Identification of the "Old British Gentleman"
Posted: 02/04/2023, 2:31
I have discovered the identity of the so-called Old British Gentleman. Well... sort of.
As it turns out, he is indeed British. He was in fact the father of John Gayford, who worked with English dubbing in Rome for around 40 years. I discovered this by chance when I was going through John's Facebook page and discovered that in 2012, he had posted this picture of his dad, and he is definitely our unknown bit part player:
Together with the photo, John wrote: "Daddy did lots of little parts in various films here in the seventies, even worked with Rock Hudson, but no dialogue in that one! However, although this looks like great casting for a Russian Spy film, I took the picture, so I know it's not. But what a face my dad had, it belonged on Mount Rushmore!"
I was in contact with John for a while prior to his death, but he never mentioned his father and I never had the idea to ask him. All I know is that his father was a military man, stationed in India, which was where John spent much of his childhood. John also posted this picture of his dad on Facebook, writing that: "It was actually taken at the Bombay film studios when he appeared in a recruiting film he wrote in 1942. He also put together a lot of shows to entertain the troops and keep up morale!" So clearly, he had an interest in acting even back then.
I asked dubbing actor Rodd Dana if he remembers John's father and whether he, too, used to work with dubbing, and showing him our topic. He recognized him at once and wrote: "John’s dad was a delightful character who just ‘popped’ into Rome on occasion. I don’t know if he did any dubbing, but I recall he was around frequently in dubbing ‘salas’ and frequently at the “Colony” restaurant where & when we all went for lunch. He was a bright, witty, and delightfully intelligent character. I seem to recall he had done some work in British cinema, but not certain."
Unfortunately, Rodd doesn't remember his name, and John never stated it in the comments he wrote on Facebook, leaving us in the curious situation where he know a person's identity but not his name, so not sure what to do with this...
As it turns out, he is indeed British. He was in fact the father of John Gayford, who worked with English dubbing in Rome for around 40 years. I discovered this by chance when I was going through John's Facebook page and discovered that in 2012, he had posted this picture of his dad, and he is definitely our unknown bit part player:
Together with the photo, John wrote: "Daddy did lots of little parts in various films here in the seventies, even worked with Rock Hudson, but no dialogue in that one! However, although this looks like great casting for a Russian Spy film, I took the picture, so I know it's not. But what a face my dad had, it belonged on Mount Rushmore!"
I was in contact with John for a while prior to his death, but he never mentioned his father and I never had the idea to ask him. All I know is that his father was a military man, stationed in India, which was where John spent much of his childhood. John also posted this picture of his dad on Facebook, writing that: "It was actually taken at the Bombay film studios when he appeared in a recruiting film he wrote in 1942. He also put together a lot of shows to entertain the troops and keep up morale!" So clearly, he had an interest in acting even back then.
I asked dubbing actor Rodd Dana if he remembers John's father and whether he, too, used to work with dubbing, and showing him our topic. He recognized him at once and wrote: "John’s dad was a delightful character who just ‘popped’ into Rome on occasion. I don’t know if he did any dubbing, but I recall he was around frequently in dubbing ‘salas’ and frequently at the “Colony” restaurant where & when we all went for lunch. He was a bright, witty, and delightfully intelligent character. I seem to recall he had done some work in British cinema, but not certain."
Unfortunately, Rodd doesn't remember his name, and John never stated it in the comments he wrote on Facebook, leaving us in the curious situation where he know a person's identity but not his name, so not sure what to do with this...