Biography for
David Croft (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

7 September 1922, Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset, England, UK

Birth Name

David John Sharland

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Spouse

Ann Croft

(29 June 1952 - present) 7 children

Trivia

Son of theatrical producer/vocalist Annie Croft and actor Reginald Sharland.

Father of Penny Croft. His other daughter, Rebecca Croft, was married to Simon Cadell.

In 2004 he expressed his great disappointment with the BBC for their not answering letters from people such as himself who wrote many of their most classic sitcoms of the past

He first entered show-business in 1929, at the age of 7, when he appeared in a commercial shown in cinemas.

He has a strong dislike of what he calls "vomit comedy", which he believes started with "The Young Ones" (1982).

Personal Quotes

I've been accused many times of writing stereotypes and I'm happy to say yes, I do.

I've been firing off letters for some years now suggesting why not repeat such and such a show. But I very rarely receive a response and I just can't understand it. You'd think they would have the decency to at least reply. I recently drew their attention to the fact that eight episodes of "Dad's Army" (1968) have been remastered and yet they have not been shown. That was two weeks ago and I still haven't received a reply. It's such a pity because I think fans of "Dad's Army" (1968) would enjoy seeing these episodes in their restored glory. (On the BBC in 2004)

Without him I don't think the show ("Dad's Army" (1968)) would have gone on. He undoubtedly had a nose for a hit. He was a wonderful showman and a great believer in his producers and he backed us absolutely to the hilt. He was an entrepreneur... and there's not many of his type about any more, I'm afraid. We shall miss him terribly. I loved him. (On Bill Cotton)

This is excellent news. I always wanted my shows to be kept, but in those days video tapes were usually re-used, and that's what happened to five episodes from series two. For years I have tried to work out how to get them back and I even did a television appeal a few years ago. It's been a long time, but I always knew they would turn up some day. "Dad's Army" (1968) is still finding new fans among younger viewers, and I think the public will be as happy as I am if they get a chance to see these two episodes. (On the discovery in 2001 of two missing episodes of "Dad's Army" (1968), "Dad's Army: Operation Kilt (#2.1)" (1969) and "Dad's Army: The Battle of Godfrey's Cottage (#2.2)" (1969))

It was an innovation but it wasn't progress. (On "The Young Ones" (1982))

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