Richard Wilson | |
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Born | Iain Carmichael Wilson 9 July 1936 Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1964–present |
Notable work | See below |
Television | Only When I Laugh One Foot in the Grave Born and Bred Britain's Best Drives Merlin |
Richard Wilson OBE (born Iain Carmichael Wilson; [1] 9 July 1936) is a Scottish actor, theatre director and broadcaster. He is most famous for playing Victor Meldrew in the BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave . Another notable role was as Gaius, the court physician of Camelot, in the BBC drama Merlin . [2]
Wilson was born in Greenock in Renfrewshire, Scotland. He went to the Lady Alice Primary school in Greenock. He studied science subjects at Greenock Academy, [3] then completed his National Service with the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving in Singapore. [4]
Wilson worked in a laboratory at Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow as a research assistant [5] before switching to acting at age 27. He trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, graduating in 1965 with an Acting (RADA Diploma). [6] He then appeared in repertory theatres in Edinburgh (Traverse Theatre), Glasgow and Manchester (Stables Theatre). [7]
Wilson initially turned down the role of Victor Meldrew and it was almost offered to Les Dawson before Wilson changed his mind. [8] Wilson has stated that he came to hate Meldrew's catchphrase of "I don't believe it!" to the point where he now refuses to say it except for charity. [9]
Wilson was appointed an OBE in the 1994 Birthday Honours [10] for services to Drama. In April 1996, he was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow for a term of three years. [5]
The narration of "The Man Who Called Himself Jesus", from Strawbs' 1969 eponymous first album, was performed by Wilson. [11]
Wilson's biography, One Foot on the Stage: The Biography of Richard Wilson, was written by James Roose-Evans. [12]
In March 2011, Wilson presented an edition of the Channel 4 current affairs programme Dispatches entitled Train Journeys From Hell, with transport journalist Christian Wolmar highlighting the failings of the British railway network. [13]
Wilson has lived in London since 1959. [14]
Wilson has been a campaigner for gay rights for many years. [15] He appeared at charity events organised by gay rights campaign group Stonewall, but had not discussed his own sexuality in interviews with the media. [16] He was named in a list of influential gay people in 2013 by Time Out magazine, which he considered to have outed him. [17] [18]
Wilson is a supporter of his local football club, Greenock Morton, but he has come to lend greater support to English club Manchester United. [4] He is a patron of the Manchester United Supporters Trust. [19] Wilson is a good friend of his One Foot in the Grave co-star Angus Deayton, and is godfather to Deayton's son. [20]
Wilson is one of the patrons of Scottish Youth Theatre. [21] Wilson is also a long-time supporter of the charity Sense and in 2007 hosted their annual award ceremony. [22] He is also one of the honorary patrons of the London children's charity, Scene & Heard. [23] He has been Honorary President of the Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) since 1998. [24]
Wilson is a supporter of the Labour Party. He donated more than £5,000 to the party in 1997 [25] and recorded the party's manifesto on audio for the 2010 general election. [26] [27]
It was reported on 12 August 2016 that Wilson had suffered a heart attack. He had been due to reprise the role of Victor Meldrew in a one-man show at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. [28]
In June 2021 Wilson was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs . His choices included "Hammond Song" by The Roches, Symphony No. 6 in D minor by Sibelius and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack. His book choice was the poetry of Robert Burns and his luxury item was a subscription to The Guardian . [29]
Wilson had one older sister, Moira, who died in 2021 aged 91. [29] [30]
Wilson won the TMA Best Director Award in 2000 for Mr Kolpert. [5]
One Foot in the Grave is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first five series were broadcast between January 1990 and January 1995. For the next five years, the show appeared only as Christmas specials, followed by the sixth and final series in 2000.
Victor Meldrew is a fictional character in the BBC One sitcom One Foot in the Grave, created by David Renwick and portrayed by Richard Wilson. The character epitomised the archetypal grumpy old man. Meldrew is a foil for the bothersome aspects of children, cars, animals, power cuts and next-door neighbours.
Leslie Dawson was an English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and pianist. He was known for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona, musical routines, and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.
Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster.
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William Fulton Beith Mackay was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr. Mackay in the 1970s television sitcom Porridge.
Annette Crosbie is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her role as Margaret Meldrew in the BBC sitcom One Foot in the Grave (1990–2000). She twice won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress, for The Six Wives of Henry VIII in 1971 and in 1976 for Edward the Seventh.
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Doreen June Mantle was a South African-born British actress who played Jean Warboys in One Foot in the Grave (1990–2000). She appeared in many British television series since the 1960s, including The Duchess of Duke Street, The Wild House, Sam Saturday, Chalk, Casualty, The Bill, Doctors, Holby City, Lovejoy, Coronation Street and Jonathan Creek. She played lollipop lady Queenie in Jam & Jerusalem (2006–2009).
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Iain Alan Sutherland Glen is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil film series (2004–2016) and as Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019). Other notable film and television roles include John Hanning Speke in Mountains of the Moon (1990), Larry Winters in Silent Scream (1990) for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, Manfred Powell in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Brother John in Song for a Raggy Boy (2003), the title role in Jack Taylor (2010–2016), Sir Richard Carlisle in Downton Abbey (2011), James Willett in Eye in the Sky (2015), and Bruce Wayne in Titans (2019–2021).
Forbes (Robertson) Masson is a Scottish actor and writer. He is an Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is best known for his roles in classical theatre, musicals, comedies, and appearances in London's West End. He is also known for his comedy partnership with Alan Cumming. Masson and Cumming wrote The High Life, a Scottish situation comedy in which they play the lead characters, Steve McCracken and Sebastian Flight. Characters McCracken and Flight were heavily based on Victor and Barry, famous Scottish comedy alter-egos of Masson and Cumming. Masson also stars in the 2021 film The Road Dance, set on the Isle of Lewis as the Reverend MacIver.
Colin McCredie is a Scottish actor, best known for his role as DC Stuart Fraser in the STV drama Taggart, Nick Morrison in the BBC Scotland Soap Opera River City and in the films Shallow Grave, Night is Day and The Missing Postman.
"Things Aren't Simple Any More" is the final episode of the British television sitcom One Foot in the Grave. It was written by David Renwick and stars Richard Wilson as Victor Meldrew, Annette Crosbie as his wife Margaret and features guest appearances by Hannah Gordon and Paul Merton. The episode depicts the death of the series' protagonist, Victor Meldrew, in a hit-and-run road accident and his wife's efforts to deal with the driver who killed him. Renwick had been struggling to conceive and write new stories for the series and decided to kill off the character. The episode was filmed at Shawford, Hampshire and at BBC Television Centre in London.
The Greenock Academy was a mixed non-denominational school in the west end of Greenock, Scotland, founded in 1855, originally independent, later a grammar school with a primary department, and finally a Comprehensive school only for ages eleven to eighteen. On 24 June 2011, Greenock Academy closed after a history spanning 156 years. Between 2012 and 2015, the school became the filming location of BBC One's school drama Waterloo Road.
David Scott Ashton is a Scottish actor and writer. Trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, 1964–67, he has acted in a wide variety of film, television, theatre and radio roles. He has also developed a parallel career as a writer of fiction, film and television screenplays and plays for theatre and radio. His radio play The Old Ladies at the Zoo, which starred Peggy Mount and Liz Smith, won the Radio Times Drama Award in 1985.
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