View source for Alfie Bass

{{Infobox person
| image           = Alfie Bass.jpg
| caption         = 
| birth_name       = Abraham Basalinsky
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1916|4|10|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Bethnal Green|Bethnal Green]], [[London|London]], England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1987|7|16|1916|4|12|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[London Borough of Barnet|Barnet]], London, England
| othername        = 
| homepage         = 
| years_active     = 1943–1982
| spouse           = Beryl Bryson
| children         = 2
}}

'''Alfie Bass''' (born '''Abraham Basalinsky''', 10 April 1916<ref>General Register Office index of deaths, London Barnet registration district, July 1987, Vol. 11 Page 205</ref> – 16 July 1987) was an English actor. He was born in [[Bethnal Green|Bethnal Green]], [[London|London]], the youngest in a Jewish family with ten children; his parents had left Russia many years before he was born.<ref name="Bass">{{cite news|title=Alfie Bass Obituary|date=1987-07-24|publisher=[[The Jewish Chronicle]]|pages=14}}<!--|access-date=2006-12-13--></ref> He appeared in a variety of stage, film, television and radio productions throughout his career.

==Personal life==
Alfie Bass was born Abraham Basalinsky in [[Bethnal Green|Bethnal Green]] in London's [[East End|East End]]. He was the youngest of ten children of Jacob Basalinsky, who had fled Jewish persecution in Russia, and his wife, Ada Miller. After leaving school, he worked in his father's trade as a cabinet-maker. During this time he took part in amateur dramatics at a local boys' club. He was active in the labour movement and often attended union meetings. In 1936 he took part in the [[Battle of Cable Street|Battle of Cable Street]], in which activists attempted to prevent a march through the East End by the [[British Union of Fascists|British Union of Fascists]].<ref name="ondb">{{cite ODNB |last1=Sharp |first1=Robert |title=Bass, Alfred [Alfie] [formerly Abraham Basalinsky] (1916–1987), actor |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-70372 |access-date=21 June 2022 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/70372 |date=23 September 2004}}</ref>

At the outbreak of [[World War II|World War II]], he was rejected by the [[RAF|RAF]], and went to work in an engineering factory. He was later called up into the [[Middlesex Regiment|Middlesex Regiment]] as a despatch rider. He maintained his interest in acting by appearing in concert parties and in [[Army Film Unit|Army Film Unit]] documentaries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Alfie Bass: Comedy and pathos on stage and screen |work=The Times |date=19 July 1987 |location=London |page=10}}</ref>

In 1946, he married  Beryl Bryson, a dressmaker, in Liverpool. They had a son and a daughter.<ref name="ondb" />

==Stage career==
Bass's acting career began at London's [[Unity Theatre, London|Unity Theatre]] in the late 1930s, appearing in ''Plant in the Sun'' alongside [[Paul Robeson|Paul Robeson]], and as the [[pantomime|pantomime]] King in ''Babes In the Wood''.

His stage career included plays by [[Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and [[George Bernard Shaw]]. During the 1950s, he continued to direct shows at Unity, and on one occasion appeared in court (along with [[Vida Hope|Vida Hope]]), charged with putting on a play without a licence.<ref>Colin Chambers ''The Story of [[Unity Theatre, London]]'' (1990)</ref> His stage work also included an adaptation of [[Nikolai Gogol|Gogol]]'s short story ''[[The Bespoke Overcoat|The Bespoke Overcoat]]'', transposed to the [[East End of London|East End of London]], which was filmed by [[Jack Clayton|Jack Clayton]] in 1956, and won the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for [[Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film|Best Short]]. In addition, Bass took over from [[Chaim Topol|Chaim Topol]] in the role of [[Tevye|Tevye]] in ''[[Fiddler on the Roof|Fiddler on the Roof]]'' on the [[West End theatre|West End stage]].<ref>Green, Stanley, Encyclopedia Of The Musical Theatre, Da Capo Press 1980, p. 121</ref>

==Film career==
Bass first appeared on film in [[Second World War|wartime]] documentaries.<ref name=Unity>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040624234505/http://www.unitytheatre.org.uk/alfiebass.htm Alfie Bass biography] accessed 26 Jun 2007</ref> He also appeared in a number of feature films including ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob|The Lavender Hill Mob]]'' (1951), ''[[Hell Drivers (film)|Hell Drivers]]'' (1957), ''[[A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)|A Tale of Two Cities]]'' (1958) and ''[[Alfie (1966 film)|Alfie]]'' (1966) starring [[Michael Caine|Michael Caine]] and [[Shelley Winters|Shelley Winters]]. In the latter he played Harry Clamacraft, a man Alfie meets and befriends in a [[sanatorium|sanatorium]].

