Anthony Samuel Selby (26 February 1938 – 5 September 2021) was an English actor. With a career that spanned 71 years, he was known for his roles as Corporal Percy Marsh in the ITV sitcom Get Some In! (1975–1978), Sabalom Glitz in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who (1986–1987) and Clive Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders (2002).
Early life
Anthony Samuel Selby was born in Chelsea, London, England on 26 February 1938, as the younger child to Samuel Joseph Selby, a taxi driver, and his wife, Annie Elizabeth (née Weaver), a seamstress and waitress. (née Selby).
Selby was brought up on the Peabody estate. He came from a family of taxi drivers and musical theatre performers. His father drove a black cab and was known as "taxi Sam". He performed in public for the first time at the age of seven, as Al Jolson, to sing for wounded wartime soldiers in London hospitals. Helen "Nellie" Bone (née Weaver).
Selby trained in acting and dramatics at the Italia Conti Stage School for six years from the age of 10. He attended Buckingham Gate School in Victoria, a section of the City of Westminster, where he gained his School Certificate.
Career
Selby made his professional debut in 1949, on stage, playing Curly in the annual production of Peter Pan at the Scala Theatre in Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia.including Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. He was billed as Anthony Selby until 1964.
Selby appeared in various uncredited film roles, including in John and Julie (1955), Alfie (1966) and Carry On Loving (1970); he made his credited debut in 1961, with the role of Kishu in the military drama, The Queen's Guards. Villain (1971), If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981),
Selby frequently worked with Ken Loach. His first television role for Loach came as a singer in Catherine (1964), an episode of Telecast. He was cast in Loach's kitchen sink drama film Poor Cow (1967).
Selby portrayed Sam Maxstead for the first two runs of the ITV fantasy children's television series Ace of Wands from 1970 to 1971.
Selby portrayed Peter Triman in the comedy drama film, Nobody Ordered Love, directed by Robert Hartford-Davis. The film was released on 5 November 1972 and focused on the events after film director Paul Medbury (John Ronane) attempts to replace Alice Allison (Ingrid Pitt), the alcoholic star of his new First World War movie entitled The Somme, with up-and-coming starlet Caroline Johnson (Judy Huxtable), a series of tragic events begins to unfold.
Selby portrayed Corporal Percy Marsh in the ITV sitcom Get Some In! from 1975 to 1978. The series focused on National Service life in the Royal Air Force. The series was written by [[Esmonde and Larbey|[John] Esmonde and [Bob] Larbey]], with Selby in mind. Get Some In! regularly attracted 15 million viewers and was one of a number of shows from that decade to have never been repeated. with Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. He appeared in The Mysterious Planet, The Ultimate Foe and Dragonfire.
Selby portrayed Max Taplow in the BBC One comedy-drama series Love Hurts. The series was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, and ran from 1992 to 1994.
Selby was a lyricist. He wrote songs with the jazz pianist Tony Lee. In 1995, Lee said "We've written one for Tony Bennett, but have yet to persuade him to record it,".
Selby played Ben Rumson in the 1996 revival of the Broadway musical comedy, Paint Your Wagon, at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. His role earned him a 1997 Laurence Olivier Award nomination for best supporting performance in a musical.
Selby portrayed Clive Mitchell, a member of the Mitchell family, in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. He appeared in two episodes during early October 2002, and was credited as Uncle Clive. His character was mentioned a handful of times during the 1990s, and was briefly mentioned in 2003.
Selby portrayed Danny Paye, an East End loan shark, in the BBC One police procedural comedy drama, New Tricks. The episode, "Meat Is Murder", was broadcast in 2009.
Selby portrayed Arthur Harper, Susan Harper's long-lost father, in the BBC One sitcom My Family. The episode, "A Decent Proposal", was broadcast in 2011. an actress and dancer, having been together since 1958. They had two children together; Samantha Selby (born 2 August 1966, at Westminster Hospital) and Matthew James "Matt" Selby (born October 1968). (née Bright), a public relations consultant, The couple spent their honeymoon in Kenya. He had a stepson, from his wife's first marriage.
Selby was an avid football fan. He supported Queens Park Rangers and was close friends with the team's full-back, Terry Fenwick. He played for the showbiz charity football team, Television Entertainers' XI.
