Quick Facts
Biography
Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 in London – 29 June 1966 in London) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.
Career
When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, after which he became a signalman and a wireless operator, then a farmer. Army concerts gave him a taste for the stage.
In 1952 he was voted Britain's most popular local male star in cinema. He was particularly well known for military comedies.
He starred in the London production of Aladdin as Widow Twankey with Bob Monkhouse at the Coliseum in 1960. In retirement he owned a pub at Blackboys in Sussex. British Pathe News filmed a newsreel of him in his pub, being visited by Jimmy Edwards, in 1954.
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1958 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre.
Partial filmography
- Wild Boy (1934)
- My Old Dutch (1934)
- Doctor's Orders (1934)
- It's a Bet (1935)
- Gentlemen's Agreement (1935)
- Regal Cavalcade (1935) also known as Royal Cavalcade in the United States
- Squibs (1935)
- Once a Thief (1935)
- While Parents Sleep (1935)
- Line Engaged (1935)
- Invitation To The Waltz (1935)
- King of Hearts (1936)
- Limelight (1936)
- Excuse My Glove (1936)
- Dreaming Lips (1937)
- London Melody (1937)
- Dr Syn (1937) based on a series of novels by Russell Thorndike
- The Black Tulip (1937) based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas
- Beauty and the Barge (1937)
- Silver Blaze (1937)
- Dinner at the Ritz (1937)
- A Yank at Oxford (1938)
- The Constant Nymph (1938) based on a novel by Margaret Kennedy
- Prison Without Bars (1938)
- Sidewalks of London (1938)
- They Drive by Night (1938)
- The Gang's All Here (1939) also known as The Amazing Mr. Forrest (1943)
- The Mind of Mr. Reeder (1939) based on a novel by Edgar Wallace also known as The Mysterious Mr. Reeder
- Trouble Brewing (1939) based on a novel by Joan Butler
- The Nursemaid Who Disappeared (1939)
- I Killed the Count (1939)
- Flying Fifty-Five (1939) based on the 1922 novel by Edgar Wallace
- Discoveries (1939)
- The Lion Has Wings (1939)
- Come On George! (1939)
- Bulldog Sees It Through (1939)
- The Missing People (1940) based on a novel by Edgar Wallace
- The Spider (1940)
- The Middle Watch (1940)
- Let George Do It! (1940)
- The Case of the Frightened Lady (1940) also known as Frightened Lady based on a play by Edgar Wallace
- Call a Cop (1940) originally known as Spare a Copper
- Salvage with a Smile (1940)
- The Seventh Survivor (1941)
- Old Bill and Son (1941)
- South American George (1941)
- They Flew Alone (1942)
- The Soldier's Food (1941)
- Those Kids from Town (1942)
- The Big Blockade (1942)
- The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942)
- Unpublished Story (1942)
- Sabotage at Sea (1942)
- The Young Mr Pitt (1942)
- King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942)
- The Balloon Goes Up (1942)
- The Gentle Sex (1943)
- Get Cracking (1943)
- Miss London Ltd. (1943)
- Thursday's Child (1943)
- My Learned Friend (1943)
- The Butler's Dilemma (1943)
- The Night Invader (1943)
- Bees in Paradise (1944)
- I Live in Grosvenor Square (1945) also known as A Yank in London (1945)
- Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) also known as Caesar & Cleopatra in the United States
- George in Civvy Street (1946)
- The Man Within (1947) based on a novel, also known as The Smugglers in the United States
- Dusty Bates (1947)
- Brighton Rock (1947)
- Forbidden (1949)
- Reluctant Heroes (1951)
- Worm's Eye View (1951)
- The Magic Box (1951)
- Little Big Shot (1952)
- Wonders Never Cease (1952)
- Top of the Form (1953)
- Innocents in Paris (1953) also known as Weekend-a Paris (1952)
- Laughing Anne (1953)
- Up to His Neck (1954)
- Aunt Clara (1954)
- See How They Run (1955)
- Keep It Clean (1956)
- Dry Rot (1956)
- My Wife's Family (1956)
- Carry on Admiral (1957)
- Not Wanted on Voyage (1957)
- Girls at Sea (1958)
- The Navy Lark (1959)
- Operation Bullshine (1959)
- The Night We Got the Bird (1961)
- BBC Sunday-Night Play (1962)