Alfred Edward Matthews (22 November 186925 July 1960), known as A. E. Matthews, was an English actor who played numerous character roles on the stage and in film for eight decades. Already middle-aged when films began production, he enjoyed increasing renown from World War II onwards as one of the British cinema's most famous crotchety, and sometimes rascally, old men. Biography Matthews was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Nicknamed "Matty", he was christened Alfred Edward Matthews. A prominent stage actor by his mid-40s, Matthews was among several theatre figures who then began a film career during the silent era with the British Actors Film Company, a production company that operated between 1916 and 1923. Matthews toured during World War II in The First Mrs. Fraser, with Dame Marie Tempest and Barry Morse, and was later cast in the extremely popular films Carry On Admiral, Doctor at Large and Around the World in 80 Days, in which he played a mainstay of the Reform Club. Matthews's other best-known films include The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Million Pound Note (with Gregory Peck), Inn for Trouble, The Magic Box, The Ghosts of Berkeley Square and Just William's Luck. In 1951 Matthews was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by King George VI, and on 15 August 1951 when aged 81 he was interviewed by Roy Plomley as the guest "castaway" on BBC Radio's long-running Desert Island Discs programme. He was Roy Plomley's 100th castaway. In his 89th year, Matthews made national headlines by sitting for several days and nights on the pavement outside his beautiful Georgian home near London, his purpose being to prevent the council from installing a new streetlight, the design of which he felt was totally out of keeping with the neighbourhood and which badly needed improvement. Spike Milligan penned an episode of the Goon Show entitled "The Evils of Bushey Spon" based on the incident. The programme, first broadcast on 17 March 1958, included a guest appearance by Matthews himself at the end of the episode, and this part of the show was ad-libbed as Milligan knew Matthews had never used a script in his life, and wrote blank lines for him. Much laughter was obtained by the larking around of the Goons interaction with their guest. Shortly afterwards, on 5 May 1958, Matthews appeared on the live BBC