Raymond Huntley

Biography / Gallery

Raymond Huntley signed memorabilia @ eBay UK (direct link)

Raymond Huntley (1904–1990)

It is weird considering Raymond Huntley's great body of work from the 1940s/50s that today he is best known for his role as Sir Geoffrey Dillon in the 1970s UK Upstairs, Downstairs. Weird to me because by then he was in his 70s and I consider the role as but a footnote to all that had gone before.

Early Life & Stage Beginnings

For many years after his divorce to his only wife, June Bell, he lived in a comfortable London flat. He was also a member of the Garrick Club, full of theatrical history.

He met a virile Bernard Shaw when Huntley was given his first substantial acting part, by the Birmingham Repertory Company, at the age of 18.

At the age of 21 he played a septuagenarian farm labourer in The Farmer's Wife, which must have been something of a miracle of make-up in those days, and, as a result, was offered a three-year contract as a topline comedian by the producer of a North Country revue. The pay offered was £10 a week for the first year, £12 for the second year and £15 a week for the third year. "I protested that I was already earning £15 a week", he later recalled, "and he said: 'Don't be hasty, lad. We carry 10 lovely girls, and as second comic you would have second pick.'"

In 1939, he was offered his first television role, a leading part in a play called The Day is Gone. The producer said he would be taking part in an exciting experiment and therefore, naturally, he could not expect to be paid. Huntley replied that he hoped the experiment would be a success, but that it would cost £25 if he was to be used as one of the chemicals. They paid.

He felt North Country was his best accent, though he was raised in Birmingham. In his opinion next came old-fashioned cockney, then Irish.

Film & Television Career

Born Horace Raymond Huntley on 23 April 1904 in Kings Norton (now part of Birmingham, England), Huntley appeared in numerous films and stage productions from the 1930s through the 1980s. Though often cast as stern authority figures, bureaucrats, or officials, he was equally adept at subtle comedy and dramatic roles.

Some highlights include:

Night Train to Munich (1940)
School for Secrets (1946)
Passport to Pimlico (1949)
The Dam Busters (1955)
Room at the Top (1959)
Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1975) — as Sir Geoffrey Dillon

Later Life & Personal Habits

In later life he hated bad manners and had a tendency towards gout which kept him off the wine. He would exercise each morning. He would whenever possible fly to a quiet village in Majorca, where he was well known. He said of the experience: "My favourite pastime is to sit in the sun, perspiration rolling off me, moaning about the heat whilst enjoying every second of it. The sun and I get on well together."

Death & Legacy

Raymond Huntley passed away on 15 June 1990 in Westminster, London. Despite being widely remembered today for Upstairs, Downstairs, his career spanned decades of British theatre, television, and film, making him one of the most recognizable character actors of his generation.