Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Desert Island Discs
Presented by Roy Plomley
An English actor who began his stage career at the Palladium, Edinburgh, and worked in twice-nightly repertory.
Eight records
Peter Severs, isn't it? Mm-hmm. Um. Setting fire to a policeman.
Jenny Garland Come rain or come shine.
played by another dear friend of mine, Alan Clare, whom I've Followed around various clubs and places and hangouts he's been playing in for years.
Listen to and spent a lot of time in her company over the years. I think she's a lovely person and a great talent.
The keepsakes
No book or luxury recorded for this episode.
In conversation
Presenter asks
How did you start [acting]?
I managed to get myself into Fair Compton's studio of dramatic art, because I thought it would be smaller than the Royal Academy, so I might have a little bit more attention, as I knew absolutely nothing.
Presenter asks
What was your first job?
I got a job. At the Palladium Theatre, Edinburgh.
Presenter asks
When you were demobilized, John, how did you find things in the profession?
Well, I like um thousands of other people, it was uh difficult to, you know. pick up the threads and so on. Yes. Um it took a bit of time.
Presenter asks
The recording
Timestamps play the recording from that turn
Speaker 4
BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. Hi, I'm Laura Laverne. Welcome to this archive edition of Desert Island Discs. This is the only extract we have of John LeMessier's programme, which was broadcast in February 1973. The presenter was Roy Plumley. What you're about to hear was recorded off-air, so it isn't of broadcast quality. You can find the complete list of tracks John chose on his Castaways page on the Desert Island Discs website. The music has been shortened for rights reasons. We hope you enjoy listening.
Presenter
I want to try to be an actor. That's what I would like to be. And how did you start?
Presenter
Um well, I
Presenter
I haven't had any sort of amateur experience of any kind.
Presenter
And I managed to get myself into Fair Compton's studio of dramatic art, because I thought it would be smaller than the Royal Academy, so I might have a little bit more attention, as I knew absolutely nothing. How long did you stay there? I think I was there about four months or five months, I think. Yes. What was your first job? Well, we had a sort of end of term thing, you know, a little concert.
Presenter
And he did little excerpts and various things. I did something.
Presenter
Barker Square. And there were one or two people from uh rapporteur companies and so on. who came to watch us and uh I got a job.
Presenter
At the Palladium Theatre, Edinburgh. The Palladium? Yes.
Presenter
And that seemed to me to be very grand.
Presenter
Well, the Palladium's a very grand word, isn't it?
Presenter
And I always remember, although I'm very grateful to the lady who gave me the job, Lesson Ward and Andy.
Presenter
Um but when I got to Edinburgh
Presenter
I sundry in the autumn.
Presenter
Roll.
Presenter
Got some digs somewhere and I went round to you know, I knew about the Lyceum and the King's Theatre and stuff.
Presenter
And I found the palladium and it looked sad rather. And there wasn't a proper stage door. That disappointed me for some reason, tailedly. There wasn't a sort of... There was a sort of a barn door if I had to go through, you know, in order to get into the place. Nevertheless, you were a professional actor. Let's have a record number three.
Presenter
Ah, Peter Severs, isn't it? Mm-hmm. Um.
Presenter
Setting fire to a policeman.
Presenter
Setting fire to the policeman. Setting fire to the policeman.
John Le Mesurier
Yeah.
Presenter
Yeah.
John Le Mesurier
Connected.
John Le Mesurier
Seventy years ago
John Le Mesurier
Long before the days of the wireless and the kinematogram entertainment.
John Le Mesurier
We young lads had to make our own amusement.
John Le Mesurier
Such games as stoning the lamplighter and tripping the muffin man,
John Le Mesurier
provided harmless outlets for the release of our boyish energy.
John Le Mesurier
But the most popular of all our escapades
John Le Mesurier
was undoubtedly the one called
John Le Mesurier
Quite simple.
John Le Mesurier
Shedding fire
John Le Mesurier
To the policeman.
John Le Mesurier
Now this risky operation was invariably carried out in
Presenter
Peter Sellers and an old-fashioned pastime setting fire to the policeman. How long did you stay at the Palladium, Edinburgh?
Presenter
I think I stayed there for about, um
Presenter
Five or six months.
