Name: Arthur Brough
Show name : MR ERNEST GRAINGER

THE TRUSS-WEARING Ernest Grainger joined Grace Brothers in 1937. A true veteran in retailing, one wonders why he's not been pensioned off: lie's abrupt, irascible, inflexible and always nodding off at meetings - not what you'd expect from a senior salesman.

After growing up at Folkestone, he served with ENSA during the war, entertaining troops with his impersonations of Hitler and Churchill, something he continues to do at a local OAP home's annual do.

With his half-moon specs and tape measure hanging round his neck, Grainger's time at Grace Brothers has seen him spend two years in Haberdashery before getting his own counter in Stationery~ Five years in Bathroom Furniture was followed by a transfer to Gentlemen's Shoes and then Gentlemen's Trousers.

Despite his shortcomings, the aged Mr Grainger still occasionally manages to reveal a warm, avuncular manner.

Playing churlish Mr Grainger was undoubtedly the highlight of Arthur Brough's small-
screen cateer, but he spent most of his life running repertory companies around the country~ Although predominantly a stage actor, Arthur did make the occasional excursion into other areas of the business but, as his daughter Joanna Hutton explains, he found it hard adjusting at first. ~One of the first jobs he did away from the stage was the film The Green Man with Alastair Sim, and in that he realized how hammy he was. He used to take the mickey out of himself; he'd always acted in a Shakespearean manner and suddenly realized he had to tone down his performance for film.'
Arthur - real name Fredenck Arthur Baker - was
born in Petersfield in 1905. He got involved in amateur dramatics, where he first worked with Sim, before studying at
RADA in the early 1 920s. Soon after graduating he joined a company specializing in Shakespeare and it was there that he met his wife-to-be, actress Elizabeth Addyman After marrying in
their wedding money as collateral, rented the Leas Pavilion, a rep in Folkestone.

Once the rep was up and running, Arthur - who ran the company as well as acting in the shows -turned his attention to other reps. By the eve of the Second World War he'd opened numerous companies, including reps at Oxford, Leeds, Bradford, Keighley, Lincoln, Southampton, Bristol and Blackpool. ~His whole life was dedicated to the
- theatre,' says Joanna Hutton, 'and in the end he's known for playing one part on television!' -After working at York with Phyllis Calvert, Arthur was enlisted into the na""y for the duration of the war. Upon demob, he resumed his carer where he'd left off and reopened Folkestone rep. In the 1950s, he went on to establish reps at Southend and Eastbourne.

Arthur retained his involvement with rep for
several years, until he began foreseeing the fall of repertory theatre. 'He was very astute and unsentimental about it,, says Joanna. 'He realized the era was over and that he must diversify"", and his film debut in The Green Man came soon after.' The rep continued until 1969 before closing.
Excepting his role as Mr Grainger, his screen appearances were restricted to cameo roles in shows like Up stairs, Downstairs and London Conspires a 1976 Tv film of The Persuaders in which he played the aged butler Moorehead. He appeared in several theatre productions, including Half a Sixpence, playing a shopkeeper.
But everyone identified him as Ernest Grainger, the crusty salesman from Grace Brothers. Through out his time in the hit show, Arthur lived a life of heartbreak, with his wife seriously ill, as Joanna explains. 'It wasn't a happy time for any of us Mummy was very ill from 1969 onwards, and they both died within six weeks of each other in 1978
After Mummy died he stayed with me a few weeks, during which time David Croft and Jeremy
Lloyd made contact to say they were writing him into the next series,' says Joanna. 'But he died, of course, before he could do it. I had high hopes that if he returned to work it would help, but that never happened.'

Everyone associated with the sitcom has nothing but fond memories of working with Arthur. David Croft recalls the time Arthur would disappear off the set. 'Whenever we were rehearsing he'd vanish at about three minutes to eleven,' he says. 'For a while we wondered where he went, but eventually discovered that he'd nip next door to the pub for a quick pink gin. We'd watch from the window as this little figure hurled towards the pub - we never spoke to him about it. One day when he returned, John Inam asked where he'd been. He made some excuse, but what he'd forgotten was that it was pouring with rain and his bald head was soaking wet!'

Daughter Joanna is convinced that being involved in such a long-running sitcom helped her
ABOVE Arthur Brough holding his daughter, Joanna, in 1932. LEFT Serving in the navy during World War Two.
father in many ways. 'It was good for his career, which made him happy. But the camaraderie between the cast was wonderful, helping him enjoy the time he wasn't nursing Mummy Arthur was a highly respected actor who'd spent forty years in the profession~ It wasn't until he stepped into the shoes of humbling Mr Crainger that he discovered the success that had eluded him all his career; but he'd achieved a great deal in the world of rep, and there are numerous thespians grateful to the opportunities his life in theatre had brought.

At the time of Arthur's death, David Croft said:

'Arthur created a living character who was the inspiration for much of the humour His personality made him a pivot round which a whole lot of laughter and affection revolved.'