Holloway, Stanley (1890–1982)

English entertainer. An original member of The Co-Optimists revue group 1921–30, his hearty, down-to-earth manner and booming tones made him a genial comedy actor in Ealing film classics like Passport to Pimlico (1948), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and The Titfield Thunderbolt (1952). He created Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady on Broadway (1956–58) and on film in 1964.

Popular on radio and in pantomime, he created the monologue characters of Sam Small and the Ramsbottom family. He also had his own television series, Our Man Higgins (1962). His autobiography, Wiv a Little Bit of Luck, was published in 1969.

Holloway was born in London. He was an office boy, choir soloist, and World War I army lieutenant before making his London debut in Kissing Time (1920), and his first film appearance in The Rotters (1921). He made his New York debut in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1954).