Gibb McLaughlin

George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor.

McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a salesman in Kingston-upon-Hull where he sang in the Holy Trinity Church choir. He joined the Hull Amateur Operatic Society and played the part of Koko in The Mikado. After that he appeared with Anne Croft in concerts and they had a turn to themselves on the stage of the Palace Theatre. He performed as a comedian and monologist in music halls. In 1915, McLaughlin married Eleanor Morton, youngest daughter of William Morton, formerly manager of the Egyptian Hall, London and the Greenwich Theatre.

He appeared in 118 films between 1921 and 1959. He was known for The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Oliver Twist (1948) and Hobson's Choice (1954). He had a rare leading role as the sleuth J.G. Reeder in Edgar Wallace's Mr Reeder in Room 13 (1938) released in the U.S. as Mystery of Room 13 (1941). Skeletal, lugubrious, latterly prune-faced, character actor, he was popular on screen as a master of disguise, which allowed him to slip into just about any ethnic part or Dickensian role. He was equally comfortable as sneering villain, dour undertaker or canny detective.