Bill Maynard
Bill Maynard | |
---|---|
Birth name | Walter Frederick George Williams |
Born | Heath End, Surrey, England | 8 October 1928
Died | 30 March 2018 Leicestershire, England[1] | (aged 89)
Medium | Actor, comedian |
Years active | 1953–2018 |
Genres | Comedy, television |
Spouse | |
Children | 2; including Maynard Williams |
Notable works and roles | See below |
Walter Frederick George Williams (8 October 1928 – 30 March 2018),[4] better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor.[5] He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in Great Scott – It's Maynard! (1955–56). In the 1970s and 1980s, he starred in the successful British sitcoms Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt and The Gaffer and appeared in five films in the Carry On series. After a hiatus from television work in the late 1980s, Maynard starred as Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the long-running television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 2000, reprising the character in the spin-off The Royal in 2003.
Early life and career
Walter Williams began as a variety performer in the 1950s, under the stage name of Bill Maynard – the surname was inspired from seeing a billboard for the popular British confectionery,
In 1971, Maynard entered into acting, securing a role on Dennis Potter's television play Paper Roses, which was about the last day in the life of a reporter, and then securing another role for Colin Welland's television play, Kisses at Fifty in 1973. Around the same year, he worked with television actor and comedian Ronnie Barker in the (original) "Football Blues", which aired as "Spanners Eleven", and was part of a series called Seven of One. In 1974, Maynard became a subject of This Is Your Life, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.[7] Around the same time, Maynard went to work for Yorkshire Television, starring in a pilot episode for a new sitcom. In 1975, he published his autobiography, The Yo-Yo Man, with Leicester's Golden Eagle books.[8] Also in 1975 he appeared in The Sweeney episode Supersnout in which he played Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Quirk of the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad being the subject of a conspiracy by Joey Stickley, a dirty and weasley informant who attempts to ruin his reputation. A year later Maynard took on the lead role in the sitcom Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt between 1976 and 1978. In 1981, he starred in ITV sitcom The Gaffer, until its conclusion two years later in 1983.
During the 1970s, Maynard secured roles in a number of films: he starred in five of the
In April 1992, he returned to Yorkshire Television as
In October 2009, he made a return to the stage when he appeared as the main guest of honour at the Pride of
Personal life
Maynard was born in
He married Muriel Linnett on 5 November 1949, and they had two children. She died in June 1983.[2] Maynard was a vegetarian. His son is musician Martin Maynard Williams.
Maynard was a supporter of the
On 4 September 1989, Maynard married actress, singer, Tonia Bern, widow of
In later life, having suffered multiple strokes and an attendant reduction in mobility, he used a scooter or wheelchair. He died in hospital on 30 March 2018, not long after falling and breaking his hip.[1]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1968 | Til Death Us Do Part | Bert | |
1969 | It All Goes to Show | Mike Sago | |
1970 | One More Time | Jenson | |
Carry On Loving | Mr. Dreery | ||
1971 | A Hole Lot of Trouble | Bill | |
Carry On Henry | Guy Fawkes | ||
Carry On at Your Convenience | Fred Moore | ||
1972 | Carry On Matron | Freddy | |
Four Dimensions of Greta | Big Danny | ||
Bless This House | Oldham | ||
Carry On Abroad | Mr. Fiddler | Scene cut | |
1973 | Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall | Sgt. Ellis | |
Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width | Larkin | ||
Steptoe and Son Ride Again | George | ||
1974 | Carry On Dick | Bodkin | |
Confessions of a Window Cleaner | Mr. Lea | ||
Man About the House | Chef | ||
1975 | Confessions of a Pop Performer | Mr. Lea | |
1976 | Robin and Marian | Mercadier | |
Confessions of a Driving Instructor | Mr. Lea | ||
It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet | Hinchcliffe | ||
1977 | Confessions from a Holiday Camp | Mr. Lea | |
Sky Pirates | Charlie | ||
1981 | Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective | Mod Lewis | |
1982 | The Plague Dogs | Editor | Voice |
1990 | Oddball Hall | Copperthewaite | |
1991 | Hear My Song | Barry Haden | |
2016 | Speed Love | Radio DJ |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1957 | Pantomania: Babes in the Wood | Babe | TV film |
1960 | No Hiding Place | Vic Wilson | Episode: "The Head Case" |
1960 | You Too Can Have a Body | Chick Wade | TV film |
1969 | The Ugliest Girl in Town | Vladimir | Episode: "The Track Star" |
1970 | Coronation Street | Mickie Malone | Episode: #1.962 |
1970 | Up Pompeii! | Parcantus | Episode: "The Actors" |
1971 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Clarence Hubbard | Episode: "Paper Roses" |
1971 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Zink | Episode: "Psychological Warfare" |
1972 | Sykes | Jim the Policeman | Episode: "Journey" |
1972 | Till Death Us Do Part | Bert | 2 episodes |
1973 | Comedy Playhouse | Frank Potter | Episode: "Elementary, My Dear Watson: The Strange Case of the Dead Solicitors" |
1973 | Play for Today | Harry | Episode: "Kisses at Fifty" |
1973 | Love Thy Neighbour | Police Sergeant | Episode: "The G.P.O." |
1973 | Seven of One | Councillor Todd | Episode: "Spanner's Eleven" |
1973 | Armchair Theatre | Reg Turnbull | Episode: "The Death of Glory" |
- Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt (Television, 1974–1978) – Selwyn Froggitt
- Father Brown (Television, 1974) – Mr. Carver
- The Life of Riley (Television, 1975) – Frank Riley
- The Sweeney "Supersnout" (Television, 1975) – Det. Chief Insp. Stephen Quirk
- Paradise Island (Television, 1977) – Rev. Alexander Goodwin
- Tales of the Unexpected (1980) – Merv Pottinger
- The Gaffer (Television, 1981–1983) – Fred Moffatt
- Minder "The Second Time Around" (Television, 1984) – Barney Todd
- In Sickness and in Health (Television, 1985–1992) – Bert Luscombe
- Screen One: Filipina Dreamgirls (Television, 1991) – George Trout
- Heartbeat (Television, 1992–2000) (155 episodes) – Claude Jeremiah Greengrass
- Dalziel and Pascoe "Dialogues of the Dead" (2002) – Councillor Cyril Steel
- The Royal (Television, 2003) (seven episodes) – Claude Jeremiah Greengrass
- The Moorside (2017) – Cecil
References
- ^ a b "Heartbeat actor Bill Maynard dies at 89". BBC News. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Where are they now? Heartbeat actor Bill Maynard". Daily Express. 17 January 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Barker, Dennis (30 March 2018). "Bill Maynard obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ Heartbeat actor Bill Maynard dies after fall
- ^ "Bill Maynard". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ On the 15 October 2010 episode of the Alan Titchmarsh Show.
- ^ "After 60 years, Bill Maynard has last laugh on his critics". Leicester Mercury. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ISBN 0901482218.
- ISBN 9781526111968– via Google Books.
- ^ "Niamh Cusack". TV.com. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- ISBN 9781859830802.
- ^ "Local Pride awards honoured 'caring and amazing people'". Bridlington Free Press. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2016.