Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby.

Early life

Felix Edward Aylmer Jones was born in Corsham, Wiltshire, the second of six children (five sons and a daughter) of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Aylmer Jones, of the Royal Engineers, and his wife Lilian, née Cookworthy. He was educated at King James's Grammar School, Almondbury, near Huddersfield, where he was a boarder from 1897 to 1900, Magdalen College School, and Exeter College, Oxford, where he was a member of Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS).

His memorable style of delivery—dignified and learned— was frequently mimicked by comedians such as Peter Sellers and Kenneth Williams. Indeed, as dramatist and barrister John Mortimer noted, the mannerisms Aylmer brought to bear in his roles came to be imitated in real life by judges on the bench. Williams observed that although his impersonation of Aylmer was a speciality during his days with ENSA, the Armed Forces Entertainment Association, he came to the conclusion that none of the troops knew who was being impersonated.

Aylmer was President of Equity from 1950 to 1969. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1950 King's Birthday Honours and knighted in the 1965 Queen's Birthday Honours.

He was also the narrator in the original version (and recobbled cut) of Richard Williams' unfinished animated project, The Thief and the Cobbler (1993).

At the age of 80 Felix Aylmer played a villain in an episode of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) entitled "It's Supposed to be Thicker than Water". His last major screen role was as the Abbot in the sitcom Oh, Brother!, opposite Derek Nimmo (1968–70). He appeared as a doctor in an episode of the TV series Jason King called "If It's Got To Go, It's Got To Go" in 1972, at the age of 83.

Aylmer lived in Painshill House in Cobham, Surrey and died in a nursing home in Pyrford on 2 September 1979, at the age of 90.

|-

| The Calendar

| Lord Forlingham

|

|-

| Quartet

| Martin

| (segment "The Colonel's Lady")

|-

| rowspan="4"| 1949

| Edward, My Son

| Mr Hanray

|

|-

| Alice in Wonderland

| Dr Liddell / The Cheshire Cat

| Voice

|-

| Christopher Columbus

| Father Perez

|

|-

| Prince of Foxes

| Count Marc Antonio Verano

|

|-

| rowspan="4"| 1950

| Your Witness

| British judge

| released as Eye Witness in USA

|-

| So Long at the Fair

| British consul

|

|-

| Trio

| Bank manager

| (segment "The Verger")

|-

| She Shall Have Murder

| Mr Playfair

|

|-

|}

1951–1960

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

|-

| rowspan="4"| 1951

| No Highway

| Sir Philip

| Uncredited

|-

| The Lady with a Lamp

| Lord Palmerston

|

|-

| The House in the Square

| Sir William, the Physician

| Uncredited, released as I'll Never forget You in USA

|-

| Quo Vadis

| Plautius

|

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1952

| Ivanhoe

| Isaac

|

|-

| The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By

| Mr. Merkemans

| released as The Paris Express in USA

|-

| rowspan="3"| 1953

| The Master of Ballantrae

| Lord Durrisdeer

|

|-

| Knights of the Round Table

| Merlin

|

|-

| The Triangle

| Brisetout

| (segment "A Lodging for the Night")

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1954

| The Love Lottery

| Winant

|

|-

| The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp

| Joshua Webman

|

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1956

| Loser Takes All

| The Other

|

|-

| Anastasia

| Chamberlain

|

|-

| 1957

| Saint Joan

| Inquisitor

|

|-

| rowspan="4"| 1958

| I Accuse!

| Edgar Demange

|

|-

| The Two-Headed Spy

| Cornaz

|

|-

| The Doctor's Dilemma

| Sir Patrick Cullen

|

|-

| Separate Tables

| Mr. Fowler

|

|-

| 1959

| The Mummy

| Stephen Banning

|

|-

| rowspan="4"| 1960

| Never Take Sweets from a Stranger

| Clarence Olderberry Sr.

|

|-

| From the Terrace

| James Duncan MacHardie

|

|-

| Exodus

| Dr Liberman

|

|-

| The Hands of Orlac

| Dr Francis Cochrane

|

|-

|}

1961–1992

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1962

| The Road to Hong Kong

| Grand Lama

|

|-

| The Boys

| Judge

|

|-

| 1963

| The Running Man

| Parson

|

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1964

| Becket

| Archbishop of Canterbury

|

|-

| The Chalk Garden

| Judge McWhirrey

|

|-

| 1965

| Masquerade

| Henrickson

|

|-

| 1966

| Out of the Unknown

| Mr. Bone

| Episode: Walk's End

|-

| rowspan="3"| 1968

|The Champions

| Old Man

| Episode: The Beginning

|-

| Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher

| Judge

|

|-

| Hostile Witness

| Justice Osborne

|

|-

| 1968–1970

| Oh, Brother!

| Father Anselm

| 19 episodes

|-

|-

| 1970

| Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)

| Joshua Crackan

| Episode: It's Supposed to be Thicker than Water

|-

| 1972

| Jason King

| Dr Wilstein

| Episode: If It's Got to Go, It's Got to Go

|-

| 1973

| Oh, Father!

| Father Anselm

| Two episodes

|-

| 1992

| The Thief and the Cobbler

| Narrator

| Original version and recobbled cut; released posthumously

|}

References

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  • Performances in the theatre archive, University of Bristol