Biography
Eric Messiter (1892–1960) was a British character actor whose screen roles often cast him as authority figures. He is best known for playing Inspector Burgoyne in the Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and for his appearance as a committee member in The Dam Busters (1955).
Messiter maintained a long stage career, including periods with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and numerous West End productions. He appeared in several other British films of the 1940s and 1950s and in early television dramas. He was married to the actress Daphne Riggs and was the uncle of Ian Messiter, creator of the radio panel game Just a Minute.
