Herbert Lom – who I have mentioned before in a film featured here earlier ‘Third Man On The Mountain’    has died at the age of 95

 The headlines show him as one of the stars of The Pink Panther but I will recall him for all those roles throughout the fifties like in North West Frontier from 1959 which conicidentally I have just been preparing for a post very shortly.  There were  others –  The Ladykillers ,  Fire Down Below and War and Peace among many.  He was a prolific film actor of the time and a very good one at that.

But my main memory will be of him as Dr. Roger Corder in one of my favourite TV series of all time The Human Jungle from the sixties

Above – Herbert Lom in North West Frontier 1959

The above still from North West Frontier I feel really captures the style of Herbert Lom in this role as Van Liden in a thrilling railway escape through India.

His son Alec  said: “Like many actors, he never wanted to be pigeon-holed in a particular role and, after having played the role of East European gangster in many films, it was a delight to him later in his career to be cast by Pink Panther producer and director Blake Edwards in a comedy role opposite Peter Sellers, and he hugely enjoyed that move.

“He had many funny stories about the antics that he and Peter Sellers got up to on the set. It was a nightmare working with Peter because he was a terrible giggler and, between my father and Peter’s laughter, they ruined dozens and dozens of takes.” 

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Something I didn’t know was that in the early 1950s, Herbert Lom had a huge stage success as the King of Siam in the original London production of musical hit The King And I at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane opposite Valerie Hobson. It was the part that had been made famous by Yul Brynner on Broadway who also starred in the film version.