Stark began to work on
BBC Radio in the postwar years, helped by Tony Hancock's connections, when the comedian was ill. Stark was a regular supporting player on TV with Sellers in
A Show Called Fred and
Son of Fred, and with
Benny Hill. Stark's profile was sufficient for him to gain his own, albeit short-lived, sketch series,
The Graham Stark Show (BBC 1964). it was scripted by
Johnny Speight with each episode featuring a different group of supporting actors, including
Deryck Guyler,
Arthur Mullard,
Derek Nimmo,
Patricia Hayes and
Warren Mitchell. An episode of
Till Death Us Do Part, called "In Sickness and in Health", 1967, where Stark plays decrepit Dr. Kelly, survives. In 1970 Stark was given his own radio sketch show, entitled
Stark Raving. It was broadcast on
BBC Radio 2 and consisted of a single series of six episodes. Adept at comic French accents, Stark stole scenes as a hapless
gendarme in
Hammer's 1961 comedy
A Weekend with Lulu. He became a regular performer in the
Pink Panther film series. His first role in the series was as Hercule Lajoy,
Inspector Clouseau's stonefaced assistant, in
A Shot in the Dark (1964). Along with
Herbert Lom and
Burt Kwouk, he appeared in more
Pink Panther films than any other actor, playing a variety of characters, including reprising Lajoy in
Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) and twice playing Dr Auguste Balls (in
Revenge of the Pink Panther, 1978; and
Son of the Pink Panther, 1993). He was cast as the hotel clerk in the "Does your dog bite" scene in
The Pink Panther Strikes Again. Stark, as well as Lom and Kwouk, each appeared in seven titles from the series. In the film
Alfie (1966), Stark was Humphrey, a timid bus conductor who takes on a woman (
Julia Foster) and her child when the title character (played by
Michael Caine) refuses commitment. He also played the role of Lord Fortnum's physician, Captain Pontius Kak, in the original stage play of
The Bedsitting Room, which opened at the
Mermaid Theatre on 31 January 1963. Following the sudden death of
James Beck in 1973, Stark took over the role of
Private Joe Walker for the remainder of episodes in the first series of the radio adaptation of ''
Dad's Army''. In 1982, Stark appeared in a cameo role as a butler, alongside
Dandy Nichols, in the music video for
Adam Ant's UK No. 1 hit "
Goody Two Shoes". He played the character of Mr Nadget in the 1994 BBC adaptation of
Martin Chuzzlewit. == Personal life ==