He worked as a trainee reporter for the Associated Press of America on Fleet Street, and then joined the Royal Air Force in 1942, aged 18.
He trained in England and South Africa and served in Egypt, India, Ceylon, Malaya, Sumatra, Singapore and Java.
He returned to journalism in 1947 with a south London suburban paper, before finding work as a stage manager in repertory theatre in the 1950s.
[1] Film appearances include: Journey's End (1954), The Dam Busters (1955 - uncredited RAF orderly),[2] Touch of Death (1961), Flower of Evil (1961), Countdown to Danger (1967) and Psychomania (1973).
He made numerous TV appearances between 1953 and 1980, including Coronation Street, Hancock, Steptoe and Son, Dial M for Murder and Z-Cars.