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Norman Shelley (16 February 1903 – 22 August 1980) was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's ''Children's Hour''. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera ''The Archers''. Perhaps Shelley's single best-known role was as Winnie-the-Pooh in ''Children's Hour'' adaptations of A.A. Milne's stories; for many British people of the mid-20th century, his is the definitive voice of Pooh. Other roles for ''Children's Hour'' included Dr. Watson (opposite Carleton Hobbs as Holmes) in a series of adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories; Toad in Kenneth Grahame's ''The Wind in the Willows''; and the role of Dennis the Dachshund in the specially written ''Toytown'' series. Shelley also played the parts of Gandalf and Tom Bombadil in the 1955-6 radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. In the 1973 BBC television series ''Jack the Ripper'' Shelley played Detective Constable Walter Dew. ==Life and career== Shelley was born in Chelsea, London, the son of Frank Shelley, a painter, and his wife, Alice Campbell, née Glover. He originally intended to make a career as an aircraft designer,〔Ian Hartley, ''Goodnight children...everywhere'' Midas Books: Hippocrene Books, New York: 1983; p. 42〕 but took up stage acting on the advice of the actress and teacher Rosina Fillipi. His public debut was at the Old Vic in 1919, and in the early 1920s he toured with the Charles Doran Shakespeare Company, performing such roles as Trebonius in ''Julius Caesar'' and Sebastian in ''Twelfth Night''. During the 1920s and early '30s he worked principally in London, and was particularly associated with Peter Godfrey's experimental productions at the Gate Theatre Studio. Shelley's first BBC broadcast was in 1926,〔 having earlier made a reputation in radio in Australia and New Zealand. By the late '30s he established a reputation as a respected and versatile British radio actor. In 1937 he married Monica Daphne, née Brett. During the Second World War he was a member of the BBC's wartime repertory company, but left to serve as a ferry pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary.〔 In the 1930s and '40s he was a ''Children's Hour'' regular, famous as Dennis the Dachshund in ''Toytown'',〔 and as Winnie-the-Pooh,〔 whom he first played in 1939. He played Dr Watson to Carleton Hobbs's Sherlock Holmes over a 25-year period.〔 In the late 1950s he took part in recorded dramatised versions by Argo Records of ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1958) and ''Through the Looking-Glass'', both directed by Douglas Cleverdon and both starring Jane Asher in the title role. For the same company he also recorded his impersonation of Toad in ''Wind in the Willows'' (1960) with Richard Goolden as Mole. Late in life he found new fame as Colonel Freddy Danby in the BBC radio serial ''The Archers''. He was still recording episodes of ''The Archers'' at the time of his death. He collapsed suddenly at Finchley Road tube station, London, on 21 August 1980, and was declared dead in the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead. His wife had predeceased him; he was buried near her at Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire, on 28 August.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Norman Shelley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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