Arthur Nightingale

{{short description|British actor (born 1931)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Arthur Tulloch Nightingale (born 1931) is a British actor.

Nightingale started his acting career rather late in life. He left school at 14 and worked as a telecommunication technician. It wasn't until the age of 42 that he was able to attend the drama school East 15 and he has worked as an actor ever since. On stage he has performed in plays by Shakespeare and Brecht and has had minor roles in musicals.[http://www.stern.de/panorama/gesellschaft/edeka-opa-arthur-nightingal---so-feiert-er-wirklich-weihnachten-6606416.html So feiert der Edeka-Opa wirklich Weihnachten.] stern.de, 16 December 2015 (German)Martin Zips: [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/reklame-der-opa-der-alle-zum-weinen-bringt-1.2762886# Der Opa, der alle zum Weinen bringt.] sueddeutsche.de, 2. Dezember 2015 (German) His first role on TV was in 1978 in the British TV series Pinocchio. Since then he has had supporting or guest roles in various British TV productions among them Great Expectations, Jane, The Professionals, Classic Ghost Stories, London's Burning, Under the Moon, The Bill and Derek. He has also appeared in a few well known British movies including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Quartet.

Late in 2015 Nightingale attracted worldwide attention for his role in the Christmas commercial #heimkommen of the German supermarket chain Edeka, which became a viral video.DPA: [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/weltspiegel/werbung-vor-weihnachten-edeka-und-der-einsame-rentner/12658278.html Edeka und der einsame Rentner]. Tagesspiegel, 30 November 2015 (German)[http://abc7.com/family/home-for-christmas-grandfather-goes-to-extremes-in-german-ad/1106445/ GRANDFATHER GOES TO EXTREMES TO BRING FAMILY HOME FOR CHRISTMAS IN GERMAN AD] ABC, 2 December 2015[http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/12/03/14/42/031215-9news-christmas-ad German Supermarket's Christmas ad brings millions to tears]. 9News, 3 December 2015 Edeka published the commercial on 28 November on Facebook and YouTube. On 2 December it had already received 300,000 likes and 500,000 shares on Facebook and over 20 million views on YouTube.[http://www.stern.de/familie/leben/edeka-werbung--weihnachten--heimkommen-zum-opa-inspiriert-facebook-user-6585010.html Plötzlich wollen Weihnachten alle zu Opa]. stern.de, 2 December 2015 (German) As of November 2024, the views on YouTube have increased to over 70 million.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6-0kYhqoRo (retrieved 18 December 2015)