Mustachioed British character actor Guy Middleton worked in the stock exchange until his mid twenties. After his first film, A Woman Alone (1932), Middleton secured a berth for himself as a double-dyed villain thanks to his disgraced-gentleman demeanor. As his acting matured, his villainy became less overt, and by the mid '40s he was one of the best "cad and bounder" types in British films (with a few wastrel playboys thrown in). The ideal starring role for Middleton might have been The Rake's Progress (1946), but the dictates of the box office gave Rex Harrison the leading part and regelated Middleton to the supporting cast. Guy Middleton retired from films after The Magic Christian (1970), where once more he was way down the cast list while the lead was played by the foremost dissipated-aristocrat player of the '70s, Peter Sellers.
by Hal Erickson
biography
