John Talfryn Thomas (31 October 1922 – 4 November 1982) was a British character actor from Swansea, Wales, best known for supporting roles on television in the 1970s, including those of Private Cheeseman in Dad's Army (1973–1974) and Tom Price in Survivors (1975), while Thomas also appeared with Jon Pertwee in two Doctor Who serials.
Biography John Talfryn Thomas was born in Swansea on 31 October 1922. He trained as an instrument mechanic but joined the local amateur dramatic society. During World War II, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF), and was a rear gunner on a Lancaster bomber, flying on multiple raids into Germany. After surviving a crash in which all the other crew members were killed, he took up acting partly as therapy to cope with the trauma, before training as an actor in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).
For some time Thomas acted in provincial theatres. In the late 1950s, he began making television appearances, and in the 1960s appeared in two episodes of The Avengers - "A Surfeit of H2O" (1965) and "Look Stop Me" (1968) alongside stars Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson - as well as appearing with Roger Moore in The Saint (1968), an uncredited rôle in The Champions in the episode "The Body Snatchers" (1969), and in The Persuaders! (as The Poacher in the episode "A Home Of One's Own", 1971). In 1973, Thomas appeared in the Seven of One episode "I'll Fly You for a Quid", appearing alongside Ronnie Barker in a community of Welsh gamblers. Thomas also appeared with Jon Pertwee in the Doctor Who serials, Spearhead from Space (1970) and The Green Death (1973), and in the Worzel Gummidge episode "The Scarecrow Wedding" (1980). Thomas excelled at playing quirky and sometimes seedy Welshmen. His distinctive appearance was enhanced by his protruding front teeth, which earned him the nickname 'Talf The Teef'. Thomas is perhaps best remembered for his role as Mr. Cheeseman in one series of the television comedy Dad's Army (1973-1974).
In 1975, Thomas appeared as Tom Price in seven episodes of the first series of the BBC TV series, Survivors, acting alongside main stars Carolyn Seymour, Ian McCulloch and Lucy Fleming, before the character of Tom was killed off in the tenth episode of the first series. In 1979, Thomas appeared on The Ken Dodd Laughter Show with Rita Webb and Pat Ashton (and he was a regular on Ken Dodd's BBC radio comedy show).
Talfryn Thomas' few films included Sky West and Crooked (1965) starring Hayley Mills, and Andrew Sinclair's adaptation of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood (1971), with Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole. Like Burton, Talfryn Thomas had been in the BBC radio play. He was also seen in Come Play with Me (1977) and the cult film, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980) from Vivian Stanshall.
Thomas died of a heart attack on 4 November 1982, four days after his 60th birthday.
Selected television roles Year Title Role Notes1960 The Citadel Chenkin's Henchman / Miner 3 episodes1964 to 1974 Z Cars McCall / Greenough / Jake Morris 7 episodes1965 The Avengers Eli BarkerEpisode: "A Surfeit of H2O"1966The SaintOwen ThomasEpisode: "The House on Dragon's Rock"1967 St. Ives Clausel 4 episodesThe Flower of GlosterEvans3 episodes1968 The Ronnie Barker Playhouse Lecher Lewis Episode: "Tennyson"The Avengers Fiery FrederickEpisode: "Look Stop Me"1970Doctor Who – Spearhead from SpaceMullins1 episode Tales of Unease Official Episode: "The Black Goddess"1971 The Persuaders! The Poacher Episode: "A Home of One's Own" Play For Today Tramp Episode: "Edna, the Inebriate Woman"1971 to 1972 Coronation Street Dirty Dick 6 episodes Tottering Towers Prayer-book Perce13 episodes1972 The Onedin Line Thomas Episode: "Survivor"1973 Doctor Who – The Green Death Davis 3 episodes Seven of One Mr Pugh Episode: "I'll Fly You for a Quid"1973 to 1974 Dad's Army Private Cheeseman 6 episodes 1974 Men of Affairs Dick Episode: "...As a New Born Babe"1975 Survivors Tom Price7 episodes Get Some In! Corporal White Episode: "Call Up"1977 Treasure Island Tom Morgan 4 episodes King of the Castle Vine / Vein 7 episodes1979 The Ken Dodd Laughter Show Various 6 episodes1980 Worzel Gummidge – Soggy Boggart Episode: "The Scarecrow Wedding" Cowboys Demolition Foreman Episode: "Remember Honky Stubbs"1981 The Incredible Mr Tanner Cledwyn Episode: "The Wallet"1982 Hi-de-Hi! Gareth Davies Episode: "Stripes"
Films Sky West and Crooked (1966) - Brand Under Milk Wood (1971) - Mr. Pugh The Battle of Billy's Pond (1976) - Mr. Pugh Come Play with Me (1977) - Nosegay Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980) - Teddy Tidy
References
External links
Article about Talfryn Thomas