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Are there any questions on your mind that you’d like some answers to, or do you already have solutions to a particular query?
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Write to Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY; or email charles.legge@.co.uk
The 1950s and 1960s saw the appearance of many films featuring Percy Herbert. How many movies did he star in and what is the current status of this actor?
Percy Herbert (1920-1992) was a British-born actor who had a prolific career, appearing in over 70 films. He typically played characters such as soldiers, tough individuals, and working-class people.
His tough appearance made him a natural choice for such roles, and he became a steady presence in war movies and historical dramas.
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His acting career began on the stage, where he performed with John Gielgud’s The Old Vic Company. In film, he appeared in “The Cockleshell Heroes” (1955) and “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957), which was based on a prisoner-of-war camp where he had experience.
Herbert was also a consultant on the film. He was also in other war movies, such as Tobruk (1967). Herbert was versatile, featuring in a range of films across different genres, from science fiction (One Million Years B.C.) to historical drama (Mutiny On The Bounty) and comedy (he was in two Carry On movies).
On television, he appeared in Worzel Gummidge, General Hospital and Dixon Of Dock Green. He married Amy Lindsay in 1947 and had two children. He passed away from a heart attack at the age of 72.
Clive Gill, Wimborne, Dorset
QUESTION: What is the connection between a hoax and a canard?
The English term ‘canard’, referring to a false, derogatory or unfounded rumor, originates from the exact French word for the term ‘duck’, which is utilized in the same context in France.
The 19th-century French lexicographer Emile Littre tracks the use to an old expression, ‘vendre un canard a moitie’, which means ‘to half-sell a duck’, implying ‘to not sell it at all’.
In A Dictionarie Of The French And English Tongues, written by Randle Cotgrave in 1611, the French phrase ‘vendeur de canards a moitie’ is defined as ‘a cheat, swindler, deceiver; a deceiter, liar’.
S. E. Smith resides in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
What are the world’s most unusual and demanding marathon events?
Along with the previous answer, one of the most unusual must be the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, where participants run around a single New York City block up to 52 days to complete the distance.
Diane Higgs, Street, Somerset
