In “Just Jim Dale,” opening Tuesday at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre, the 78-year-old Tony winner and former comedian, pop singer (he wrote the lyrics to the ’60s hit “Georgy Girl”) and voice of all seven Harry Potter books compresses 64 years of showbiz into 90 minutes. Here he tells The Post what he left out:
His time in the Royal Air Force
Assigned to put on a variety show, Dale produced “Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves” with a cast of “18- and 19-year-olds who, the week before, had been working in a mine or their dad’s farm.” How did he stage it? “I walked on as Ali Baba and shouted into the wings, ‘Abdullah, come here! The other 39 of you, stay where you are!’ ”
How he got the Potter gig
“I was in a play, ‘Travels With My Aunt.’ There were four people, and we played 33 roles between us. The publishing company [heard about it] and asked if I’d like to be their narrator. It was only when we signed the contract that someone asked, ‘How many characters did you play?’ ‘Just the aunt and the nephew.’ So I got the job under false pretenses!”
Missing out on the movies
Dale’s agent sent all seven audiobooks to Chris Columbus, director of the first Potter film, thinking there might be a “small part” for Dale. A year passed — nothing. “So my agent called Columbus’ secretary: ‘Did Chris ever hear the tapes?’ She said, ‘Yes, he often listens to them to give him some idea what the characters should sound like.’ ”