John Le Mesurier

John Le Mesurier (1912–1983) was an English actor best known for playing Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC sitcom Dad’s Army. His restrained comic style also shaped a long career in British film and television.

Arthur Lowe: English actor who played Captain George Mainwaring in Dad’s Army. His pompous captain forms the comic partnership with Le Mesurier’s understated Sergeant Wilson.
Dad’s Army: A BBC sitcom about the Home Guard in a fictional English seaside town during the Second World War. The series made Le Mesurier widely known as Sergeant Wilson.
British theatre: The performance tradition and institutions of theatre in the United Kingdom. Le Mesurier trained and worked on stage before becoming a familiar screen actor.
Home Guard: A British volunteer defence force formed in 1940 during the Second World War. Dad’s Army’s fictional platoon brought the Home Guard’s image to popular television.
Jimmy Perry: English actor and television writer who co-created Dad’s Army. He co-created the sitcom that gave Le Mesurier his defining role.
Sergeant Arthur Wilson: A mild-mannered bank clerk and Home Guard platoon sergeant in Dad’s Army. Wilson is Le Mesurier’s signature character, defined by quiet wit and social ease.
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art: A London drama school founded in 1904 to train actors and theatre professionals. Le Mesurier studied there before beginning his professional acting career.
Wartime comedy: Comedy that draws on the circumstances, institutions, or memory of wartime. Wilson helped make the Home Guard a source of affectionate, enduring comedy.
David Croft: English television producer and writer, and co-creator of Dad’s Army. His writing and production helped shape Wilson’s place in the ensemble.
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin: A BBC sitcom about a middle-aged executive who stages his own disappearance. Le Mesurier’s performance as Reggie’s father-in-law showed his comic skill beyond Dad’s Army.

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Terry-ThomasRelated: He shared the British comedy world in which Terry-Thomas built his screen persona.