Vivian R. Malet was born in Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, England. He emigrated to the United States in the 1950s, changed his forename to Arthur, began acting onstage, and won two Drama Desk Awards in 1957. He came to some prominence in 1960s films, often playing characters much older than his real age, such as Mr. Dawes, Jr., in Disney's Mary Poppins, and King Eiddelig in Disney's 1985 animated film The Black Cauldron.