Alexander Gauge

Alexander Gauge (29 July 1914 – 28 August 1960) was a British character actor born at a Methodist Mission station in Wenzhou, China. He received his early education in California before relocating to England. During World War II, Gauge served in the British Army in India, where he became acquainted with author John Masters.

Gauge made his first appearance on the New York stage in 1945, and his Broadway work in 1947 included productions of Hamlet, Volpone, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and King Lear. His work in Shakespearean drama was a consistent thread throughout his career. On the London stage, he achieved considerable success in a production of The Seven Year Itch.

His film career began with The Interrupted Journey in 1949. In 1952, he appeared in three films: Murder in the Cathedral, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire alongside Béla Lugosi, and The Pickwick Papers, in which he played the flirtatious Tracy Tupman. Subsequent film appearances included Martin Luther (1953), Beau Brummell (1954), The Green Man (1956), and The Iron Petticoat (1956), which starred Bob Hope. Although Gauge frequently portrayed villains in British films, many regarded comedy as his particular strength.

In 1955, Gauge joined the cast of The Scarlet Pimpernel as George, the Prince Regent, and also took on the role of Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood, a part he continued to play until 1959. In 1959, he starred as Brigadier Wellington-Bull in The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull, appearing alongside Valerie Singleton.

Weeks before his death, Gauge played the Duke of Norfolk in the original West End production of A Man for All Seasons at the Globe Theatre in 1960. His final screen credit was a posthumous appearance in the 1961 film Nothing Barred, starring Brian Rix. Gauge had married Phyllis Anne Young in Penzance in 1957. He died in Woking, Surrey, on 28 August 1960, at the age of 46, from an overdose.