Robert Flemyng OBE, MC, a renowned British film and stage actor, was born on January 3, 1912, in Liverpool, to a doctor father, and was educated at Haileybury. Initially, he pursued a career in medicine as a medical student, but eventually abandoned it to follow his true passion for acting.
Flemyng made his stage debut in the early 1930s, working steadily in both London and Broadway, and his first film appearance was in 1937. However, he didn't appear regularly in films until after serving in World War II. During the war, he was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps and demonstrated remarkable distinction, rising to the rank of full colonel at the age of 33. His remarkable service earned him the Military Cross in 1941, being mentioned in despatches, and an OBE in 1944.
On the silver screen, Flemyng played memorable roles, including an idealistic schoolmaster in the 1948 film The Guinea Pig, starring Richard Attenborough, and the key role of Detective Sergeant Roberts in the 1950 film The Blue Lamp. One of his most notable performances was as a necrophiliac in the 1962 film The Horrible Dr. Hichcock.
Flemyng also ably portrayed a sardonic British Secret Intelligence Service chief in the 1966 film The Quiller Memorandum, with George Sanders as his boss. Throughout his career, he worked in films and television, leaving a lasting impact on the industry until his passing on May 22, 1995. Some of his notable later films include Kafka (1991) and Shadowlands (1993).
