I was born in Vancouver, Canada and was expected to join my Dad’s law firm.  However, I wanted to be an architect, but was talked out of that by my parents, who remembered architects in the bread line during the great depression. Perverse as ever, I decided to be a professional actor, having caught the bug in high school and college plays.

             In 1949 I sailed for England on a freighter from Seattle with eleven other passengers, through the Panama Canal and on to Liverpool. The trip took nine and a half weeks in all and the experience of a lifetime.  Always lucky, I found an agent in London who sent me to audition for the juvenile lead part in the West End production of “Detective Story”, the Broadway hit at the time.  Up against a lot of competition, but got the part.  It wasn’t the huge hit it was in New York, but ran long enough for me to become established as an “American Actor”.

             Radio and television followed, and with stage productions in the West End, for the next 25 years London was my base.  I was tested twice by the Rank Organization and was considered not suitable as movie star material but did the odd character part in films.  It was a different story in television where I worked constantly when not on the stage.  One thing about working in the theater, you do get to meet any number of interesting people in all walks of life, and when touring before coming into town with a play, a chance to see the different cities and all the sights.

            Played before Royalty three times and even had a run in with Winston Churchill.  Having been given a letter of introduction to a Star columnist on “The Daily Mail”, he invited me to have lunch out at London Airport, a very small complex at the time.  We drove there in his black Rolls Royce convertible, and at the gate the guard asked if we were with the Churchill party.  Hearing the negative, we were directed around the back, and told to keep out of the way.  Mr. Churchill was going to the races!  In due time three enormous Rolls Royce arrived and the party got onto a plane, which never got into the air because it stalled.  Furious, Mr. Churchill stormed around to the left side of the building we were in.  We went to have a look.  Someone was going to get hell.  As I was pressing on the swing door to get out, someone was pressing it on the other side.  It was Churchill!  I said “excuse me sir” and got an enraged grunt in reply.  As my Dad worshiped the man, I was able to write to him that I had spoken to his “god” which thrilled him no end.  Later at a party I was introduced to Noel Coward, who referred to me as “you r-r-rough Canadian”.  But enough name dropping.

             I was married to Dolores, a New Yorker in 1974 and came to live there.  I did mainly voice over and commercial work and later moved on to Los Angeles where I stayed with the same work except for the odd TV production such as “L.A.Law” and “Picket Fences” etc.  Played the resident minister on the soap opera “The Young and the Restless” at C.B.S. for a time.  Retired in 2000 and took up lawn bowling, starting at Holmby Park and later adding Beverly Hills and Santa Monica clubs.  Moved to Oxnard in 2008 (because of the lawn bowling club) and hope to stay in the area until I’m carried out.

by Warren Stanhope

The following are a few pictures of Warren with some of his lawn bowling friends.