Reginald Gardiner

William Reginald Gardiner was born on 27 February 1903 in Wimbledon, England, and died on 7 July 1980 in Westwood, California. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he pursued an acting career against the wishes of his parents, who had hoped he would become an architect. He began his stage work in the most modest capacity, as a supernumerary, before establishing himself on the West End.

Gardiner's Broadway career spanned from 1935 to 1956. His New York debut came in the 1935 revue At Home Abroad, in which he performed a wallpaper imitation act that drew considerable attention from audiences. That same revue featured his monologue about steam railway engines, a piece he had developed in which he impersonated both the engines themselves and the rhythmic sound of trains passing over track joins, characterizing the latter as "diddly-dee, diddly-dum." The monologue was later recorded and released as a 78 and a 45 by English Decca Records (F 5278), remaining in catalogue into the 1970s, and was regularly broadcast on the 1950s British radio programme Children's Favourites. He was also summoned to Buckingham Palace to perform the piece in person. His other Broadway credits include the revue The Show is On, the comedy Little Glass Clock, and An Evening with Beatrice Lillie. Beyond the stage, Gardiner was recognized by radio audiences for his comic renditions of train and automobile sounds.

His film career encompassed nearly 100 productions. He entered the medium in crowd scenes before earning his first significant screen credit in Alfred Hitchcock's 1927 silent film The Lodger. His Hollywood debut followed in 1936, after which he was frequently cast as British butlers and similar supporting figures. Among his most recognized film roles was Schultz in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, as well as Beverly Carlton, a parody of Noël Coward, in The Man Who Came to Dinner. He also appeared in The Flying Deuces alongside Laurel and Hardy, and had notable parts in The Doctor Takes a Wife and Christmas in Connecticut.

Gardiner made numerous television appearances during the 1950s and 1960s. His guest credits include an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled "Banquo's Chair," Fess Parker's ABC series Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Stanley Holloway's Our Man Higgins. In 1964 he appeared in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Ugly Duckling" as business owner Albert Charity, and in the 77 Sunset Strip episode "Dead as a Dude" as Mr. Maudlin. He portrayed orchestra conductor Sir Geoffrey in a 1966 episode of Green Acres and appeared as Gaylord Martindale in a 1967 episode of Petticoat Junction. His final performance came in a 1968 episode of The Monkees, "The Monkees Mind Their Manor," in which he played a butler. His last major television role was alongside Phyllis Diller in her 1966–1967 ABC series The Pruitts of Southampton.

Gardiner was married twice. His first marriage, to British actress Wyn Richmond, ended in divorce. He subsequently married model Nadia Petrova, with whom he had a son, Peter Robert Gardiner, born on 25 April 1949. He also had a son, Reginald James Gardiner, born 1 January 1939, with Jane Bagnato in Toronto, Canada; that son's surname was later changed to Williams following his mother's 1947 marriage. Gardiner died of a heart attack at his Westwood home and was survived by his wife Nadia.