Editing Leslie Phillips (section)

==Early life==
Leslie Samuel Phillips was born in [[Tottenham]] on 20 April 1924,<ref name="BBCobit" /><ref name="bartlett" /> the third child of Cecelia Margaret (''née'' Newlove) and Frederick Samuel Phillips, who worked at [[Glover and Main]], manufacturers of cookers in [[Edmonton, London|Edmonton]].<ref name="Hello">{{cite book|last=Phillips|first=Leslie|author-link=Leslie Phillips|title=Hello: The Autobiography|year=2006|publisher=[[Orion Publishing Group]]|isbn=0752868896|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/helloautobiograp0000phil}}</ref> Phillips described his street as "beyond the sonic reach of the [[St Mary-le-Bow|Bow Bells]] but within the general footprint of [[cockney]]dom."<ref name="Hello"/> In 1931, the family moved to [[Chingford]], where Phillips attended Larkswood Primary School.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-pupil Phillips opens old school |url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/1502804.expupil_phillips_opens_old_school/ |work=Waltham Forest Guardian |date=27 June 2007 |last=Moyes |first=Jonathan |access-date=10 May 2009}}</ref> Consequently, Phillips has described himself as both a [[cockney]] and an Essex boy.<ref name="chap">{{cite web |last1=Sullivan |first1=Chris |title=Leslie Phillips |url=https://thechap.co.uk/2020/09/22/leslie-phillips-3/ |website=The Chap |date=22 September 2020|access-date=30 April 2022}}</ref> In 1935, his father died at 44, having suffered from a weak heart and [[oedema]] brought on by the "filthy, sulphurous" air of the factory.<ref name="Hello"/>

After his father's death, Phillips was sent to the [[Italia Conti Academy]] at his mother's insistence.<ref name="Hello"/> There, he attended drama, dance and notably elocution to lose his cockney accent; at the time, a regional accent was considered an impediment to an aspiring actor.<ref name="chap"/><ref name="Moir">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3587867/Hel-low.-Arent-you-a-gorgeous-creature.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3587867/Hel-low.-Arent-you-a-gorgeous-creature.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title='Hel-low. Aren't you a gorgeous creature?'|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=22 April 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="beast">{{cite journal |last1=Walsh |first1=John |title=Oh Leslie, you really are a gorgeous beast |journal=The Independent |date=20 December 1997 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-leslie-phillips-oh-leslie-you-really-are-a-gorgeous-beast-1289756.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-leslie-phillips-oh-leslie-you-really-are-a-gorgeous-beast-1289756.html |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=30 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="Oldie">{{cite web|url=https://www.theoldie.co.uk/blog/happy-95th-birthday-to-leslie-philips|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423164425/https://www.theoldie.co.uk/blog/happy-95th-birthday-to-leslie-philips|archive-date=23 April 2019|title=Happy 95th Birthday to Leslie Phillips|work=The Oldie|access-date=23 April 2019}}</ref> Phillips took time to refine his [[Received Pronunciation]] accent, and later declared that "the biggest elocution lessons came from mixing with people who sounded right, people in theatrical circles and in the [[officers' mess]] during the [[Second World War|war]]."<ref name="prime">{{cite web |title=The prime of Mr. Leslie Phillips |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/aug/04/artsfeatures.edinburghfestival1 |website=The Guardian |date=4 August 1999 |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> He left school at 14 in 1938.<ref name="Hello"/>