John Slater

John Slater 22 August 1916  9 January 1975 was an English character actor who usually portrayed lugubrious amiable cockney types He was a familiar face in British films of the 1940s and appeared in many classic films of the period including The Day Will Dawn 1942 US title The Avengers Went the Day Well 1942 We Dive at Dawn 1943 A Canterbury Tale 1944 The Seventh Veil 1945 It Always Rains on Sunday 1947 and Passport to Pimlico 1949 In later years Slater moved into television most notably he starred as Det Sgt Stone in ZCars from 1967 to 1974 where his episode count was beaten only by that of James Ellis He died on 9 January 1975 from a heart attack aged 58