dwhw — 9 years ago(December 24, 2016 12:59 PM)

When I was a kid in the 1960s and American TV needed an "Englishman," chances were well over 50% that it would be Bernard Fox. Fox was a very good actor, especially in comedic parts. But I wonder why they didn't tap other actors who were actually English (or more broadly, British) when they wanted to have such a character. In any case, my favorite Fox performance was as "Malcolm Merriweahter" on "The Andy Griffith Show," when "Ernest T. Bass" (Howard Morris) felt duty-bound to fight him, because Bass's family was Irish and his father told him that any "Englishter" (I think that was the phrase) was his natural enemy!
PS I realize that Fox was actually Welsh, not English, but that was a distinction that was lost on most of us, who were, after all, a most undiscriminating audience.