Presenter
Yes. And then I moved on, you know. Was there a lot of work about it most days? Yes, it seemed to be all right. There were you know, there weren't the pressures, there seemed to be.
Presenter
Yes, th there did seem to be more work and I went into it. I did an awful lot of rep. Possibly too much, but I didn't I don't regret it at all, because I like to think I might have learnt something. Of course. Um twice nightly rep? Yes, I did that too, yeah. Twice nightly and bi-weekly.
John Le Mesurier
Bruce marked it twice weekly.
Presenter
Yeah, a real rap one, yes.
Presenter
Well then the war came you were in the Royal Armoured Corps. Yes. And you served in India didn't you? Yes I was I s uh sometime there.
Presenter
and all sorts of strange places, even Pune.
Presenter
And uh how do they come to a walk?
Presenter
Um no real hardships at all. Ended up on the northwest frontier.
Presenter
I mean I really
Presenter
Fire shots and friendliness, really, you know, as a form of greeting. Let's have record number four. Regard number four, let's see. Uh, that's um
Presenter
Jenny Garland
Presenter
Come rain or come shine.
Speaker 1
I'm gonna love you, for I know what's loved you. Come wait, or come shine.
Speaker 1
High as a mountain, deep as a river, come rain, up come shine.
Speaker 1
I guess when you met me.
Speaker 1
It was John.
Presenter
Jordi Garland and the orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle.
Presenter
When you were demobilized, John, how did you find things in the profession?
Presenter
Well, I like um
Presenter
Thousands of other people, it was uh difficult to, you know.
Presenter
pick up the threads and so on. Yes. Um it took a bit of time. My first job I remember was at uh that lovely theater at Richmond with a
Presenter
Dear friend of mine, Larry Naismith, mm, who uh employed me.
Presenter
When did you start television?
Presenter
I started that I think before the war, 1938 or 9, because I was at that time at the Croydon Repertory Theatre, where Michael Barry...
Presenter
Directing and who letter became um
Presenter
Drama and director at the television center. And he was mm kind enough to employ one or two of us. Yes. Uh, up at Alexander Palace in those days. And films? How many films have you made altogether? I don't know, about eighty or ninety million.
Presenter
Yes. And the best ones?
Presenter
Well, I think the one that gave me most pleasure to be involved in
Presenter
I was I'm Alright Jack with uh Peter Sellers. Yes. Bolting Boltings, yes. They were very very good to me and uh when they were making the comedies they employed me quite a lot from Private's Progress through that and brothers-in-law and others. Yes. In recent years you've done very little theatre.
Presenter
No, not at all. It hasn't uh it just hasn't sort of come my way, really.
Presenter
I have had one or two scripts sent. In fact, I had one sent the other day which I thought was terribly good, but I couldn't do it.
Presenter
And I wrote to the management thanking them.
Presenter
Say, I'm sure your play will run a year. It ran one week. You see I know actors are really bad judges. Might have been different if you'd been in it. Why not?
Presenter
But from your television and films you've become one of the best known character actors in the business and of course a number one Smash success is the Sergeant Wilson in Dad's Army.
Presenter
How many Dads Army episodes have you done that?
Presenter
Well, I think we must have done about fifty or so.
Presenter
It's been I think it's been going about four years or nearly five years.
Presenter
And it's a very, very happy assignment.
Presenter
I think everybody in it will agree that we didn't think it would come.
Presenter
you know, so successful because we thought it would only
Presenter
appeal to people of my sort of age group, but children seem to dig it and
Presenter
People of twenty-five, thirty and so on, people who weren't even born or thought of and uh we all get on very well and I think it could possibly that uh
Presenter
comes across it does come across you look a very happy bunch yeah but you haven't become tight through all that sort of thing in fact you were awarded um
Presenter
An award of some sort as Actor of the Year for a drama, a television drama a year or two ago. Yes, that's right. It played Alan Bridges directed called Traitor by Dennis Potter.
Presenter
Which is that?
Presenter
Complete contrast.
Presenter
Anything that I'd been doing, you know, latterly in comedy or anything like that, and uh what pleased me most was to be um to be asked to do it because so often as you know people get put in tight little compartments and they say always that man's needs all right in comedy we don't touch him in drama he's no useless so it was nice to be asked
Presenter
That was a thing that gave me a great pleasure and it was a fantastic part for for me to try and do.