Death
Selby died in Bayswater on 5 September 2021, after contracting COVID-19. He was 83. His death was announced by Lizanne Crowther Management (LCM) Limited, his management, on 6 September 2021, in a statement on Twitter, reading: "With great sadness we announce that actor Tony Selby passed away peacefully in London yesterday. In a career spanning 70 years in theatre, film and TV, Tony was highly respected and loved by family, friends and colleagues. His renowned sense of humour will be missed by us all."
Tributes poured in from fans across the world, with Sylvester McCoy, his Doctor Who co-star, leading tributes on social media, writing: "Just heard the sad sad news that Tony Shelby has died. A popular member of the Doctor Who family. He was a warm, merry, generous person. And it was always a joy to meet him socially."
Filmography
Theatre
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Venue
!Ref.
|-
|1949
|Peter Pan
|Curly
|Scala Theatre
|
|-
|1965
|Saved
|Fred
|Royal Court Theatre, London
|
|-
|1966
|A Chaste Maid in Cheapside
|Touchwood Senior
|Royal Court Theatre, London
|
|-
|1969
|Sometime Never
|Christopher Budgett
|Fortune Theatre, London
|
|-
|1977
|Get Some In!
|Corporal Marsh
|Princess Theatre, Torquay
|
|-
|1978
|Get Some In!
|Corporal Marsh
|Winter Gardens, Blackpool
|
|-
|1978
|Flashpoint
|Carter
|New End Theatre, London and May Fair Theatre, London
|
|-
|1979
|Don't Just Lie There, Say Something!
|Inspector Ruff
|Hoe Theatre, Plymouth, Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne and other locations
|
|-
|1979–1980
|Tishoo
|Cullen
|Wyndham's Theatre, London and Richmond Theatre, London
|
|-
|1995–1996
|Mother Courage and Her Children
|The Sergeant
|National Theatre
|
|-
|1996
|Paint Your Wagon
|Ben Rumson
|Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
|
|}
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
!Ref.
|-
|1951
|Mencius Was a Bad Boy
|Pig
|Television film
|
|-
|1953
|Skippy Smith Goes to the Circus
|Porky Williams
|Television film
|
|-
|1955
|The Benedict Plan
|Jan
|Television film
|
|-
|1960
|Jazz Boat
|Boat Ticket Collector
|Uncredited
|
|-
|1960
|The Entertainer
|Teddy Boy
|Uncredited
|
|-
|1967
|Poor Cow
|Customer in Pub
|
|
|-
|1972
|Nobody Ordered Love
|Peter Triman
|Lost film
|
|-
|1973
|Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall
|Bill
|
|
|-
|1978
|Superman
|Hood
|Uncredited
|
|-
|1997
|Loop
|Ted
|
|
|-
|2000
|Happy Birthday Shakespeare
|Roy
|Television film
|
|-
|2012
|Cockneys vs Zombies
|Darryl
|
|
|-
|1960
|Probation Officer
|Second Policeman
|Episode: "Episode #1.36"
|
|-
|1964
|Compact
|Removal Man
|2 episodes
|
|-
|1964
|Catch Hand
|Lorry Driver
|Episode: "Stop Counting at One"
|
|-
|1964
|The Indian Stories of Rudyard Kipling
|Private Robinson
|Episode: "Only a Subaltern"
|
|-
|1964
|Joan of Arc
|Brother, Soldier
|2 episodes
|
|-
|1965–1967
|The Wednesday Play
|Tim, Danny Lee, Dave, Harry, Maurice, Charlie Mills, Brother Malachy
|7 episodes
|
|-
|1966
|Thirty-Minute Theatre
|Danny
|Episode: "The Hard Word"
|
|-
|1966
|King of the River
|Jag
|Episode: "Keeping the Old Spirit Alive"
|
|-
|1967
|Theatre 625
|Albert Stokes
|Episode: "A Night Out"
|
|-
|1967
|Half Hour Story
|Ged
|Episode: "The Gentleman Caller"
|
|-
|1967
|The Informer
|Tony Cass
|4 episodes
|
|-
|1968
|The Avengers
|Stanley
|Episode: "The Curious Case of the Countless Clues"
