Alec Bregonzi was born in London on 21 April 1930. He began his career
as a professional actor in 1955, in repertory theatre in Farnham. Later
on, he secured work in the West End, in 'Camino Real', where
he played two parts Alec first appeared in 'Hancock's Half Hour' in 1957 and went on to appear in 22 of the 63 episodes made for BBC-TV, including 'The Bowmans', 'The Economy Drive', 'Twelve Angry Men' and 'The Emigrant'. In 1958, Alec toured with Tony Hancock, performing the famous "Budgerigar" sketch with him, in the Royal Variety Performance, and on television in 'Christmas Night with the Stars'. They toured together again in 1961. Duncan Wood, the television director of 'Hancock's Half Hour' recommended Alec to other directors, and he appeared in a number of 1950s and 1960s shows, starring, amongst others, Eric Sykes, Benny Hill, Charlie Drake, Arthur Askey, Ted Ray, Frankie Howerd, Harry Worth, Jimmy Logan, and Alan Melville. Alec also worked with comedians Cannon and Ball, Kenny Everett, Hale and Pace, Little and Large, Kelly Monteith, and in the television series 'The Two Ronnies' (with Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett) and 'Filthy Rich and Catflap' (with Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer). Serious roles included appearances in 'The Mayor of Casterbridge', 'The Barchester Chronicles', 'Mapp & Lucia', 'Don Camillo', 'Great Expectations', 'London's Burning', 'The Recruiting Officer', and 'A Royal Scandal'. For four years, Alec read viewers' letters on BBC TV's 'Points of View', hosted by Barry Took, which led to a radio series 'Joke By Joke', compiled by Barry. He also appeared in radio comedy with Kenneth Connor, Richard Briers and others. In 1995-1997, he played the voice parts of several characters in the puppet series 'The Treacle People'. Alec's extensive acting work also included several films and many television commercials, both in the U.K. and abroad. Alec died of cancer on 4 June 2006. |
