Arnold Ridley (January 7, 1896 — March 12, 1984) was a British playwright and actor.

Ridley was born in Bath, England, and graduated from the University of Bristol. He saw active service in the First World War and afterwards went into acting. He is best known as the author of the play, The Ghost Train (1923) (later a film with Arthur Askey) and for portraying the elderly Private Godfrey on the British sitcom Dad's Army.

Having unsuccessfully attempted to establish a film company between the wars, Ridley again saw active service during the Second World War, but was discharged on health grounds. He worked regularly as an actor, but only became a household name during the 1970s when he became a regular on one of the UK's most successful sitcoms of all time, and continued to appear into his eighties.

External link

• Arnold Ridley at the IMDB (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0725965/)