Don Fellows

Don Fellows as Mr. Ryley | Lenny Von Dohlen as Miles Harding.

Don Fellows was an American actor known for his roles in British theater and television. He was one of the most original and emotionally stirring American performers to have appeared on the post-war British stage. He called himself a jobbing actor, but he often gave memorable performances. In "Chicago", the John Kander-Fred Ebb musical which originated at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield and transferred to the West End in 1979, he played the husband who sadly sang about how he was never noticed. It was his simple style that gave the song, Mr Cellophane, its blend of humour and sincerity.

Fellows was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. He played string bass in various dance bands while at high school. "There was a tremendous jazz influence because we were close to Chicago," he said. During the second world war, he served in the US merchant marine and in 1946 moved to New York as an extra in the Broadway hit which starred Henry Fonda as "Mister Roberts".

"I asked Billy Hammerstein [son of Oscar] why he had hired me and he said that I was the only actor he's ever had who stuttered." He subsequently "shambled his way through" the final audition of "South Pacific" in 1949 and created the part of Lt Buzz Adams, helping to introduce the rousing There Is Nothing Like a Dame. After a year he was offered Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts with Fonda. "I really hated it because I had lines like, 'that old son of a b-bitch p-pretending he doesn't know me, and I'll b-bet b-bastards starched his p-pyjamas again'," he complained.

Fellows stopped acting for five years until Fonda recommended a speech therapist from Vienna named Emil Froeschels. "He changed my life with his 'chewing method'. You eat rudely with your mouth open, re-form the words, and learn to speak differently." He appeared with Julie Harris in June Havoc's play "Marathon '33", an element of the Actors' Studio theatre's first (and only) full Broadway season. He had belonged to the studio since 1952 and remained grateful to it as an organization where actors could work unseen. "We never paid, which was unbelievably unique. Young actors in New York then couldn't get a charge account or a telephone. I tried to renew my automobile insurance, and they said, 'Oh, no. We no longer insure bartenders, stevedores or actors.' I'll never forget that."

In the 1960s, Fellows appeared on or off Broadway in a range of musical and dramatic productions, including Neil Simon's "Promises, Promises", which brought him to London in 1969. He made his home in England after Terence Rattigan's "In Praise of Love" (1973), with Donald Sinden and Joan Greenwood. In the 1977 Wendy Toye/Benny Green musical, "Oh, Mr. Porter!", Fellows delivered a wonderful performance of an obscure gem called I'm in Love Again. His JB Biggeley, one of the great eccentrics of American musical theatre in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", was Fellows' 43rd stage presentation in 26 years. "As far as I am concerned, it's an actor's dream. You can't hope to have anything like that in New York. Even Fonda used to say, if you get to do a play there every three years, you're doing damn well."

His other British shows included "Crazy for You", David Edgar's "Maydays", Seamus Finnegan's "Tout", David Rabe's Vietnam war play "Sticks and Stones", Paul Osborn's family play "Morning's at Seven", Philip Barry's "Holiday", William Inge's "Bus Stop" (with Lee Remick), "A Tribute to Lily Lamont" (with Gloria Grahame), David Hwang's "M Butterfly", David Mamet's "Reunion", Arthur Miller's "The American Clock", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and "Lady in the Dark" (with Celeste Holm).

Fellows also featured regularly in films, such as "The Omen" (1976), "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), "Superman II" (1980), and "Superman IV" (1987). Some of his television roles included "Jeeves and Wooster", "The Beiderbecke Tapes", "The Citadel", "Lillie Langtry", and "Inside the Third Reich". He was much in demand for voiceovers, and taught at London's The Method Studio, Conway Hall, Holborn, where he was artistic director. He was married to the choreographer and actor Miranda Fellows and they had four daughters.

From "South Pacific" (1949) Nellie (Mary Martin) praises the laundry skills of Billis (Myron McCormick) as his friends look on. Don Fellows is behind Mary Martin.

Don Fellows (center) as Ensign Pulver, with Patricia Ferris and Henry Fonda in "Mister Roberts" on Broadway (1951)