1990: Hello and Ding Dong! LESLIE PHILLIPS | Wogan | Celebrity Interview | BBC Archive

Leslie Phillips was known for his smooth and suave demeanor, a renowned figure in British film, TV, and theatre, for everything from The Navy Lark, the Carry On and Doctor in... films, Casanova '73, Venus, and as the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter.
A departure into more serious movie roles such as Out of Africa, Empire of the Sun and Mountains of the Moon followed in the 1980s and early 1990s, before getting his first Bafta nomination for his role in the 2007 film Venus.
Born in Tottenham in 1924, he achieved much in his 98 years, including not just one but two of the most famous catchphrases of the 20th century - "Hello!" and "Ding Dong!".
Clip taken from Wogan, originally broadcast on BBC One, Wednesday 4 April, 1990.
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[@noplace82]

What a smashing guy he was - oozing charisma, but as down to earth as any man on the street. Happy 100th birthday, tomorrow Leslie, RIP.

[@Traveller69]

Met him in 1994. Such a humble, charming man. Like all people who make their craft look effortless, he survived so long as an actor by being the consummate professional.

[@76ToneCrome]

"I say." Empire Of The Sun is the most underrated film in the Spielberg cannon. Young Christian Bale's performance was extraordinary. Great book, too.

[@AchtungEnglander]

Totally agree. Its on my 4K desire list. Some scenes with John Williams music is just magical. Spielberg at his height.

[@sexobscura]

Spielberg definitely solidified his directorial greatness in the 80s. And JG Ballard is also an exceptional writer

[@TeaLuck1]

Truly a gem of a man

[@Tim_Weaver]

Nice to hear a mention of that lovely old sitcom "Our Man At St. Marks", I remember watching it as a kid. A big shame that almost all the episodes have been lost...

[@hilaryepstein6013]

It was very sweet to hear him talking about his mum and it would have been nice to have heard more about his early life too. Happy Centenary tomorrow (20.4.24).

[@JohnHonda101]

He had a good innings.... Dinggggg Donggggg.

[@alexfletcher5192]

Part of the DNA of British culture. We thought he'd last forever. And he will.

[@philgrossman660]

Two absolutely brilliant chaps, just chatting. Both sorely missed.

[@davidcarrol110]

A weekend spent with Leslie Philips and Terry Thomas would have been stimulating😉.

[@theendofeverything6356]

What a chap!

[@dftfire]

The voice of Gex in Europe in the second game

[@mrroobarb]

Legend!

[@stephenguppy7882]

They just don't make actors like Leslie Phillips anymore.

[@GrilloTheFlightless]

A brilliant actor who could even elevate rubbish like ‘The Magnificent 7 Deadly Sins’ into something charming by his talents. Loved him in the Carry On films, and Doctor In The House. He was, of course, also the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films.

[@njd2342]

The stark difference between an Englishman and an Irishman.

[@colindayo]

Interviews used to feel so flat and soooooo awkward sometimes

[@hamsterclamper]

Wogan could be quite rude at times

[@syedalamgir5838]

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor was the most romantic person in Hollywood.

[@OCryptoTroll]

When you watch today's talk shows, you would notice that same jokes would be laughed at much more. Makes you think it was more natural back then and is more staged nowadays...

[@CricketEngland]

Well who the big name interviewers now I mean we only have Jonathan Ross or Graham Norton and to a point Louis Theroux Back in the day we had Parkinson, Wogan, Paul O’grady, Russell Harty, Dame Edna Everage, Gloria Hunniford and Pebble Mill at one all doing interviews so we had more of a mix

[@shingitai5882]

Seriously, why do the TV executives always think Radio DJ’s make good chat show hosts?

[@shingitai5882]

​@@CricketEngland Thank you for your rude aggressive comment on my personal opinion, maybe you think that deliberately insulting a guest and embarrassing them with the first thing you say is a clever interviewing technique, but I don’t and he did this a lot because he was lazy and didn’t read the research and thought the show was all about him and so made constant looks for a comic audience reaction. I suggest you watch the Bill Gates interview which at the time made reported in the press because of his rudeness. I also suggest you look up Jonathan Ross and why he was sacked from the BBC, or maybe you should watch Chris Evans show where he used to expose himself to the studio audience at the end of the show. Also there was Danny baker who show was a complete rip off copy of an American show and so didn’t work on any level.

[@shingitai5882]

@@CricketEngland So basically you are agreeing Radio DJ’s are bad at interviewing because basically they aren’t skilled enough and their ego gets in the way. As for Terry Wogan I notice you haven’t addressed anything about his rudeness unprepared laziness in this interview and also the same behaviour to several other guests and some of these interviews are disastrous and make it uncomfortable to watch, e.g. Betty Davis, Tom Platz, Victoria Principle,, Geoff Thompson, Bill Gates, George Best, Meg Ryan etc. If you remember it was his laziness that actually got the show cancelled. Also don’t forget he used to take a extra large fee for hosting a charity fundraising show called Children in Need until it was exposed by a journalist at the “BBC” who thought it was unethical to take payment for a charity show, which he didn’t even try to defend.

[@shingitai5882]

@@CricketEngland No one except you apparently who actually unconsciously replied by agreeing with me. If you read back you will see you started this by being rude to me by replying without a logical argument to back it up and ignoring the main point, maybe next time unless you actually understand the comment you shouldn’t reply to someone making a personal opinion.

[@shingitai5882]

@@CricketEngland I made a comment about how rude Terry Wogan was to the guest by making a comment about his clothing and body hair, which apparently you think is acceptable behaviour on live TV, and I have given you several more examples of his rudeness and laziness during interviews. I also pointed out that they often give big chat shows to Radio DJ’s who aren’t very good at it, which apparently you agree with! You have and are being aggressive and rude all whilst not apparently understanding the comment by ignoring the main point and by being hysterical and illogical. I suggest you refrain from replying from comments until you grasp the point. I after all made a “personal opinion” based on what can be seen in the clip so that is QED. If anybody needs to get a life, I suggest you have a look at your own, after all you are trying to change my opinion without being able to dispute it. The fact you are trying to make it personal and are making stupid assumptions about my background is rather sad since you can’t refute what I pointed out.

[@CricketEngland]

@@shingitai5882 🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