John Clegg (actor)

Not to be confused with British comedian and impressionist Jon Clegg.

John Clegg
Clegg in 2018
Born
John Walter Laurence Clegg

(1934-07-09)9 July 1934
Murree, Punjab Province, British India
Died2 August 2024(2024-08-02) (aged 90)
Chichester, West Sussex, England
OccupationActor
Years active1961–2009
Notable workIt Ain't Half Hot Mum
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1959; died 2006)​

John Walter Laurence Clegg (9 July 1934 – 2 August 2024) was an English actor, best known for playing the part of 'La Di Da' Gunner Graham in the BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

Early life

Clegg was born on 9 July 1934 in Murree, British India (present-day Pakistan) to English parents, John and Barbara (nee bell) Clegg.[1] His father was in the army, a Lieutenant Colonel in Royal Hampshire Regiment[2] and fought in the second world war and his mother was a teacher.[1][3] He had two sisters, Anne and Mary, one older and one younger who both died before him.[3][4][5] Clegg's mother wrote pantomime plays for a local drama group, and sometimes cast Clegg to play small roles, starting at age four.[1] When Clegg was eighteen months old, the family moved to Lowestoft, Suffolk, and then to Shawford, a village in Hampshire.[1][3]

After he and his parents returned to the United Kingdom, Clegg was educated at The Pilgrims' School, Winchester, and Canford School, near Bournemouth.[3] During the second world war, Clegg's father was badly wounded and was advised to no longer be stationed in the east, and after he was moved to a base in Winchester, John's family followed.[1][3] When Clegg did National Service he served as a private in the Wiltshire Regiment in Hong Kong, followed by a commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal Hampshire Regiment.[6] Clegg later became a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) for two years; Clegg attended RADA at the same time as Peter O'Toole, Albert Finney and Richard Briers.[3][7]

Career

After leaving RADA, Clegg joined the Watford Palace Theatre Company, where he met Jimmy Perry, who would go on to cast Clegg in the role for which he is best known. It was there that he also met many of his future co-stars, including Michael Knowles, Donald Hewlett, and Mavis Pugh (whom he married in 1959).[3] During his time at Watford, Clegg appeared in many performances including farces such as Charley's Aunt and The Happiest Days of Your Life. He also appeared in thrillers such as Gas Light.[8]

In 1973 he was cast in the BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum as Gunner Graham, the concert party's pianist. The show ran for eight series and Clegg appeared in all 56 episodes. Despite playing the pianist in the concert party of the show, John could not actually play piano[1][6] and as a result did not appear in the 1979 stage adaptation of the series; instead, the role was taken up by David Rowley, who was able to play the piano live on stage.

Since It Ain't Half Hot Mum he has made numerous television and film appearances including Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? and Bless This House. Between 2 August and 17 August 1978 Clegg appeared as Clifford Howes in the soap opera Crossroads. In 1979, he made an appearance in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Measure for Measure, in which he played Froth, the foolish gentleman.[9] In 1982, Clegg made a return to the theatre, co-producing with his wife a one-man show about Rudyard Kipling which achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning a Fringe Award.[1][7]

Clegg (second from left) at a 2011 Dad's Army reuinion

In 2001, he had a background role as an elderly man in Bridget Jones's Diary.[10] His last role was in the 2006 film Tommy the Kid, as a police officer but in 2009 appeared in the Dad's Army podcast.

Personal life

Clegg met Mavis Pugh in the mid 1950s and married her in 1959. Pugh appeared in Croft and Perry sitcoms including Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi!, but she is best known for playing Lady Lavender Southwick in You Rang, M'Lord?. Due to the twenty year age gap between Clegg and Pugh many were sceptical as to whether the marriage would last, apart from Jimmy Perry and his wife Gillian. After the wedding there was a whip-round at the theatre which collected enough money to buy what Clegg described in an interview as 'lots of practical things, like sponges and cloths – the most practical things you could imagine.'[11] They had no children.[2]

Death

John Clegg died in a care home in Chichester, West Sussex, on 2 August 2024, at the age of 90.[12][13][6][14] A private funeral was held on 29 August.[14][15]

