Jim Dale
Birthday:
15 August 1935, Rothwell, Northamptonshire, England, UK
Birth Name:
James Smith
Height:
178 cm
Jim Dale began his career as a stand-up comic. He sharpened his comedy skills during a stint in the army, where he organized and performed in camp shows. After his discharge he pursued a comedy career, and landed a job as the warm-up comic on a musical variety show. He did so well that the producers gave him a spot on the show as a singer, and he q...
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Jim Dale began his career as a stand-up comic. He sharpened his comedy skills during a stint in the army, where he organized and performed in camp shows. After his discharge he pursued a comedy career, and landed a job as the warm-up comic on a musical variety show. He did so well that the producers gave him a spot on the show as a singer, and he quickly became a recording star. He was signed for a small part in one of the "Carry On" films, Carry on Cabby (1963), but the audience reaction to him was so great the he was soon made a regular member of the cast. Unlike many comics, Dale insisted on performing his own stunts, and in fact injured his arm performing a stunt in Carry on Again Doctor (1969), his last film of the series until 1992.After his departure from the series he returned to the stage, notably in Sir Laurence Olivier's National Theater. In the 1970s Dale moved to the US for film and stage work, achieving success in the Broadway show "Barnum" and in a string of film comedies for Disney.He returned to Britain in 1992 for an appearance in the final "Carry On" film, Carry on Columbus (1992). Show less «
When I was nine, we'd take a bus to the seaside. Coming back, we'd take turns entertaining, singing songs and the like. I tried some stand-u...Show more »
When I was nine, we'd take a bus to the seaside. Coming back, we'd take turns entertaining, singing songs and the like. I tried some stand-up comedy. I had a captive audience in that bus. Then I realized I wanted to do more than that. Show less «
It's a little like casting out hundreds of fishing lines into the audience. You start getting little bites, then more, then you hook a few, ...Show more »
It's a little like casting out hundreds of fishing lines into the audience. You start getting little bites, then more, then you hook a few, then more. Then you can start reeling them in and that's a loveliest feeling - the whole audience laughing with you. Show less «
I'm still a kid inside, and adventure is adventure wherever you find it.
I'm still a kid inside, and adventure is adventure wherever you find it.
I'd rather get a good clean laugh with good material, than an easy laugh by swearing or shocking. That's not clever or comedic, anybody can ...Show more »
I'd rather get a good clean laugh with good material, than an easy laugh by swearing or shocking. That's not clever or comedic, anybody can get a laugh that way, it's too easy. Show less «
Good acting is consistency of performance.
Good acting is consistency of performance.
I only travel to good material, a good director and a good company. I won't work in another country for a year any longer, because I have a ...Show more »
I only travel to good material, a good director and a good company. I won't work in another country for a year any longer, because I have a lovely wife and I adore her and I can't bear to be away from her. Show less «
I'd get more applause than some because I was just seventeen. If they didn't clap at the end of my act I would limp off stage and boy would ...Show more »
I'd get more applause than some because I was just seventeen. If they didn't clap at the end of my act I would limp off stage and boy would they feel guilty. They would all burst into tremendous applause as they saw this poor cripple kid walking off. Show less «
You've got to love the villain if you have to play him. You've got to find something that you can live with in yourself if you're going to p...Show more »
You've got to love the villain if you have to play him. You've got to find something that you can live with in yourself if you're going to play the villain in a play on stage. Show less «
You cannot learn anything from success, you only learn from failure.
You cannot learn anything from success, you only learn from failure.
I remember certain people in the audience laughing and I wanted to ask: 'What are you laughing at? This isn't funny.' Now I realize that lau...Show more »
I remember certain people in the audience laughing and I wanted to ask: 'What are you laughing at? This isn't funny.' Now I realize that laughter can come from insecurity. They don't know how they should be feeling. Show less «
There is no spray can called 'Instant Stardom', only talent can keep you at the top.
There is no spray can called 'Instant Stardom', only talent can keep you at the top.
I feel if some kid has sat down and felt I'm important enough to write two pages of words to and take up a lot of his valuable time, then he...Show more »
I feel if some kid has sat down and felt I'm important enough to write two pages of words to and take up a lot of his valuable time, then he deserves a few words back, or even a phone call as I have done on a few occasions. Show less «
We talk about theatre museums filled with old costumes and things. What we also need is a theatre museum of the old routines on videotape. W...Show more »
We talk about theatre museums filled with old costumes and things. What we also need is a theatre museum of the old routines on videotape. We are only the custodians of those techniques, and they should be preserved. Show less «
The joy about the recording is that you are your own boss. You don't have a director telling you how to do it.
The joy about the recording is that you are your own boss. You don't have a director telling you how to do it.
On 'Carry On' cast: I knew I was entering a clique. When we sat around talking that's when you relaxed with them. We would rehearse in each ...Show more »
On 'Carry On' cast: I knew I was entering a clique. When we sat around talking that's when you relaxed with them. We would rehearse in each other's dressing room quite a bit, so that's where we got intimate. But I wasn't deep friends with any of them because I had to go home to see the kids rather than go out on the booze. I had no idea about the relationship that Sid (Sidney James) had with Barbara Windsor. Kenneth Williams was probably one of my better friends although he was a real sod at times. Show less «
A career in the theatre demands so much commitment.
A career in the theatre demands so much commitment.
Jim Dale's Photos
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