He starred in [[Roman Polanski|Roman Polanski]]'s vampire film ''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers|The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' (1967) (British title ''The Dance of the Vampires'') as innkeeper Yoine Shagal with his daughter Sarah played by [[Sharon Tate|Sharon Tate]]. In the course of the film, he and his daughter become vampires. When a maid tries to scare him off with a [[crucifix|crucifix]], he responds with "Oy, have ''you'' got the wrong vampire!".

Bass also appeared in the "Pride" segment of ''[[The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins|The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins]]'' (1971) and had a leading role in the 1977 sex comedy ''[[Come Play with Me (1977 film)|Come Play with Me]]''. He has had many [[cameo role|cameo role]]s, such as the [[Indian cuisine|Indian restaurant]] doorman in [[the Beatles|the Beatles]]' film ''[[Help! (film)|Help!]]'' (1965), as Clouseau's seafaring informant in ''[[Revenge of the Pink Panther|Revenge of the Pink Panther]]'' (1978), and in ''[[Moonraker (film)|Moonraker]]'' (1979), in which he was cast as a heavy smoking hard drinker. Bass had a small part in ''[[I Was Monty's Double (film)|I Was Monty's Double]]'' as a non-speaking passenger on a train.

In his book ''British Film Character Actors'' (1982), [[Terence Pettigrew|Terence Pettigrew]] remembers, "there was a time when no British film seemed complete without Alfie Bass popping up in some guise or other. Basically playing the same character, he has hopped chirpily from drama to comedy and into costume pieces and back like an energised sparrow. To all of these, he has added an engaging warmth and sanguinity".

==Television and radio==
Bass appeared as a poacher rescued by [[Robin Hood]] in the first episode of ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' starring [[Richard Greene|Richard Greene]], in episode 2 "The Moneylender", as well as in episode 10 of the first series which was titled "The Ordeal". He also appeared in two later episodes during season two titled "The Goldmaker" (episode 5) and "The Goldmaker's Return" (episode 22) as Lepidus, the roguish alchemist, rescued from the Sheriff by [[Little John|Little John]] (Archie Duncan). He appeared in ''[[The Army Game]]'' (1957–61), a British TV comedy series, as Private Montague 'Excused Boots' Bisley, and its sequel ''[[Bootsie and Snudge]]'' from 1960–63 (there was also a one series revival in colour in 1974), working at a [[Gentlemen's club|Gentlemen's club]] with [[Bill Fraser|Bill Fraser]] as 'Claude Snudge' and [[Clive Dunn]] as 'Henry Beerbohm Johnson'. Bass additionally played the character in another spin-off, ''[[Foreign Affairs (1964 TV series)|Foreign Affairs]]'', in 1964. Bass also played Lemuel "Lemmy" Barnet in the third and fourth series of the landmark 1950s [[science fiction|science fiction]] [[BBC Radio|BBC Radio]] series ''[[Journey into Space]]''.

He continued working throughout the 1970s and 80s, particularly in the TV series' ''[[Till Death Us Do Part]]'' and ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'', the latter as [[List of Are You Being Served? characters#Mr Goldberg (Alfie Bass) (series 7)|Mr. Goldberg]], the second in a series of replacements for [[Arthur Brough]]'s Mr. Grainger character (the first being [[James Hayter (actor)|James Hayter]]'s Mr. Tebbs). As in the Mr. Goldberg role, he often emphasised his Jewish background in his on-screen characterisations.

Bass played a memorable Silas Wegg in the [[BBC|BBC]]'s 1976 adaptation of Dickens's ''[[Our Mutual Friend (1976 TV serial)|Our Mutual Friend]]''. He also played Isaac Rag in a notable recurring character role in the 1979-1980 ''[[Dick Turpin (TV series)|Dick Turpin]]'' series, and Morrie Levin, a shrewd accountant, in the ''[[Minder (TV series)|Minder]]'' episode ''The Son Also Rises'' (1982).<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.minder.org/episodeguide/S03E08_TheSonAlsoRises.htm |title = #3.8 the Son Also Rises}}</ref>

Bass appeared in a 1979 episode of the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] drama series ''[[Danger UXB|Danger UXB]]: Just Like a Woman'', as a family man with an unexploded bomb in his back garden.

