Gerald Sim is one of those actors who few can picture when you mention the name but is instantly recognisable, most often remembered as the rector in the TV series To The Manor Born.
Gerald Grant Sim was born in Liverpool on 4th June 1925, the son of Stuart Grant Sim, an employee of Barings Bank, and his wife Ida Isabel (née Carter). His older sister, Sheila, also became an actress and married Richard Attenborough. The family lived in the house owned by his maternal grandfather, John Carter, a coal agent, at 26 Garth Drive L18.
The family moved south to Croydon and he was educated at Cranbrook School in Kent before training at RADA. He made his first film debut in 1949 and in the 1960s was an almost permanent feature in the films directed by Bryan Forbes, including The L-Shaped Room [1962] King Rat [1965] The Wrong Box [1966] and Oh What A Lovely War [1969]. Later appearances included Gandhi [1982] Cry Freedom [1987] and Chaplin [1982].
Besides To The Manor Born his TV credits included The New Avengers, Edward and Mrs Simpson, Coronation Street, The Professionals, Ripping Yarns, the Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin and Bergerac. In all he made over a hundred film and TV appearances.
He married the actress Deidre Banner who predeceased him. In his later years he lived at Denville Hall, a residential home for retired actors in north London. He occupied a room adjacent to his sister Sheila and brother-in-law Richard Attenborough. He died on 11th December 2014 aged 89.
The Sim family home near Calderstones Park.
The Wikipedia entry is fairly basic but there is a useful summary of his life in the Guardian's obituary. IMDB gives full details of his many film and TV appearances.
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