This was one of the last interviews given by Leslie Phillips before his death aged 98 on 7th November 2022. Chris Sullivan met the great bounder at his Maida Vale home to discuss his entire career and reflect on his wartime days and his rise to fame as an actor in the 1950s. I must…
You were born in Yorkshire. You’ve had lots of Yorkshire characters, but was your family steeped in Yorkshire from way back? My mother and father weren’t Yorkshire people. We ended up there because my father was an engineer. It was during the Depression in the 1930s and he couldn’t get any work down in the…
Fame is a very extraordinary thing. You can become famous for being the bodiless voice of margarine, can’t you? Could you please tell me what to ask regarding Carry On Screaming, so I avoid a cliché question. Oh, and do you mind if I smoke? [laughs] No, I would love you to smoke! Okay! What…
Gustav Temple: What for you is the definition of a gentleman? A gentleman is a person who is considerate in almost all situations and usually cloaked in dignity. Can you name an example of a perfect English gentleman, living or deceased? Leslie Phillips. And his female counterpart? Helen Mirren Does the dandy still exist in…
Michael “Atters” Attree: Are you experimental with your facial hair? I am now. I have attempted to in the past, but now I’ve gone for a cardigan, cherry-bun style. Do you use any facial hair accoutrements? I dye it. I use mascara. Mascara? Really? Damn. I thought that trick was a secret of my own.…
Michael “Atters” Attree: Let’s start with a few warm-up questions first. What’s your favourite tipple? It’s a funny one that one…of all the questions I could answer in the world, I mean, this will bore the arse off you: I don’t drink. I love people to drink, I encourage people to drink, I think drink…
Greg Dyke’s BBC dynasty annihilated TV wrestling. Was its TV demise inevitable or was there room for a newfound renaissance within the sport? After the cessation of British wrestling on ITV, the American shows exploded all over Sky television, so there was definitely scope to reinvent British wrestling. I tried to do this with a…
When you first chose the name Slim Jim Phantom and became the drummer in the Stray Cats, did you realise that you’d never be able to gain weight or lose your hair? I have the same name as my father, as is the practice with the NYC Irish nobility. His nickname is Big Jim, so…