Grandpa Potts in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and Director of "The Railway Children". Aged 83.




news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8524335.stm

Very sad news,a talented man.

Wasn't he also Bosie's dad in the original Oscar Wilde film?

He was an actor of great depth and ability. New should watch a pile of his old movies and learn from the master.

RIP

JK2006 wrote:
Wasn't he also Bosie's dad in the original Oscar Wilde film?

Yes, JK, he played the Marquis of Queensberry, father of Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie) played by John Fraser in The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960). Lionel Jeffries always looked older than his years and played the part convincingly, even though he was in real life only four years older than Fraser. He also played Dick Van Dyke's father in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), even though he was actually younger than Dick Van Dyke. Anyone like Lionel Jeffries, who could switch from playing high drama (The Trials of Oscar Wilde) to musical comedy (Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)and do both convincingly was a great actor. He was a great director, too, and The Railway Children, made forty years ago and still very popular, is proof of that. Rest In Peace, Lionel and thanks for the memories.