| abstract | - At the time of his death, Toone was one of the last survivors of the Old Vic theatre company of the 1930s, having appeared alongside the likes of John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier in productions of Shakespeare. He also appeared in a famous production of Lady Windemere's Fan which had been designed by Cecil Beaton. A onetime matinee idol, Toone's film roles after the 1930s were mostly in supporting parts, usually as authority figures, though he did play the lead character in the Hammer Films production, The Terror of the Tongs in 1961. He also played Sir Edward Ramsey in the 1956 musical film The King and I and had a role in the BBC television series Yes Minister. Other roles included guest appearances on The New Avengers, All Creatures Great and Small, Only Fools and Horses, and Jeeves and Wooster. Perhaps his most famous television role was as the villainous Von Gelb in Freewheelers, a children's spy series produced by ITV from 1968 to 1969. His last role was in the 1997 television movie The Apocalypse Watch. Toone shared a home for several years with fellow actor Frank Middlemas. He died from natural causes at the Danville Hall rest home for actors in Northwood, Middlesex in 2005, aged 94.
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