With his military bearing and regulation-cut mustache, actor David Tomlinson looked as though he'd just stepped out of a recruiting poster for the British army. A stage actor from 1935, Tomlinson at first specialized in "silly ass" roles, but his wartime service with the RAF apparently instilled in him a permanent air of authority that he was unable to shrug off for his film appearances. Even so, Tomlinson liked nothing better than to undercut his dignified demeanor in flustered comedy roles, invariably sputtering such expletives as "My word!," "I say!," and "What the deuce!" David Tomlinson is most fondly remembered for his '60s work at the Walt Disney studios, beginning with his Henry Higgins-ish portrayal of Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins (1964).
by Hal Erickson
biography