He also guest starred in two episodes of the British comedy television ''[[The Goodies (TV series)|The Goodies]]'', in which he appeared as the "Town Planner" in ''[[Camelot (The Goodies)|Camelot]]'', and as the Giant in ''[[The Goodies and the Beanstalk]]''.

He was a subject of the television programme ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in March 1970, when he was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews|Eamonn Andrews]].

==Recording career==

In 1955, Bass recorded the [[novelty song|novelty song]] "Pity the Downtrodden Landlord".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bR8uDwAAQBAJ&q=alfie+bass+pity+the+downtrodden+landlord&pg=PT176|title=The British Folk Revival|access-date=27 December 2015|isbn=9781351775205|last1=Brocken|first1=Michael|date=2017-07-12}}</ref> It was issued by the folk music label [[Topic Records|Topic Records]] on a [[Phonograph record|78rpm single]], backed with "Housing Repairs And Rents Act", written by [[Karl Dallas|Fred Dallas]]; on both sides, Bass was accompanied by "The Four Bailiffs".<ref>{{Citation|title=78 Record: Alfie Bass And The Four Bailiffs - Pity The Downtrodden Landlord (1955)|url=http://www.45worlds.com/78rpm/record/trc87|access-date=2020-12-12}}</ref>

With his fellow cast members from ''[[The Army Game]]'', [[Bernard Bresslaw]], Leslie Fyson and [[Michael Medwin]], Bass was part of a vocal quartet who scored a number 5 hit in the [[UK Singles Chart]] in 1958 with "The Signature Tune Of The Army Game". It was backed with the same actors singing "What Do We Do in the Army".<ref>{{Citation|title=Michael Medwin, Bernard Bresslaw, Alfie Bass And Leslie Fyson - The Signature Tune of the Army Game|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/pop490|access-date=2020-12-11}}</ref> In 1960, [[Pye Records|Pye Records]] issued two solo recordings by Bass on a single, "[[Villikins and his Dinah|Villikens And His Dinah]]" and "Rat Catcher's Daughter".<ref>{{Citation|title=Alfie Bass - Villikens And His Dinah|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/7n15286|access-date=2020-12-11}}</ref>

==Death==
Alfie Bass died on 16 July 1987 in [[Barnet General Hospital|Barnet General Hospital]], north London, following a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. He was survived by his wife and their son and daughter.<ref name="ondb" /> His last home was in Well End, a suburb of [[Borehamwood|Borehamwood]], [[Hertfordshire|Hertfordshire]].

