Leslie Phillips – light and shade, comedy and tragedy

Leslie Phillips, the comic actor, has died after an eight decade career during which he starred in 200 films. Known for Carry On and Doctor in the House films and the long-running BBC radio The Navy Lark. He latterly provided the voice of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films and had a sterling career in classical theatre though he never shook off the leering roles of his popular successes.  Born 20 April 1924 he lost his father when he was 10 to illness and his mother then sent him to