Acting credits

Film

Year Title Role
1994 Tom & Viv[16] Second man
1997 Shooting Fish[16] Church vicar
Keep the Aspidistra Flying[16] Mckechnie
2001 Bridget Jones's Diary[16] Elderly man
2006 Tommy the Kid[16] Police Officer

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1961 Dixon of Dock Green D.C. Greaves[16] One episode
1962 Dr. Finlay's Casebook Dr. Mitchell[16]
1963 Compact Captain Hicks[16]
1965 Fothergale Co. Lt. Shop assistant[16]
1967 Half a Sixpence Shop assistant[16] One episode, uncredited[16]
1968 The Gunpowder Plot Francis Tresham[16]
1971 Whack-O! Proctor[16] One episode
1972 Father, Dear Father Vicar[16]
Lollipop Loves Mr Mole Taxi Driver[16]
Dad's Army Wireless Operator[16][17]
1973 Bless This House Waiter[16]
Thirty Minutes Worth Umbrella Salesmen[16]
1974 My Name Is Harry Worth Shop assistant[16]
1974—1975 Are You Being Served? Customer[16] Two episodes
1974—1981 It Ain't Half Hot Mum Gunner Graham[16][17] Fifty-six episodes
1975 The Tommy Cooper Hour[16] One episode
Comedy Playhouse Gerald[16]
Hogg's Back Policeman[16] Three episodes
1976 Whodunnit? Brother Paul[16] One episode
This Is Your Life Himself One episode / edition for Windsor Davies
1978 Crossroads Clifford Howes[16] Seven episodes
1979 Spooner's Patch Vicar[16] Two episodes
1979 Measure for Measure Froth[16]
1981 Keep It in the Family Vicar[16] One episode
Family Fortunes Himself One episode
1982 Summer Festival Rudyard Kipling[16] One man show
1987 Three Up, Two Down Max[16] One episode
1989 The Nineteenth Hole Sam[16]
1990 You Rang, M'Lord? Mr. Franklyn[16] Two episodes
1991 Doctor at the Top Dinner guest[16] One episode
1993 Demob Camera[16][17]
1994 Mr. Bean Calligrapher[16][17]
1995 Coogan's Run Alf[16]
This Is Your Life Himself One episode / edition for David Croft
2003 Death in Holy Orders Father John Betterton[16] Two episodes
2009 The Dad's Army Podcast Himself One episode

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Hadoke, Toby (26 August 2024). "John Clegg obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b Times, The. "John Clegg obituary: actor best known for It Ain't Half Hot Mum". Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Richard Spendlove MBE (18 January 2022). The Actor John Clegg. Retrieved 7 September 2025 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ McIntyre, Charlotte (20 August 2024). "BBC actor dies as tributes paid to It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Dad's Army star". The Mirror. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  5. ^ McIntyre, Charlotte (20 August 2024). "It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor John Clegg dies as tributes paid to BBC star, 90". Daily Record. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "John Clegg, actor best-known as the pianist Gunner Graham in It Ain't Half Hot Mum – obituary". The Telegraph. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b "My Life as an Actor – John Clegg". Chichester Literary Society. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  8. ^ Permission To Speak, Sir! Dads Army Appreciation Society Magazine. DAAS. 2013.
  9. ^ "Measure For Measure (1979)". Screen Online. British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum star John Clegg dies aged 90". Metro. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  11. ^ Schilder, Niles (Summer 2018). "An Evening Celebrating the work of Croft and Perry". Permission To Speak, Sir! DAAS.
  12. ^ "John Walter Laurence Clegg". Telegraph. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  13. ^ McIntyre, Charlotte (20 August 2024). "It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor John Clegg dies as tributes paid to BBC star, 90". Daily Record (Scotland). Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b Luck, Flaminia (20 August 2024). "Actor John Clegg who starred in Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum dies aged 90". LBC. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  15. ^ Shaw, Neil (20 August 2024). "Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor John Clegg has died, aged 90". Wales Online. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al "John Clegg | Actor, Music Department". IMDb. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  17. ^ a b c d Guide, British Comedy. "John Clegg". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
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