Biography
Born in Kingston upon Thames, England in 1933, Dudley Sutton discovered his love of performing while in boarding school. After school he joined the Royal Air Force while appearing on stage in small local productions. With some encouragement, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1955, but he quickly realized the school would be too traditional for him and was subsequently dismissed from the program. Sutton found a home at Joan Littlewood's legendary anti-establishment Theatre Workshop. He performed in one of the company's signature productions, "Fings ain't wot they used t'be," a Cockney musical comedy. Sutton's first credited onscreen appearances came in 1960, when he played supporting roles on three different series in addition to a recurring role on the mini-series "Kipps" (ITV, 1960), an adaptation of the story by H.G. Wells. In 1961, he played a recurring role in the second season of the long running soap opera "Coronation Street" (ITV, 1960-). He made strong impressions in two films directed by Sidney J. Furie, "The Boys" (1962) and "the Leather Boys" (1964). Known for his unsettling performances, Sutton frequently played an unbalanced antagonist, notably on shows like "The Saint" (ITV, 1962-69) and Ken Russell's cult classic the "The Devils" (1971), but also appeared in comedies, such as "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" (1976). His career consists almost entirely of British film and television. His most recognizable role began in 1986, when he first portrayed Tinker, assistant to Ian McShane's title character, in "Lovejoy" (BBC1, 1986-1994). Once that show ended, Sutton continued to land guest roles until 2004, when he was a regular for a season of another long running soap opera, "East Enders" (BBC1, 1985-). After his second soap opera run came to an end, Sutton continued to ply his craft regularly, appearing consistently in supporting roles, until his death in 2018.
