Norman Shelley

Norman Shelley
Shelley circa. 1970s
Born(1903-02-16)16 February 1903
Chelsea, London, U.K.
Died21 August 1980(1980-08-21) (aged 77)
Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, London, U.K.
OccupationActor
SpouseMonica Daphne nee Brett

Norman Shelley (16 February 1903 – 21 August 1980) was a British actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour.[1][2] He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers.[3]

Perhaps Shelley's single best-known role was as Winnie-the-Pooh in Children's Hour adaptations of A.A. Milne's stories; for many British people of the mid-20th century, his is the definitive voice of Pooh. Other roles for Children's Hour included Dr. Watson (opposite Carleton Hobbs as Holmes) in the 1952–1969 Sherlock Holmes radio series;[4] Toad in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows;[5] and the role of Dennis the Dachshund in the specially written Toytown series.[6] Shelley also played the parts of Gandalf and Tom Bombadil in the 1955-56 radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In the 1973 BBC television series Jack the Ripper Shelley played Detective Constable Walter Dew.

  1. ^ "Norman Shelley". Archived from the original on 22 December 2016.
  2. ^ "CHILDREN'S HOUR – BBC Home Service Basic – 16 February 1953 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (1527): 18. 13 February 1953.
  3. ^ "The Archers – BBC Radio 4 FM – 30 November 1978 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (2872): 67. 23 November 1978.
  4. ^ "The Solitary Cyclist, Sherlock Holmes with Carleton Hobbs, Sherlock Holmes – BBC Radio 4 Extra".
  5. ^ "'THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS' – BBC Home Service Basic – 12 April 1955 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (1639): 22. 8 April 1955.
  6. ^ "Norman Shelley tribute: A Man of Many Voices". Retrieved 14 July 2023.