Film Fox began his film career at the age of 18 months, and by age 14 was an apprentice assistant manager of a theatre. After serving with the Royal Navy in World War II and the Korean War, he resumed his acting career and appeared in over 30 cinema films from 1956 to 2004, including two cinematic dramatizations of the sinking of the doomed passenger liner the
RMS Titanic, separated by 39 years, viz,
Titanic (1997) (as Colonel
Archibald Gracie IV) and an earlier version of the tragedy
A Night to Remember (1958) uncredited as
Frederick Fleet, appearing very briefly in the film but with the memorable line, "Iceberg, dead ahead sir!" as a lookout stationed in the ship's crow's nest. His other screen roles ranged from supporting parts in broad comedies (
Yellowbeard,
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, and
The Private Eyes, playing a homicidal butler in the last) to supplying the voice of the Chairmouse in the
Disney animated features
The Rescuers and
The Rescuers Down Under. He played the role of Winston Havelock, a put-out-to-grass former
Royal Flying Corps airman in the 1999 adventure film
The Mummy. In 2004, Fox made his final appearance in
Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes.
Television In 1961 he played Malcolm in all 26 episodes in the comedy series
Three Live Wires. Between 1967 and 1972, Fox portrayed the witch doctor Dr. Bombay on 18 episodes of the sitcom
Bewitched. However, his first appearance on that show was not as Dr. Bombay, but as a professional witch debunker, Osgood Rightmire, in 1966. He reprised the role of Dr. Bombay on the 1977 sequel series
Tabitha, and again in 1999 on the soap opera
Passions, and spoofed it as a genie doctor ("wish doctor") in a 1989 episode of ''
Pee-wee's Playhouse. Fox was the penultimate surviving adult recurring cast member of Bewitched'', leaving
Nancy Kovack (who portrayed character Darrin Stephens' ex-girlfriend Sheila throughout the series) and
Bernie Kopell (who appeared as various characters in 9 episodes) as the only remaining adult cast members upon his death; child actors
Erin Murphy and David Lawrence, who portrayed Darrin and Samantha's children (Tabitha and Adam) are still alive. Between 1965 and 1970, Fox portrayed the bumbling "Colonel" Rodney Crittendon on eight episodes of ''
Hogan's Heroes'' (Crittendon is a Royal Air Force group captain, the equivalent of the American rank of colonel, which was used to avoid confusion for the show's U.S. audience). He appeared in two episodes in the detective mystery series
Columbo, "Dagger of the Mind" and "Troubled Waters". Fox also appeared as English valet Malcolm Meriweather in three episodes of
The Andy Griffith Show, and in
Knight Rider as Commander Smiths in season 2, episode 8. Fox appeared as a British major in "The Phantom Major", episode 3 of
F Troop, and in "Tea and Empathy", episode 18 of season 6 of
M*A*S*H. In 1964, Fox appeared in episode 117 of
The Dick Van Dyke Show, titled "Girls Will Be Boys". Fox plays the father of a little girl who keeps beating up Richie Petrie. He also appeared in "Teacher's Petrie", where he played a night school creative writing teacher, and in "Never Bathe on Saturday" as the house detective. In 1965 Fox made a guest appearance on
Perry Mason as Peter Stange in "The Case of the Laughing Lady". Fox also appeared in ''
McHale's Navy; in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' ("The Thor Affair" episode as munitions magnate Brutus Thor, intent on assassinating a "Gandhi-like" figure who's attempting to bring world peace (1966) as well as in the two-part episode "The Bridge of Lions Affair" in 1966, wherein he starred as THRUSH agent Jordin, whose constant response to each additional assignment is "I'll look into it"); and in the
Murder, She Wrote episode "One White Rose for Death" in 1986. In addition, he co-starred as
Dr. Watson with
Michael Evans as
Sherlock Holmes in
Sherlock & Me in the early 1980s. ==Personal life==