Denis Holmes was born on 7th June 1921 in Foleshill, Coventry. He studied his craft at LAMDA where he was awarded a gold medal for his performance work before graduating. Holmes would become a much in demand character actor with a career in theatre, television and film spanning five decades.
During 1948 and 1949 he was a member of the Century Players actors company based at Swindon Playhouse. He then joined the Liverpool Repertory Company and appeared in productions such as The Silver Curlew at the Liverpool Playhouse. Denis was particularly busy during 1950 with appearances in several productions in the London theatre world including Headwind, the very first Chilean play to be produced in the capital. He also made his television debut as the servant Green in a BBC Sunday Night Theatre production of Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of King Richard II” (29th October 1950). The following year Holmes enjoyed his first cinema role, a miniscule part billed as “4th Priest”, in the film Murder in the Cathedral (1951), adapted from the T S Eliot play of the same name.
Holmes joined rep in Sheffield and was involved in numerous productions at the Sheffield Playhouse during 1954 and 1955; playing Inspector Flatt in Meeting at Night, John Pym in His Conscience and as a performer in The Sleeping Prince during May 1955. The Stage praised his performance in The Sleeping Prince saying “he has the ability to make full use of his eyes and facial muscles, which, in a play of this sort, can be made to speak volumes.[1]”
Between 1969 and 1975 Holmes was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company appearing in such plays as The Winter’s Tale, Arden of Faversham, Pericles, King John, Richard II, Island of the Mighty, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Love’s Labours Lost, Doctor Faustus and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
During November 1987 Holmes was a cast member of a stage revival of the farce Room Service presented at the Haymarket in Leicester. Also in the cast was Pamela Moiseiwittsch who had appeared in 'Buddyboy' along with Holmes.
After moving to America in 1989 Holmes made a few final appearances including the role of the butler in the Harrison Ford starring film Sabrina (1995) and the Oscar nominated short film Speed For Thespians (2000). Holmes died 27th May 2013 in the USA, a few days before his 92nd birthday.
Stage Credits
1951 Hamlet - The New Bolton Theatre, London
1951 The Thistle and the Rose - The Vaudeville Theatre, London
1952 The Firstborn - The Winter Garden Theatre, London
1952 Hobson’s Choice - Arts Theatre, London
1955 Julius Caesar (in the dual role of Cicero and Titinus), The Winter’s Tale, King Henry V - Old Vic Theatre, Bristol
1956 Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, Troilus and Cressida - Old Vic Theatre, Bristol
1964 Daphne Laureola, The Seagull - Pitlochry Festival Theatre
1966 Ring Around The Moon - Pitlochry Festival Theatre
1968 Henry V, Arms and the Man, The Hayling Family, The Magistrate - Phoenix Theatre, Leicester
1969 – 1975 Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company
1976 The Seagull (cast headed by Alan Bates) - Derby Playhouse
1978 A Man For All Seasons - Leeds Playhouse
1978 The Caucasian Chalk Circle, While The Sun Shines - Pitlochry Festival Theatre
1979 The Wicked Cooks - Birmingham Repertory Studio
1980 King Lear, The Master Builder - Birmingham Repertory Studio
Worzel Gummidge (stage version with Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs) - Birmingham Repertory Studio
1981 Chips With Everything - Birmingham Repertory Studio
Television Credits
1950 BBC Sunday Night Theatre – “The Tragedy of King Richard II”
1953 Stand By To Shoot – “The Elephant’s Child” / “Curiouser and Curiouser”
1957 Romeo and Juliet (televised version of the Old Vic production), BBC Sunday Night Theatre – “The Calendar”
1958 Big Guns – “Go West Young Man”, Armchair Theatre – “Vendetta” / “The Franchise Affair”, “The Inspector”, Starr and Company (3 episodes as the character Bernard Kay), Saturday Playhouse – “My Flesh My Blood” / So Many Children”
1959 BBC Sunday Night Theatre – “The Exiles #4: Full Circle”, Probation Officer, Four Just Men – “The Judge” / “National Treasure“
1960 Four Just Men – “The Survivor” / “The Rhietti Group” / “The Man in the Road” /“Money To Burn”, Armchair Theatre – “Guardian Angel” / “The Innocent”, Deadline Midnight, Chasing The Dragon, The Adventures of Robin Hood - “Goodbye Little John”, Boyd QC – “The Little Man”, The Dark Man
1961 Maigret – “The Children’s Party”, ITV Television Playhouse – “Hi Diddle Diddle”, Element of Doubt, No Hiding Place – “Nina and the Night People” / “Silent Witness”, Coronation Street (four episodes as the character Brian Foley)
1962 BBC Sunday Night Play – “The Alderman”, The Dark Island, No Hiding Place - “The Most Beautiful Room in the World”
1963 Compact – “Changing Step”, Ghost Squad –“ Polsky”, No Hiding Place – “Alibis Are Fixed”
1964 Sergeant Cork – “The Case of Big Ben Lewis”
1965 Z Cars – “Partners”, Fothergale Co. Ltd – “Location Story”, The Sullavan Brothers – “The Corrupters”
1966 Sergeant Cork – “The Case of the Wayward Wife”, Our Man At St Marks – “The Peppermint Man” / “The Silent Village”, The Power Game – “The Front Men”, Dr Finlay’s Casebook – “The Comical Lad”
1975 Poldark
1976 Beasts – “Buddyboy”, Angels – “Façade”
1977 The Survivors – “Long Live The King”, The Sunday Drama – “Why Here?”
1978 Will Shakespeare – “The Living Road”
1979 BBC Play of the Month – “The Vosey Inheritance”, Emmerdale (playing the character Cully Hotson for six episodes), Secret Army - “Prisoner”
1981 Angels
1983 The Hard Word – “Life Isn’t Like Pictures”, Reilly: Ace of Spies – “An Affair With A Married Woman”, Partners in Crime – “The Sunningdae Mystery”
1984 Eh Brian! It’s A Whopper
1989 The Bill – “Getting It Right”
1990 Bergerac – “Roots of Evil”
Film Credits
1951 Murder in the Cathedral
1959 Cover Girl Killer
1960 The Last Train (half hour short - a murder mystery based in the London Underground)
1961 Return of a Stranger, Attempt To Kill
1962 Flight From Singapore
1963 The Partner, Echo of Diana, The Crimson Blade AKA The Scarlet Blade (uncredited role as a chaplain)
1965 The Return of Mr Moto, Licensed To Kill AKA The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World
1966 The Brides of Fu Manchu
1982 Moonlighting
1985 The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission
1995 Sabrina
2000 Speed For Thespians (short film)
[1] The Stage, Thursday 12th May 1955, page 12
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