Alfie Bass

Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky on 10 April 1916) was the youngest of ten children in a Jewish family that had fled persecution in Russia and settled in Bethnal Green, London. His parents, Jacob Basalinsky and Ada Miller, raised him in the culturally rich yet impoverished East End, where he left school early to work as a cabinet‑maker in his father's trade. Despite the demands of work, Bass nurtured a love for performance through amateur dramatics at a local boys' club, and his strong sense of social justice led him to active participation in the labour movement, even joining the iconic 1936 Battle of Cable Street to oppose the British Union of Fascists. During the Second World War he was initially rejected by the RAF, took employment in an engineering factory, and later served as a despatch rider in the Middlesex Regiment, where he kept his theatrical spirit alive by appearing in concert parties and Army Film Unit documentaries. In 1946 he married dressmaker Beryl Bryson, and together they raised a son and a daughter, establishing a stable family life amidst his burgeoning career. In the post‑war years Bass’s talent flourished on stage, beginning at London's Unity Theatre where he performed alongside Paul Robeson in Plant in the Sun and took on the pantomime role of the King in Babes In the Wood. He tackled works by Shakespeare and Shaw, directed productions, and even faced legal challenges for staging a play without a licence. Notably, his adaptation of Gogol’s The Bespoke Overcoat was filmed by Jack Clayton in 1956, winning an Oscar for Best Short, and he later succeeded Chaim Topol as Tevye in the West End run of Fiddler on the Roof. Bass transitioned smoothly into film, debuting in wartime documentaries before becoming a recognizable character actor in classics such as The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Hell Drivers (1957), A Tale of Two Cities (1958) and the iconic Alfie (1966) where he portrayed Harry Clamacraft. His versatility shone in Roman Polanski’s cult vampire comedy The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) as innkeeper Yoine Shagal, and he enjoyed memorable cameo appearances as the Indian restaurant doorman in Help! (1965), a seafaring informant in Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) and a hard‑drinking Italian in Moonraker (1979). On television Bass was a staple of British comedy, best known for his role as Private Montague ‘Excused Boots’ Bisley in The Army Game and its spin‑offs, as well as recurring parts in Till Death Us Do Part, Are You Being Served? and Minder. He also lent his voice to the celebrated BBC Radio series Journey into Space and starred in numerous drama series, including a notable turn as Silas Wegg in the 1976 adaptation of Our Mutual Friend. Beyond acting, Bass recorded novelty songs, achieving a Top 5 UK hit in 1958 with “The Signature Tune Of The Army Game”. He remained active on stage, screen and radio until the early 1980s, earning the affection of audiences for his warm, every‑man presence. Alfie Bass died of a heart attack on 16 July 1987 in Barnet General Hospital, leaving behind his wife Beryl, their two children, and an enduring legacy as one of Britain’s most beloved character actors.