Cyril Raymond

Cyril William North Raymond (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a distinguished British character actor whose career spanned more than five decades, beginning in the Edwardian theatre and concluding in the modern television era. He made his professional stage debut in 1914 at the Garrick Theatre, London, playing the Second Spanish Gentleman in Bluff King Hal, and quickly earned recognition for his versatility, appearing as Little Billee in Trilby (1915) and as Lord Deerford in Louis N. Parker’s Disraeli (1916), a role he later repeated on film. While still a teenager, Raymond performed in works by Louis N. Parker, Edward Knoblock and Harold Brighouse, demonstrating a talent for both juvenile and supporting parts that would define his long‑standing vocation. After marrying actress Iris Hoey in 1922, the couple co‑starred in several West End productions, and their son John Raymond later became a noted author and critic. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Raymond became renowned for his balanced, controlled, humorous performances opposite leading ladies such as Sybil Thorndike, Gertrude Lawrence and Edith Evans, solidifying his reputation as a reliable foil to more flamboyant stars.**

During the Second World War he served in the Royal Air Force (1939‑1945) and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his service. In cinema his most memorable screen appearance came as Fred Jesson, the husband of Celia Johnson’s character in the classic film Brief Encounter (1945), a performance praised by The Observer for its “sweetness, sobriety, and fresh delicacy.” He continued to work in film, television (notably a 1961 episode of Danger Man), and stage, appearing in contemporary plays by Nigel Dennis, Giles Cooper and John Osborne, including Inadmissible Evidence (1965). Ill health forced his retirement in the mid‑1960s, and he passed away in 1973, leaving behind a rich legacy of over one hundred screen and stage credits.