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Felix Aylmer

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Actor

The Resume

    (February 21, 1889-September 2, 1979)
    Born in Corsham, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
    Birth name was Felix Edward Aylmer Jones
    British character actor and Shakespearean stage player
    Member of the prestigious Oxford University Dramatic Society
    Acted in over 100 films between 1930 and 1970
    Selected filmography includes 'Hamlet,' 'Knights of the Round Table,' 'The Wicked Lady,' 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp,' 'Henry V,' 'Anastasia,' 'Becket,' 'Quo Vadis,' 'Ivanhoe,' and 'Separate Tables'
    Acted in stage productions of 'The Farmer's Wife,' 'The Winter's Tale,' 'St. Joan,' 'Power and Glory,' 'Loyalties,' 'Henry V,' 'The Last of Mrs. Cheney,' 'The Flashing Stream,' 'Royal Eagle,' and 'The Prescott Proposals'
    Best known for his portrayal of Father Anselm in the television series 'Oh Brother!' (1968-70)
    Named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1950)
    Knighted for services to drama (1965)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was typecast as two extremes: either the bubbly, witless cleric or the nefarious, heavy-accented villain.
    He leant his voice to the narration for Richard Williams' ambitious 'Thief and the Cobbler' project, but thanks to backroom politics, it wouldn't be completed for close to thirty years.
    When it finally did secure a release, his narration had been scratched completely, and replaced with Matthew Broderick's (comparably whiny) voice.
    Its also fair to say that he was typecast as both Henry John Temple, Lord Palmerston and 'The Archbishop of Canterbury' (he played the former three times and the latter twice).
    Kenneth Williams attested to a colleague doing a regular impersonation of him to their Armed Forces Entertainment colleagues, but no one ever seemed to get who he was imitating.
    He had a career spanning over fifty years on the stage and screen, but nowadays is remembered only for giving elocution lessons to Audrey Hepburn.
    A set of ten handwritten letters Audrey had penned to him were put up for auction in the United Kingdom, eventually selling for over 11,000 pounds (June 29, 2016).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He made his stage debut at the London Coliseum.
    He served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, during World War I.
    He was a frequent castmate of Will Hay, Laurence Olivier, George Formby, and John Laurie.
    He was one of the few to whom Audrey Hepburn confided several personal episodes in her life.
    He served as President of the British Actors' Equity Association trade union for 19 years (1950-69).
    His 'melodious and learned' speech patterns were imitated by actors as diverse as Peter Sellers and Kenneth Williams.
    His influence was so pervasive that John Mortimer claimed that Aylmer's style was imitated by real-life judges presiding on the bench.
    He acted with Conrad Veidt in a 1933 short film called 'The Wandering Jew' (although the title isn't promising, it was one of the earliest films to focus on anti-Semitism).
    His original recorded narration for 'Cobbler' can thankfully be heard in the 'Recobbled Cut,' on YouTube, into which it was reinserted.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying