his major roles - everything from Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) to the Marquis of Queensberry in The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) - in the 1960s.

His surprisingly brief career as a director included the highly popular family films The Railway Children (1970) and The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972).
BornJune 10, 1926
DiedFebruary 19, 2010(83)
BornJune 10, 1926
DiedFebruary 19, 2010(83)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 nomination

Photos29

Lionel Jeffries, Bernadette O'Farrell, and Alan Wheatley in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955)
Martha Hyer, Lionel Jeffries, and Edward Judd in First Men in the Moon (1964)
Lionel Jeffries and Edward Judd in First Men in the Moon (1964)
Lionel Jeffries in First Men in the Moon (1964)
Peter Sellers and Lionel Jeffries in Two Way Stretch (1960)
Lionel Jeffries in The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)
Lionel Jeffries, Davy Kaye, and Graham Stark in The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)
Richard Widmark, Colin Blakely, Lionel Jeffries, Edward Judd, David Lodge, and Russ Tamblyn in The Long Ships (1964)
Lionel Jeffries and Michael McManus in Lexx (1996)
Laurence Harvey, Lionel Jeffries, and Eric Sykes in The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966)
Gert Fröbe and Lionel Jeffries in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Lionel Jeffries in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Known for:

Dick Van Dyke, Adrian Hall, Sally Ann Howes, and Heather Ripley in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
6.9
  • Grandpa Potts
  • 1968
Camelot (1967)
Camelot
6.5
  • King Pellinore
  • 1967
Martha Hyer and Edward Judd in First Men in the Moon (1964)
First Men in the Moon
6.5
  • Prof. Joseph Cavor
  • 1964
The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966)
The Spy with a Cold Nose
5.6
  • Stanley Farquhar
  • 1966

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Mixer
    • Charles Ryder
    • Released
    • TV Series
    • 1992
  • Brian Downey, Michael McManus, and Xenia Seeberg in Lexx (1996)
    Lexx
    • Father Borscht
    • TV Series
    • 2001
  • The Canterbury Tales (1998)
    The Canterbury Tales
    • The Reeve (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2000
  • Guy Henry in Holby City (1999)
    Holby City
    • Harry
    • TV Series
    • 1999
  • Heaven on Earth
    • Isaac Muller
    • TV Movie
    • 1998
  • Performance (1991)
    Performance
    • Captain
    • TV Series
    • 1995
  • Woof! (1989)
    Woof!
    • Grandad
    • TV Series
    • 1993
  • Chris Jury, Phyllis Logan, Ian McShane, Diane Parish, and Dudley Sutton in Lovejoy (1986)
    Lovejoy
    • Percy Broderick
    • TV Series
    • 1993
  • Look at It This Way
    • Bernie Koppel
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1992
  • Casualty (1986)
    Casualty
    • Bill Tongue
    • TV Series
    • 1992
  • Rich Tea and Sympathy
    • Grandpa Rudge
    • TV Series
    • 1991
  • Boon (1986)
    Boon
    • Sir Alan Bolton
    • TV Series
    • 1990
  • John Thaw and Kevin Whately in Inspector Morse (1987)
    Inspector Morse
    • Charles Radford
    • TV Series
    • 1990
  • Michael Caine in Jekyll and Hyde (1990)
    Jekyll and Hyde
    • Jekyll's Father
    • TV Movie
    • 1990
  • Ending Up (1989)
    Ending Up
    • Shorty
    • TV Movie
    • 1989
  • Long Ago and Far Away (1989)
    Long Ago and Far Away
    • Gower (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1989

Writer

  • The Railway Children Return (2022)
    The Railway Children Return
    • inspired by the film "The Railway Children" by
    • 2022
  • Nelson's Touch
    • screenplay
    • Short
    • 1979
  • The Water Babies (1978)
    The Water Babies
    • additional material by
    • 1978
  • Wombling Free (1977)
    Wombling Free
    • Writer
    • 1977
  • The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972)
    The Amazing Mr. Blunden
    • written by
    • 1972
  • The Railway Children (1970)
    The Railway Children
    • screenplay
    • 1970

Director

  • The Water Babies (1978)
    The Water Babies
    • Director
    • 1978
  • Wombling Free (1977)
    Wombling Free
    • Director
    • 1977
  • Baxter! (1973)
    Baxter!
    • Director
    • 1973
  • The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972)
    The Amazing Mr. Blunden
    • Director (directed by)
    • 1972
  • The Railway Children (1970)
    The Railway Children
    • Director (directed by)
    • 1970

Videos6

Trailer
Trailer 3:11
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:18
Trailer
The Notorious Landlady
Trailer 2:41
The Notorious Landlady
Murder Ahoy
Trailer 1:35
Murder Ahoy
Idol on Parade
Trailer 3:12
Idol on Parade
First Men in the Moon
Trailer 3:22
First Men in the Moon

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Lionel Jefferies
  • Height
    • 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
  • Born
    • June 10, 1926
    • Forest Hill, London, England, UK
  • Died
    • February 19, 2010
    • Poole, Dorset, England, UK(vascular dementia)
  • Spouse
    • Eileen WalshJune 30, 1951 - February 19, 2010 (his death, 3 children)
  • Children
      Ty Jeffries
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared in Philip King's play, "See How They Run," at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, England, with Royce Mills, Maureen Lipman CBE, Simon William, John Alderton, Bill Pertwee, directed by Ray Cooney OBE.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 6 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Although he played Dick Van Dyke's father in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), he was six months his junior in real life.
  • Quotes
    I was constantly rewriting the words of the comedy characters I was given to bring them a comic humanity. Most of the people I played were caught in desperation. In their hearts they knew that they were failures - but they would never admit it, even to themselves.
  • Trademark
      Often played characters older than he was in real life

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