--- name: "Nicholas Smith" canonical: "https://film.one/person/nicholas-smith" fi1m_id: "nicholas-smith" imdb_id: "nm0809448" tmdb_id: 7319 wikidata_id: "Q2248752" roles: ["Actor"] born: "5 March 1934" died: "6 December 2015" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 74 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-07T13:51:31.428916+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." --- # Nicholas Smith ## Identity Nicholas Smith - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/nicholas-smith - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** nicholas-smith - **IMDb ID:** nm0809448 - **TMDB ID:** 7319 - **Wikidata ID:** Q2248752 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Smith_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2248752, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0809448/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7319 Actor. Born 5 March 1934 in Banstead, Surrey, England, UK. Died 6 December 2015. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 5 March 1934, Banstead, Surrey, England, UK - **Died:** 6 December 2015 - **Active:** 1972–2005 - **Also known as:** Nicholas John Smith - **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 70 (3), 2000s 87 (1) - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Comedy 3, Drama 2, Action & Adventure 1, Adventure 1, Animation 1, Crime 1 - **Screen time:** 3 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $193m across 1 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Smith_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2248752, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0809448/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7319 ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*Are You Being Served?*](https://film.one/tv/are-you-being-served.md) (72) - **The Roku Channel:** [*The Canterbury Tales*](https://film.one/film/the-canterbury-tales.md) (55) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Nicholas Smith > Nicholas Smith made an ineffectual manager worth watching by letting his speech race ahead of his understanding. We value the eagerness and comic timing of his supporting performances, even when the jokes themselves have worn thin. Mr Rumbold speaks quickly enough to suggest that he knows what he is talking about, and Nicholas Smith lets the eagerness give him away. In *Are You Being Served?* (1972–85), his department-store manager has the authority to speak but little understanding of what needs saying. Smith makes the speed funny without making the man contemptible. We laughed at Rumbold's readiness to help, because Smith makes him so keen that his failure to grasp the problem scarcely seems to trouble him. His television work had included Wells in *Doctor Who* (1964), but Rumbold was the part that fixed his public image. Smith returned to the manager in the 1977 film of *Are You Being Served?* and in *Grace & Favour* (1992–93). That persistence also narrowed the way he was seen, despite his work in farce, period drama and, later, animation. It is a familiar difficulty for a supporting actor: being dependable in one sort of part can make the other work easier to overlook. We recommend the programme with reservations, and Smith is no reason to withdraw them. Frank Thornton, John Inman and Mollie Sugden give it much of its personality, but the worn jokes still show their age. Smith's quick delivery suits the broad farce and gives an otherwise slow-witted manager a useful comic rhythm. There is a limit to what such skill can do with familiar innuendo, and it would be unfair to mistake affection for Rumbold for an endorsement of every script. *Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit* (2005) gives him a different sort of authority as the voice of Reverend Clement Hedges. His clerical eccentricity fits Nick Park and Steve Box's affectionate monster comedy, a film attentive to small gestures even when the plot stretches to fill a feature. We recommend it for its humour and precision, though not principally on Smith's account. For Smith himself, start with a half-hour on the shop floor. ## Biography Nicholas Smith (also credited as Nicholas John Smith) was an English actor. Born in Banstead, Surrey, he trained at RADA after national service and began his career in theatre and television in the 1960s. He is best known for playing the bumbling manager Mr Cuthbert Rumbold in the BBC sitcom *Are You Being Served?* (1972–1985) and its spin-off *Grace & Favour* (1992–1993). Other credits include roles in *Doctor Who* (1964), *The Avengers* (1960s), *The Canterbury Tales* (1972) and *Fellini's Casanova* (1976). In 2005 he voiced Reverend Clement Hedges in *Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit*, earning an Annie Award nomination for voice acting. Smith was the last surviving member of the original *Are You Being Served?* cast. His daughter, Catherine Russell, is also an actress. He died in 2015. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, bbc.co.uk, theguardian.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit* (2005), Fi1m 87, as Reverend Clement Hedges (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit.md) - *The Sweeney* (1975), Fi1m 84, as Simpkins — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md) - *Are You Being Served?* (1972), Fi1m 72, as Mr. Rumbold — [page](https://film.one/tv/are-you-being-served.md) - *The Canterbury Tales* (1972), Fi1m 55, as Friar — [page](https://film.one/film/the-canterbury-tales.md) ## Complete filmography (43) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *M.I. High* (2007), series, as Professor Quakermass - *Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit* (2005), as Reverend Clement Hedges (voice) — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit.md) - *The Funny Blokes of British Comedy* (2005), as Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold (archive footage) (uncredited) - *The Ghouls* (2003), Actor - *Wendy Richard: A Life on the Box* (2001), as Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold (archive footage) (uncredited) - *What Rats Won't Do* (1998), as Chaplain - *The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest* (1996), series, as Quentin (voice) - *Martin Chuzzlewit* (1994), series, as Mr Spottletoe - *Grace & Favour* (1992), series, as Mr Cuthbert Rumbold - *Worzel Gummidge* (1979), series, as Mr. Foster - *Are You Being Served? The Movie* (1977), as Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold - *The Sunday Drama* (1977), series, as Andreas Wolke - *Fellini's Casanova* (1976), as Casanova's Brother - *The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother* (1975), as Hunkston - *The Sweeney* (1975), series, as Simpkins — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md) - *Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell* (1974), as Death Wish - *Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* (1973), as Hastings - *Baxter!* (1973), as Taxi Driver - *Last of the Summer Wine* (1973), series, as Vicar - *Are You Being Served?* (1972), series, as Mr. Rumbold — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/are-you-being-served.md) - *The Canterbury Tales* (1972), as Friar — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/the-canterbury-tales.md) - *The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes* (1971), series, as Solicitor - *Budgie* (1971), series, as Detective Sergeant Cooney - *The Twelve Chairs* (1970), as Actor in Play - *Ace of Wands* (1970), series, as Fredericks - *Paul Temple* (1969), series, Actor - *A Walk with Love and Death* (1969), as Pilgrim - *Up Pompeii!* (1969), series, as Plotter - *The Fiction Makers* (1968), as Bishop - *The Champions* (1968), series, as Postmaster - *Salt & Pepper* (1968), as Constable - *Another Day, Another Dollar* (1967), as Mooney - *Sir Arthur Conan Doyle* (1967), series, as Mr. Bull - *The Big Man Coughed and Died* (1966), as Man - *The Frost Report* (1966), series, Actor - *BBC Play of the Month* (1965), series, as Tunnicliffe - *Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth* (1964), as Wells - *Theatre 625* (1964), series, as Policeman - *Doctor Who* (1963), series, as Wells — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who.md) - *The Saint* (1962), series, as Bishop - *Z-Cars* (1962), series, Actor - *Partners in Crime* (1961), as Pawn Shop Assistant - *The Avengers* (1961), series, as Parker, Lather — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-avengers-1961.md) --- © 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/nicholas-smith