John Alderton

[Gulftastic]

The lad who played the leader of the kids looked a good decade older than John Alderton.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

The lad who played the leader of the kids looked a good decade older than John Alderton.

Peter Cleal. It's ludicrous that we were supposed to accept that that lot were supposed to be about 15 years old, or something.

[smudge1971]

I expect he and Pauline stay at home mostly and Tom Conti comes around weekly dressed as a Greek waiter and fucks the living buggery out of Pauline whilst John practices monkey ventriloquism in order to smite Tom's nepo-daughter

[Brundle-Fly]

I expect he and Pauline stay at home mostly and Tom Conti comes around weekly dressed as a Greek waiter and fucks the living buggery out of Pauline whilst John practices monkey ventriloquism in order to smite Tom's nepo-daughter

With Bernard Hill crying in the bedroom.

[wosl]

I've always liked seeing him in things.  That tall build and diffident, slightly dozy-looking face are blessings for a comedy character actor (Alderton shares both of these traits with the great Jacques Tati; the resemblance build-wise and facially is such that I've often thought Alderton would be a natural go-to to portray Monsieur Hulot in a parody/tribute sketch - while acknowledging that the world will never really need such a thing). He's obviously a solid performer in straight drama roles, too. There are a number of sit-com lead characters from the '60s and '70s synonymous with their portrayers that you suspect Alderton could've made his own if things had gone differently (Pike in Dad's Army, or Tom or Jerry in The Good Life - Alderton can make convincing fists of dopey naivete and blithe urbanity equally well).  He's good at looking outplayed but undefeated, and early on shared that maddening yet winning quality that Richard Sullivan had of coming across as randy and a bit dissolute, but motherable.

[Janie Jones]

I expect he and Pauline stay at home mostly and Tom Conti comes around weekly dressed as a Greek waiter and fucks the living buggery out of Pauline whilst John practices monkey ventriloquism in order to smite Tom's nepo-daughter

Ah, you're thinking of My Wife Next Door which ran for 13 episodes in 1972 and starred Alderton and Hannah Gordon as a newly divorced couple who find themselves living in adjoining country cottages.

[Catalogue Trousers]

He's very much the Happy Shopper Derek Nimmo, isn't he? Which isn't meant as an insult, as I love both, but Alderton always had that slight air of 'if Derek's not available for any reason, then...' in a lot of his roles.

[wosl]

He's very much the Happy Shopper Derek Nimmo, isn't he?

Or an Argos Tom Conti.

[McDead]

I've always liked seeing him in things.  That tall build and diffident, slightly dozy-looking face are blessings for a comedy character actor (Alderton shares both of these traits with the great Jacques Tati; the resemblance build-wise and facially is such that I've often thought Alderton would be a natural go-to to portray Monsieur Hulot in a parody/tribute sketch - while acknowledging that the world will never really need such a thing). He's obviously a solid performer in straight drama roles, too. There are a number of sit-com lead characters from the '60s and '70s synonymous with their portrayers that you suspect Alderton could've made his own if things had gone differently (Pike in Dad's Army, or Tom or Jerry in The Good Life - Alderton can make convincing fists of dopey naivete and blithe urbanity equally well).  He's good at looking outplayed but undefeated, and early on shared that maddening yet winning quality that Richard Sullivan had of coming across as randy and a bit dissolute, but motherable.

I'd love to give this post one (karma point)

[Brundle-Fly]

He's very much the Happy Shopper Derek Nimmo, isn't he? Which isn't meant as an insult, as I love both, but Alderton always had that slight air of 'if Derek's not available for any reason, then...' in a lot of his roles.

Naa, he was far sexier than Nimmo. I don't mean by appearance, but there was a twinkle in Alderton's eye that belied his perceived awkward curate image. A bit like Hugh Grant in that respect. Nimmo, a funny man,  always came across as completely asexual to me, or at least, completely unthreatening.

This might be compounded by the fact, I did hear Alderton was a bit of hellraiser in the early days. I knew somebody who told me one summer in the 1960s together they drove a minibus off their heads across Europe that was permanently stuck in first gear with barely no braking system to speak of. He added, " Yep, I know where all the bodies are buried with our John."

[wosl]

I'd love to give this post one

You'd get it returned unused, as it's Richard O'Sullivan.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

He looks a bit like Paul McCartney.

[Ignatius_S]

He's very much the Happy Shopper Derek Nimmo, isn't he? Which isn't meant as an insult, as I love both, but Alderton always had that slight air of 'if Derek's not available for any reason, then...' in a lot of his roles.

Alderton is a more versatile actor, I would say and from the stuff I have seen, taken on more varied roles. Nimmo did tend to put in very similar performances and to my mind, more of a character actor (not that there's any shame in that).

[Ignatius_S]

...This might be compounded by the fact, I did hear Alderton was a bit of hellraiser in the early days. I knew somebody who told me one summer in the 1960s together they drove a minibus off their heads across Europe that was permanently stuck in first gear with barely no braking system to speak of. He added, " Yep, I know where all the bodies are buried with our John."

Hee, like the image about the transport.

[Brundle-Fly]

He looks a bit like Paul McCartney.

He also looks a bit like former Snash Hits editor and good egg, Mark Ellen.

[The Cloud of Unknowing]

This might be compounded by the fact, I did hear Alderton was a bit of hellraiser in the early days. I knew somebody who told me one summer in the 1960s together they drove a minibus off their heads across Europe that was permanently stuck in first gear with barely no braking system to speak of. He added, " Yep, I know where all the bodies are buried with our John."

I'm guessing that was when he was homeless and kept his few belongings in a locker at Marylebone Station.

[wosl]

Naa, he was far sexier than Nimmo. I don't mean by appearance, but there was a twinkle in Alderton's eye that belied his perceived awkward curate image. A bit like Hugh Grant in that respect.

That attractive mix of twinkle plus slightly defeated, chewing-on-lower-lip vulnerability would've equalled a trip out in the afternoon with Diane Keen and a dinner date in the evening with Susan Penhaligon (if he hadn't have settled down so early on, and if Richard O'Sullivan wasn't in the vicinity).

[Tony Tony Tony]

He's very much the Happy Shopper Derek Nimmo, isn't he? Which isn't meant as an insult, as I love both, but Alderton always had that slight air of 'if Derek's not available for any reason, then...' in a lot of his roles.

I tried to find out if he was ever on Just A Minute as I imagine his blustering aimless style would suit the prog. Doesn't look like he ever was but then again Nimmo was on every frickin week at one time (or so it seemed).

[Brundle-Fly]

I'm guessing that was when he was homeless and kept his few belongings in a locker at Marylebone Station.

I wonder if he ever shared the same brick wall to sleep rough on as Marianne Faithful supposedly did back then?

[confettiinmyhair]

Is he related to Terry Alderton?

[Jockice]

Peter Cleal. It's ludicrous that we were supposed to accept that that lot were supposed to be about 15 years old, or something.

It was the same in America though. Just look at Grease.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

It was the same in America though. Just look at Grease.

I think it was the Kenickie character who looked close to forty in that.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Stockard Channing was well over 30 when she appeared in it, and looked it to. Well, they all did. Hence the casting of  old gits from the actual 1950s to play the teaching and admin staff, for contrast of young and old. Any Yank version of John Alderton would only have drawn attention to Didi Conn's incipient crow's feet.