Jim Dale, MBE (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, narrator, singer-songwriter, director, and composer. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In the British film world he became one of the regulars in the Carry On series. In the United States he is most recognised as a leading actor on Broadway, where he had roles in Scapino, Barnum, Candide and Me and My Girl, as well as for narrating all seven of the Harry Potter audiobooks in the American market (for which he received two Grammy Awards out of six nominations) and the ABC series Pushing Daisies (2007–2009); he also starred in the Disney film Pete's Dragon (1977). He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for portraying a young Spike Milligan in Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973).