Jim Dale
Jim Dale is a British actor, singer, songwriter, and voice actor, born on 15 August 1935 in Rothwell.
He received his early education at Kettering Grammar School before building a career that moved across multiple disciplines in the performing arts. His work as an actor earned him the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, as well as the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, recognizing his achievements on the stage. His contributions to British public life were acknowledged through his appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
Beyond the stage, Dale pursued work as a singer and songwriter in the pop music genre, demonstrating a range that extended well past any single medium. His voice work brought further recognition, and he received the Audie Award for Best Male Narrator, a distinction awarded in the field of audiobook performance. A citizen of the United Kingdom working in the English language, Dale's career has encompassed acting, musical performance, and narration — disciplines that together define the breadth of his professional output.
Quotes by Jim Dale
I’d get more applause than some because I was just seventeen. If they didn’t clap at the end of my act I would limp off stage and boy would they feel guilty. They would all burst into tremendous applause as they saw this poor cripple kid walking off.
I feel if some kid has sat down and felt I’m important enough to write two pages of words to and take up a lot of his valuable time, then he deserves a few words back, or even a phone call as I have done on a few occasions.
You’ve got to love the villain if you have to play him. You’ve got to find something that you can live with in yourself if you’re going to play the villain in a play on stage.
I only travel to good material, a good director and a good company. I won’t work in another country for a year any longer, because I have a lovely wife and I adore her and I can’t bear to be away from her.
When I was nine, we’d take a bus to the seaside. Coming back, we’d take turns entertaining, singing songs and the like. I tried some stand-up comedy. I had a captive audience in that bus. Then I realized I wanted to do more than that.
I was always the clown in school. I had a personal put down sense of humor. I wasn’t vindictive. I didn’t make fun of people.
I’d rather get a good clean laugh with good material, than an easy laugh by swearing or shocking. That’s not clever or comedic, anybody can get a laugh that way, it’s too easy.
I remember certain people in the audience laughing and I wanted to ask: ‘What are you laughing at? This isn’t funny.’ Now I realize that laughter can come from insecurity. They don’t know how they should be feeling.