Clive Dunn Dead: Dad's Army Star 'Jonesy' Dies, Aged 92
Dad's Army Star Clive Dunn Dies, Aged 92
PA/Huffington Post UK
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'Dad's Army' star Clive Dunn OBE has died, his agent Peter Charlesworth said on Wednesday.
Dunn played the role of Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom and was famed for his "Don't Panic!" catchphrase.
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Dunn is reported to have died from complications, following an operation which took place last week.
He is survived by his wife Priscilla Morgan and two daughters, Jessica and Polly.
Dunn, whose parents were both actors and who went to stage school himself, served in the Army himself during the Second World War, when he spent four years as a prisoner of war in Austria.
A veteran of the music hall and theatre circuit, his big break came with 'The Tony Hancock Show' in the 1950s, and was one of Hancock's staple team, before joining 'Dad's Army' in 1968.
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Although he was only 48 when he first appeared on the enduring TV favourite, he took the role of elderly butcher Jonesy, alongside other familiar faces Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier. He received an OBE when the series ended.
Having made the role of doddering British gent his own, Dunn went on to play much-loved Grandad in the children's TV series of the same name, a show that inspired his hit song 'Grandad' which went to number one in the charts in 1971, and inspired him to record several other tunes.
He retired to Portugal with his family, which is where he died.
Clive Dunn
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British Actor Clive Dunn On the set of the classic BBC TV comedy show 'Dad's Army', 20.08.1970. (Photo by Photoshot/Getty Images)
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Dad's Army appearing on the Royal Variety Show circa 1976, London, Clive Dunn;Ian Lavender. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
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Clive Dunn as Grandad on Top of the Pops (Photo by Ron Howard/Redferns)
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To mark the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of the vintage comedy show Dad's Army, star of the show Clive Dunn joined a cast reunion at the Imperial War Museum to coincide with the new audio tapes, and BBC 2's first series repeat. PA
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To mark the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of the vintage comedy show Dad's Army, star of the show Clive Dunn joined a cast reunion at the Imperial War Museum to coincide with the new audio tapes, and BBC 2's first series repeat. PA
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The cast from the BBC's hit comedy, "Dad's Army", in a scene from one of the famous episodes of the show. The cast are Arthur Lowe (foreground) and (background L-R) John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, James Beck, John Laurie, Ian Lavender and Arnold Ridley.Picture date: 2/10/01: Actor Ian Lavender is to star in the BBC soap EastEnders it was confirmed. He will be seen on screen from November in Albert Square as a newcomer with whom Pauline Fowler, played by actress Wendy Richard, becomes fixated. Lavender, 55, found fame in 1968 as Private Pike, the timid youngest recruit in the Walmington-On-Sea branch of the Home Guard in the TV comedy Dad's Army SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE CAST WILL BE GATHERING AT LONDON'S IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM ON JULY 31, 1998, TO MARK THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST EPISODE.
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Dad's Army. (from r-l) Clive Dunn, James Beck, John Le Mesurier, Arthur Lowe, John Laurie, Ian Lavender and Arnold Ridley. PA
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Members of the cast of Dad's Army, at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church after a memorial service for the actor Arthur Lowe (Captain Mainwaring in the programme) who died recently. (l-r) Clive Dunn (Private Jones), Bill Pertwee (ARP Warden), Jimmy Perry (author), Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey), Frank Williams (The Reverend Timothy Farthing), Ian Lavender (Corporal Pike) and John Le Mesurier (Sgt Wilson).Archive-PA201425-2
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To mark the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of the vintage comedy show Dad's Army actors Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn and Bill Pertwee join the reunion at the Imperial War Museum to coincide with the new audio tapes, and BBC 2's first series repeat today (Friday). Photo by Matthew Fearn/PA.
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Comedy actor Clive Dunn, in character as Henry Beerbohm 'Old' Johnson in the television series Bootsie and Snudge. PA