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Colin Tapley (7 May 1907 – 1 December 1995) was a British actor. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictures talent contest and moving to Hollywood. He acted in over films before returning to Britain during the Second World War as a flight controller with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He returned briefly to New Zealand before returning once again to Britain to renew his acting career. His most famous role is as William Glanville in The Dam Busters but he spent much of his later career typecast as a police... MORE

Colin Tapley (7 May 1907 – 1 December 1995) was a British actor. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictures talent contest and moving to Hollywood. He acted in over films before returning to Britain during the Second World War as a flight controller with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He returned briefly to New Zealand before returning once again to Britain to renew his acting career. His most famous role is as William Glanville in The Dam Busters but he spent much of his later career typecast as a police inspector, a role he played in several films and TV series before retiring to Gloucestershire. Tapley was born on 7 May 1907 at Dunedin, New Zealand. He took part in the first of Richard Byrd's expeditions to Antarctica before moving to the United Kingdom and joining the Royal Air Force. In 1933 he entered a talent contest organised by Paramount Pictures and was selected as one of thirty winners and one of only two from New Zealand. . He was rewarded with a contract with Paramount as a bit part actor, was credited in If I Were King (1938) and appeared uncredited in several other films. Tapley had the LESS