John Laurie

John Laurie was born in Dumfries and was a member of the Dumfries Guild of Players alongside his sister. After the First World War he trained in London and became a Shakespearian actor. Laurie spent much of the time between 1922 and 1939 playing roles such as Hamlet, Richard III and Macbeth at the Old Vic Theatre in London, or in Stratford upon Avon. He was a friend of Laurence Olivier and starred in all three of his Shakespeare films. He also featured in Alfred Hitchcock's film "The 39 Steps" in 1935. During the Second World War, Laurie served in the Home Guard. He went on to achieve television fame working from 1968 to 1977 in the successful BBC series "Dad's Army".