Presenter
In comedy, your professional personality is that of a a desperately worried man. In real life, do you worry a lot? I do, I suppose. I you know, what are you worrying about, Jonas? I mean, I suppose something's in my face or something.
Presenter
I do, yes, I do tend to worry, yeah. Um
Presenter
Um
Presenter
You know, the usual actor's worries, but they go beyond that. You know, I worry if I've got nothing to worry about. Call anxiety in your risk. A lot of anxiety, I guess. Let's have record number five. Record number five. Oh, yes. Um.
Presenter
Easy living.
Presenter
What's that?
Presenter
Well, that is something, um, a number.
Presenter
Um
Presenter
played by another dear friend of mine, Alan Clare, whom I've
Presenter
Followed around various clubs and places and hangouts he's been playing in for years.
Presenter
And he's a great piano player and is very much a musician's musician.
Presenter
And I'm very fond of him as a person and
Presenter
I like so many thicknesses as he's. Recall isn't played, but this is the one I think I'll choose. Easy living.
Presenter
Alan Clerk playing Easy Living. Let's go straight on to your next record.
Presenter
Ah, yes.
Presenter
A. Ross. Annie Ross.
Presenter
Listen to
Presenter
and spent a lot of time in her company over the years.
Presenter
I think she's a lovely person and a great talent. Watch her singing.
Presenter
She sing a song that is uh
Presenter
Um, an old standard and a great favourite of mine called What's New.
Speaker 1
Treating you
Speaker 1
You haven't changed a bit.
Speaker 1
And son as ever.
Speaker 1
I must admit
Presenter
Annie Ross.
Presenter
John, are you a practical person? Could you look after yourself in these unfortunate circumstances on the island? I doubt it.
Speaker 1
Uh
Presenter
Could you put up some kind of structure?
Presenter
I don't think so for one moment.
Presenter
No, I'm not doing I'm being u useless, really. I just have to sort of stand around and wait for some.
Presenter
For allow of a man or woman to come by in a boat or something like that. I doubt it. I don't know. Well, if they did, you wouldn't want to put up a structure, would you? Um, what about what are you going to eat?
Presenter
Well, whatever was growing there, I suppose, um bananas or some fruit, one herbs or mustard and cress or something. Well, that's something. Why mustard and cress? Well, I don't know. I seem to remember doing that or trying to grow that when I was a child. It's not exactly a very good staple diet, but uh it is. Well nevertheless it's something you could cultivate if you know how.
Presenter
What about fishing? Ever done any fishing? Never, no. No, I I don't understand. That's something I've not got into at all, fishing. Would you try to escape? Do you know anything about small boats?
Speaker 1
Are you trying to
Presenter
I know I I just have to stand around waiting for something to come, you know
Presenter
Pick me up and take me away. Gorgeous picture of you standing around. Standing around, yes. Let's have another record while you're standing there. Oh, dear. Yes, number seven, isn't it, dear? Uh this is a record uh of Federista.
Presenter
And it has memories for me it goes back to before the war.
Presenter
When
How many Dad's Army episodes have you done?
Well, I think we must have done about fifty or so. It's been I think it's been going about four years or nearly five years. And it's a very, very happy assignment.
Presenter asks
In comedy, your professional personality is that of a desperately worried man. In real life, do you worry a lot?
I do, yes, I do tend to worry, yeah. Um … You know, the usual actor's worries, but they go beyond that. You know, I worry if I've got nothing to worry about.
Presenter asks
Could you look after yourself in these unfortunate circumstances on the island?
I doubt it. … I'm not doing I'm being u useless, really. I just have to sort of stand around and wait for some. For allow of a man or woman to come by in a boat or something like that.
“I did an awful lot of rep. Possibly too much, but I didn't I don't regret it at all, because I like to think I might have learnt something.”
“I think everybody in it will agree that we didn't think it would come. you know, so successful because we thought it would only appeal to people of my sort of age group, but children seem to dig it”
“so often as you know people get put in tight little compartments and they say always that man's needs all right in comedy we don't touch him in drama he's no useless so it was nice to be asked”