Julian Chagrin: Movies & Box Office

Julian Chagrin (born 22 February 1940) is a British‑Israeli comedy actor best remembered for his eccentric mime work and memorable character roles across film and television. Born in London, United Kingdom to composer‑conductor Francis Chagrin, who hailed from a Romanian‑Jewish background, and an Irish mother, Julian grew up immersed in a culturally rich household that blended music, theatre, and multilingual influences. He attended St Marylebone Grammar School before honing his craft at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where he first discovered a talent for physical comedy and pantomime. At the age of seventeen he joined comedian Vic Oliver as a straight man, touring England, Ireland and South Africa, and later refined his mime abilities in Paris under the legendary Jacques Lecoq, experiences that would shape his distinctive performance style. Returning to the UK, he created the mime comedy act Chaganog, which paved the way for his breakthrough as one of the tennis‑playing mimes in Michelangelo Antonioni’s cult classic Blowup (1966) and as the iconic “secret lemonade drinker” in the 1970s R. White’s lemonade adverts. Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s he appeared in a string of memorable films including Danger Route (1967), The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968), Alfred the Great (1969), and as Bill the Lizard in the fantastical Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1972), sharing the screen with legends such as Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. His short films The Concert and The Morning Spider earned Academy Award nominations for Best Live Action Short Film, underscoring his versatility as both actor and filmmaker. On television he played quirky characters like Maxi Grease on The Goodies and co‑starred in an episode of The Avengers as part of a murderous comedy duo. From 1985 to 1987 he wrote, directed and starred as The Maestro in the award‑winning series The Orchestra, which won the Rose d’Or for Best Comedy TV Series. After moving to Israel in 1976, Julian settled in Ein Hod with his wife, actress and comedian Rolanda Chagrin, and continues to be celebrated for his unique blend of mime, slapstick, and dead‑pan humour that has left an indelible mark on both British and Israeli entertainment.