---
name: "Eric Messiter"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/eric-messiter"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "14 August 1892"
died: "13 September 1960"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:13:21.855905+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Eric Messiter

Actor. Born 14 August 1892 in Dudley, West Midlands, England, UK. Died 13 September 1960.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 14 August 1892, Dudley, West Midlands, England, UK
- **Died:** 13 September 1960

## 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*.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Kind Hearts and Coronets* (1949), Fi1m 91, as Inspector Burgoyne — [page](https://film.one/film/kind-hearts-and-coronets.md)

## Also known for

- *The Dam Busters* (1955), Committee Member

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/eric-messiter