Ben Aris

Benjamin Patrick Aris (16 March 1937 – 4 September 2003) was an English actor born in London who trained at the Arts Educational School following the Second World War. At sixteen, he joined a national tour of Zip Goes a Million before completing his national service in the British Army. He became widely recognized for his television roles in Hi-de-Hi! and To the Manor Born, and maintained an active stage career throughout his life. He was frequently cast as eccentric or upper-class characters.

Aris built his early career across stage, film, and television. His stage work included the 1960 revue One Over the Eight at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. He appeared in films such as The Plague of the Zombies, The Charge of the Light Brigade, and if.... He collaborated multiple times with director Ken Russell, contributing to the films The Music Lovers, Savage Messiah, and Tommy, as well as the television productions The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Lady Chatterley. Other film credits from this period include Get Carter, The Three Musketeers, Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World, and Juggernaut.

His Broadway credit came through Tony Richardson's 1969 production of Hamlet, which originated at London's Roundhouse before transferring to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York. A film version of the same production was also released that year. His first television role followed in 1971, in the children's series Jamie. Subsequent television appearances included the 1974 Doctor Who serial Invasion of the Dinosaurs, as well as Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Crown Court, Wodehouse Playhouse, and Target.

From 1980 to 1981, Aris played Mr. Spalding in three episodes of To the Manor Born alongside Penelope Keith, with whom he later appeared in Executive Stress and No Job for a Lady. In 1983 he portrayed Edmund Waller in By the Sword Divided. He joined the cast of Hi-de-Hi! in 1984 as Julian Dalrymple-Sykes, became a regular in 1986, and remained with the series until its conclusion in 1988. Additional television credits include Bergerac, Agatha Christie's Poirot, You Rang, M'Lord?, and Boon.

Among his later stage work, Aris appeared in the West End production of Stepping Out by Richard Harris, playing the role of Geoffrey. His final stage appearance was in Alan Bennett's The Lady in the Van opposite Dame Maggie Smith. His last television role came in the 2002 drama Ready. Aris died in Surrey in 2003 at the age of 66. His son, Jonathan Aris, also pursued a career in acting.