Ben Williams
Benjamin Percy Williams (6 October 1892 in Glamorgan, Wales – December 1959 in Chelsea, London) was a British character actor from the 1930s to the late 1950s. During his career he appeared in 137 films. In 1954 Williams acted in the BBC Radio play Under Milk Wood that won the Prix Italia award for radio drama that year.
Originally a miner in Swansea, Williams served in the Royal Artillery in Palestine during the First World War, and he was an Air Raid Warden in London during the Second World War.
Williams made his film debut in an uncredited role in the 1933 film The Good Companions. Later appearances included roles in Tiger Bay (1934), Java Head (1934), Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor (1935), Boys Will Be Boys (1935), Flame in the Heather (1935), The Man Without a Face (1935), Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle (1935), Gay Old Dog (1935), Blue Smoke (1935), and Find the Lady (1936.
Other film appearances include Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1936), The Crimes of Stephen Hawke (1936), Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937), The Gables Mystery (1938), The Saint in London (1939), The Stars Look Down (1940), The Proud Valley (1940), Let George Do It! (1940), Old Mother Riley's Circus (1941), Old Mother Riley's Ghosts (1941), Love on the Dole (1941), "Pimpernel" Smith (1941), Hi Gang! (1941), Uncensored (1942), Undercover (1943), Get Cracking (1943), The Saint Meets the Tiger (1943), Murder in Reverse? (1945), Waterloo Road (1945), Give Me the Stars (1945), The Curse of the Wraydons (1946), Fame Is the Spur (1947), My Brother's Keeper (1948), Don't Ever Leave Me (1949), and Boys in Brown (1949).
During the 1950s his film and television work included Sunday Night Theatre (BBC) (1950), Dick Barton at Bay (1950), Mister Drake's Duck (1951), Lilli Marlene (1951), Women of Twilight (1952), Hindle Wakes (1952), Circumstantial Evidence (1952), Paul Temple Returns (1952), Face the Music (1954), Stryker of the Yard (TV series) (1957), Hell Drivers (1957), The One That Got Away (1957), and Armchair Theatre (1958). In 1954 he played Mr. Pritchard in an all-Welsh cast BBC Radio version of Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton.
During his later years he lived in Mitre House on King's Road, Chelsea. His hobbies were listed as 'most sports'.
Williams died in Chelsea in London aged 67. He was survived by a son, Philip Trigwell (born 1947) from a relationship with Etta Trigwell, and a daughter, Betty Hopkins (born 1917).
Acted in
Caught in the Net
1960
as Quarryman
Black Ice
1957
Fortune Is a Woman
1957
as Caller (uncredited)
You Pay Your Money
1957
as Seymour
Snowdrift at Bleath Gill
1955
as Himself - Narrator
Storm Over the Nile
1955
as Faversham's Butler
The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
1955
as Landlord
The Teckman Mystery
1954
as Tour Guide
Roadhouse Girl
1953
as Jury Foreman
The Square Ring
1953
as Mr. Lloyd
The Final Test
1953
as Ticket Collector
Women of Twilight
1953
as Detective
Paul Temple Returns
1952
as Roddy Carson
Hindle Wakes
1952
as Jimmy
Circumstantial Evidence
1952
as Brand
Trent's Last Case
1952
as Jimmy - Reporter
Hammer the Toff
1952
as Sgt. Barrow
Circle of Danger
1951
as Mine Official
Lilli Marlene
1950
as Brownie
Something in the City
1950
as Policeman
Waterfront
1950
as Mr. Simon (voice) (uncredited)
Paul Temple's Triumph
1950
as Mr. Weston
The Hasty Heart
1949
as Clerk at Hospital (uncredited)
Don't Ever Leave Me
1949
as Superintendent in Cells
Nightbeat
1947
as Pub Landlord
Fame Is the Spur
1947
as Radical Orator (uncredited)
The Curse of the Wraydons
1946
as John Rickers
Murder in Reverse?
1945
as Docker
Read All About It
1945
as Middle-Aged Man
Waterloo Road
1945
as Cpl Lewis
A City Reborn
1945
as Mr. Evans
The Way Ahead
1944
as Pessimistic Man Talking to the Chelsea Pensioners (uncredited)
The Lamp Still Burns
1943
as Engineer Testing Machine (uncredited)
The Demi-Paradise
1943
as Heckler
Undercover
1943
as Dragutin
Get Cracking
1943
as Home Guard Soldier
The Bells Go Down
1943
as Head of the Rescue Squad (uncredited)
Much Too Shy
1942
as Reporter
Uncensored
1942
as Arthur Baeker
They Flew Alone
1942
as Man at Australian Airfield (uncredited)
Hi Gang!
1941
as Elmer
Old Mother Riley's Circus
1941
as Lucky
The Common Touch
1941
as Workman Watching Dinner Time Cricket Match
Cottage to Let
1941
as Scottish Fisherman (uncredited)
'Pimpernel' Smith
1941
as Graubitz
Love on the Dole
1941
as Factory Worker
East of Piccadilly
1941
as Reporter
Old Mother Riley's Ghosts
1941
The Ghost of St. Michael's
1941
as Court Policeman
Old Bill and Son
1941
as Policeman
Freedom Radio
1941
as Nagel - Radio Location Expert (uncredited)
Night Train to Munich
1940
as Train Steward (uncredited)
Let George Do It!
1940
as Radio Operator On SS Macaulay
Contraband
1940
as Man Selling Torches
Mrs Pym of Scotland Yard
1940
as Detective-Constable
The Proud Valley
1940
as Will Morgan
The Thief of Bagdad
1940
as Citizen (uncredited)
The Stars Look Down
1940
as Harry Brace
On the Night of the Fire
1939
as Man Getting Shaved (uncredited)
The Saint in London
1939
as Detective Wilkins
The Citadel
1938
as Evan Lewis (uncredited)
The Claydon Treasure Mystery
1938
as Gamekeeper
The Terror
1938
as Police Photographer (uncredited)
I See Ice
1938
as 2nd Reporter Ejected From Ice Rink (uncredited)
The Squeaker
1937
as Dale
Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel
1937
as Robespierre's Spy
Brief Ecstasy
1937
as Man Serving in Snack Bar (uncredited)
Bulldog Drummond at Bay
1937
as Reporter
Love from a Stranger
1937
as Ship's Steward (uncredited)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
1936
as Captain Stephenson (uncredited)
Cheer Up
1936
as Commissionaire (uncredited)
The Man Without a Face
1935
as Warder