==Selected filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[The Bells Go Down]]'' (1943) – (uncredited)
* ''[[Johnny Frenchman]]'' (1945) – Corporal
* ''[[Brief Encounter]]'' (1945) – Waiter at the Royal (uncredited)
* ''[[Holiday Camp (film)|Holiday Camp]] '' (1947) – Redcoat
* ''[[Jassy (film)|Jassy]]'' (1947) – Witness (uncredited)
* ''[[It Always Rains on Sunday]]'' (1947) – Dicey
* ''[[Vice Versa (1948 film)|Vice Versa]]'' (1948) – 1st Urchin
* ''[[The Monkey's Paw (1948 film)|The Monkey's Paw]]'' (1948) – Speedway Track Manager
* ''[[Man on the Run]]'' (1949) – Bert the Barge Mate
* ''[[The Hasty Heart]]'' (1949) – Orderly
* ''[[Boys in Brown]]'' (1949) – 'Basher' Walker
* ''[[Stage Fright (1950 film)|Stage Fright]]'' (1950) – Stage Hand With Microphone (uncredited)
* ''[[Pool of London (film)|Pool of London]]'' (1951) – Alf, a henchman
* ''[[Talk of a Million]]'' (1951) – Lorcan
* ''[[The Galloping Major (film)|The Galloping Major]]'' (1951) – Charlie – the newsboy
* ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]'' (1951) – Shorty
* ''[[High Treason (1951 film)|High Treason]]'' (1951) – Albert Brewer (uncredited)
* ''[[Brandy for the Parson]]'' (1952) – Dallyn
* ''[[Treasure Hunt (1952 film)|Treasure Hunt]]'' (1952) – Tipster (uncredited)
* ''[[Derby Day (1952 film)|Derby Day]]'' (1952) – Spider Wilkes
* ''[[The Planter's Wife (1952 film)|The Planter's Wife]]'' (1952) – Soldier (uncredited)
* ''[[Made in Heaven (1952 film)|Made in Heaven]]'' (1952) – Bert Jenkins
* ''[[Top of the Form (film)|Top of the Form]]'' (1953) – Artie Jones
* ''[[The Square Ring]]'' (1953) – Frank Forbes
* ''[[Murder by Proxy]]'' (1954) – Ernie
* ''[[Time Is My Enemy]]'' (1954) – Ernie Gordon
* ''[[The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp]]'' (1954) – Lennox
* ''[[The Passing Stranger]]'' (1954) – Harry
* ''[[To Dorothy a Son]]'' (1954) – Cab Driver
* ''[[Svengali (1954 film)|Svengali]]'' (1954) – Carrell
* ''[[The Night My Number Came Up]]'' (1955) – The Soldier
* ''[[The Ship That Died of Shame]]'' (1955) – Sailor on 1087 (uncredited)
* ''[[A Kid for Two Farthings (film)|A Kid for Two Farthings]]'' (1955) – Alf the Bird Man (uncredited)
* ''[[Make Me an Offer]]'' (1955) – Fred Frames
* ''[[King's Rhapsody (film)|King's Rhapsody]]'' (1955) – Man in Crowd (uncredited)
* ''[[Jumping for Joy]]'' (1956) – Blagg
* ''[[Behind the Headlines (1956 film)|Behind the Headlines]]'' (1956) – Sammy
* ''[[Child in the House]]'' (1956) – Ticket Collector
* ''[[Sailor Beware! (1956 film)|Sailor Beware!]]'' (1956) – Organist (uncredited)
* ''[[A Touch of the Sun (1956 film)|A Touch of the Sun]]'' (1956) – May
* ''[[The Bespoke Overcoat]] - Fender
* ''[[No Road Back]]'' (1957) – Rudge Harvey
* ''[[Carry On Admiral]]'' (1957) – Orderly (uncredited)
* ''[[Hell Drivers (film)|Hell Drivers]]'' (1957) – Tinker
* ''[[A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)|A Tale of Two Cities]]'' (1958) – Jerry Cruncher
* ''[[I Was Monty's Double (film)|I Was Monty's Double]]'' (1958) – The Small Man
* ''[[I Only Arsked!]]'' (1958) – Excused Boots Bisley
* ''[[The Millionairess]]'' (1960) – Fish Curer
* ''[[Help! (film)|Help!]]'' (1965) – Doorman
* ''Bindle (One of Them Days)'' (1966) – Joseph Bindle
* ''[[Doctor in Clover]]'' (1966) – Fleming
* ''[[Alfie (1966 film)|Alfie]]'' (1966) – Harry
* ''[[The Sandwich Man (1966 film)|The Sandwich Man]]'' (1966) – Yachtsman
* ''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)|A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]'' (1966) – Gatekeeper
* ''[[A Challenge for Robin Hood]]'' (1967) – Pie Merchant
* ''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' (1967) – Shagal, the Inn-Keeper
* ''[[Up the Junction (film)|Up the Junction]]'' (1968) – Charlie
* ''[[The Fixer (1968 film)|The Fixer]]'' (1968) – Potseikin (uncredited)
* ''[[The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins]]'' (1971) – Mr. Spencer (segment "Pride")
* ''[[Come Play with Me (1977 film)|Come Play with Me]]'' (1977) – Kelly / Luigi
* ''[[Revenge of the Pink Panther]]'' (1978) – Fernet
* ''[[Moonraker (film)|Moonraker]]'' (1979) – consumptive Italian
* ''High Rise Donkey'' (1980) – Donkey Derby photographer
{{div col end}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0060023|name=Alfie Bass}}
*{{Screenonline name|id=449495|name=Alfie Bass}}
*{{British Comedy Guide|people|alfie_bass}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Alfie}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:English people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:Jewish English male actors]]
[[Category:People from Bethnal Green]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:British novelty song performers]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Middlesex Regiment soldiers]]