Lean, jaunty British character actor with military-style moustache and
easy manner who specialised in playing dapper scoundrels,
philanderers, dissipated bon vivants and con artists in a career
lasting three and a half decades. Born in Hove, East Sussex, he spent
two years working on the London stock exchange before making his move
to acting. On stage from 1928, he was initially cast as outright
villains. He landed his first worthy part in the
George Formby musical comedy
Keep Fit (1937), establishing his
typical screen personae playing the role of Brian Curtis in
Terence Rattigan's
French Without Tears (1940)
(having previously appeared in the original London stage production in
November 1936). Ironically, Middleton seems to have relished his
lady-killer image in real life since he was at the time involved with
the wife of co-star
Rex Harrison -
himself no stranger to extra-marital affairs.
Well in the groove as raffish playboy, silly-ass, jolly RAF-type or
shady double-dealer, Middleton was consistently excellent in support
during the 40's and 50's: as Fogroy in
Notorious Gentleman (1945);
as debonair games master Victor Hyde-Brown in
The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950);
as womanizing cad Simon Russell, behind the wheel of a sporty jalopy, in
Laughter in Paradise (1951);
or as Victor Manifold, plying his buddies with bootleg whiskey, in
Young Wives' Tale (1951). He
was also the initial choice for the part of Amrose Claverhouse for the
film
Genevieve (1953) but lost out to
Kenneth More. On television, he partnered
Hylda Baker (in drag) as 'Cynthia', in the
stand-up comedy show
Be Soon (1957).
His final role of note was as a senior general in
Richard Attenborough's
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969).
Middleton retired in 1970 and died three years later at the age of 66.
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer(1970)as Potter
Thirty-Minute Theatre(1965)as Twin
The Magic Christian(1969)as Duke of Mantisbriar
Oh! What a Lovely War(1969)as General Sir William Robertson
The Mini-Mob(1967)as Colonel Highwater