|
|-
|1968
|The Gamblers
|Gabriel Warcup
|Episode: "You've Got a Lucky Face"
|
|-
|1969
|Department S
|Mallin
|Episode: "The Man from 'X'"
|
|-
|1970–1971
|Ace of Wands
|Sam Maxstead
|26 episodes
|
|-
|1971
|Catweazle
|Sergeant Jones
|Episode: "The Walking Tree"
|
|-
|1972–1973
|Thirty Minutes Worth
|
|2 episodes
|
|-
|1973
|Warship
|PO-Wtr. Willows
|Episode: "Funny, They All Say That"
|
|-
|1973
|New Scotland Yard
|PC Trent
|Episode: "Property, Dogs & Women"
|
|-
|1973
|Black and Blue
|Mavis
|Episode: "Soap Opera in Stockwell"
|
|-
|1973
|Armchair Theatre
|Sergeant
|Episode: "The Square of Three"
|
|-
|1974
|Thriller
|Mark
|Episode: "I'm the Girl He Wants to Kill"
|
|-
|1975
|No, Honestly
|Inspector
|Episode: "Surprise Surprise"
|
|-
|1975
|Cilla's Comedy Six
|Jack Livesey
|Episode: "Every Husband Has One"
|
|-
|1975
|The Sweeney
|Johnny Lyon
|Episode: "Queen's Pawn"
|
|-
|1975
|Churchill's People
|John Church
|Episode: "The Agreement of the People"
|
|-
|1975
|Two's Company
|Mr. Burton
|Episode: "Dorothy's Electrician"
|
|-
|1976
|The Basil Brush Show
|
|Episode: "Episode #11.10"
|
|-
|1977
|Festival 77
|Dave
|
|
|-
|1978, 1981
|Play for Today
|Stan, Frank Chapple
|2 episodes
|
|-
|1979–1980, 1989
|Minder
|Muldoon, Jack
|3 episodes
|
|-
|1981
|Plays for Pleasure
|Charlie
|Episode: "The Reason of Things"
|
|-
|1983
|Jury
|Inspector
|Episode: "Ann"
|
|-
|1983–1984
|Give Us a Break
|Benny
|2 episodes
|
|-
|1984
|Cockles
|Bunter, Singer
|Episode: "Mermaids", title song singer
|
|-
|1984
|Bergerac
|Paul
|Episode: "The Company You Keep"
|
|-
|1984
|Lady Is a Tramp
|Land Owner
|Episode: "Episode #2.6"
|
|-
|1986
|Duty Free
|Charlie
|Episode: "Costa Del Crime"
|
|-
|1986
|The Theban Plays by Sophocles
|Soldier
|Episode: "Antigone"
|
|-
|1986
|The Kenny Everett Television Show
|Various
|Episode: "Episode #4.4"
|
|-
|1987
|You Must Be the Husband
|George
|Episode: "Big George Is Back"
|
|-
|1989
|The Nineteenth Hole
|Brooks
|Episode: "Episode #1.2"
|
|-
|1991
|Lovejoy
|Sgt. Hartley
|Episode: "Raise the Hispanic"
|
|-
|1992–1994
|Love Hurts
|Max Taplow
|30 episodes
|
|-
|1995
|The World of Lee Evans
|Father
|Episode: "The Late Shift/Meet the Folks"
|
|-
|1999
|Real Women II
|Bobby
|
|
|-
|2000
|Burnside
|Jim Summers
|4 episodes
|
|-
|2002
|EastEnders
|Clive Mitchell
|2 episodes
|
|-
|2010
|Midsomer Murders
|Vic Bishop
|Episode: "The Silent Land"
|
|-
|2016
|Stan Lee's Lucky Man
|Gabriel Franks
|Episode: "Evil Eye"
|
|}
As himself
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Notes
!Ref.
|-
|1975–1976
|Celebrity Squares
|2 episodes
|
|-
|1979–1980
|Give Us a Clue
|2 episodes
|
|-
|1980
|Blankety Blank
|Episode: "Episode #3.14"
|
|-
|1981, 1992, 2001
|This Is Your Life
|3 episodes
|
|-
|1994
|Thirty Minute Theatre
|Hector
|BBC Radio 4
|Episode: "Dead Man's Button"
|
|-
|1998
|The Cruel Sea
|Tallow
|BBC Radio 2
|2 episodes
|
|-
|2000
|The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
|Bert
|BBC Radio 4
|1 episode
|
|-
|2004, 2006
|Afternoon Play: A Long Time Dead
|Geoff
|BBC Radio 4
|2 episodes
| He was remembered during the "In Memoriam" section of the 2022 British Academy Television Awards ceremony, which was held at the Royal Festival Hall in London, on 8 May.
Selby is the subject of the biography, Tony Selby: Pimlico Boy (), written by Alan Rowlands. The book was published by JMD Media on 1 September 2024.