William Simons

Last updated

William Simons
Born
Clifford William Cumberbatch Simons [1]

(1940-11-17)17 November 1940
Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales
Died21 June 2019(2019-06-21) (aged 78) [2] [3] [4]
London, England
Other namesWilliam Simmons
OccupationActor, presenter
Years active1950–2017

Clifford William Cumberbatch Simons (17 November 1940 – 21 June 2019) was a Welsh-born actor best known for his role as PC Alf Ventress in Heartbeat , a role he played for 18 years, from 1992 to 2010.

Contents

Early life

Simons was born on 17 November 1940 in Swansea where his father was stationed in the Second World War and he grew up in South Wales until the family moved to North London. He started acting as a child, [5] appearing in the films No Place for Jennifer (1950), Where No Vultures Fly (1951) and West of Zanzibar (1954). He then suffered from severe acne, which caused him to prefer working backstage as a stage manager for four years before deciding to become an adult actor. [6] Later in life, he would become a patron of the charity Changing Faces, which supports people with facial deformities. [3]

Heartbeat

He played PC Ventress for the entire 18-year run of Heartbeat. Although playing a heavy smoker, Simons was a non-smoker in real life and was given herbal cigarettes to play the part. [6] The character is a policeman that lacks in the physical side but makes up for that with his ‘local knowledge’. Ventress is the longest serving officer for much of the drama and often in a role as acting sergeant when Blaketon, Craddock and Merton are absent. In later series of the drama, Ventress is forced to retire from the force but continues as a civilian member of the team and also helps Oscar Blaketon (Derek Fowlds) in a private investigatory role. Simons was only absent from 4 subsequent episodes of Heartbeat throughout his entire stint playing constable Alf Ventress; during series 3.

Other acting roles

Other series regular roles in television included Martin O'Connor QC in Crown Court (1973-83), Constable Thackeray in Cribb (1979-81), and Inspector "Brer" Fox in The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries (1990-94).

Simons also made guest appearances in Doctor Who: The Sun Makers , [1] Auf Wiedersehen Pet , Francis Storm Investigates , Coronation Street , The Sweeney , Minder as 'Pongo' Harris, Dempsey & Makepeace , Give Us a Break , The Darling Buds of May , Wish Me Luck , Bergerac , Casualty , The Bill , Lovejoy , Enemy at the Door and Rumpole of the Bailey .

Partial filmography

Related Research Articles

John Junkin British TV and Radio performer, writer

John Francis Junkin was a British actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy.

<i>Heartbeat</i> (British TV series) British television series

Heartbeat is a British period drama series, based upon the "Constable" series of novels written by Nicholas Rhea, and produced by ITV Studios from 1992 until 2010. The series is set during the 1960s around real-life and fictional locations within the North Riding of Yorkshire, with most episodes focused on stories that usually are separate but sometimes intersect with one another; in some episodes, a singular story takes place focused on a major incident.

Stratford Johns South African-born British stage, film and television actor (1925-2002)

Alan Edgar Stratford Johns, known as Stratford Johns, was a British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the innovative and long-running BBC police series Z-Cars.

Wally Patch English actor and comedian

Walter Sydney Vinnicombe, known as Wally Patch, was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre.

Derek Fowlds English actor (1937–2020)

Derek James Fowlds was an English actor best known for his appearances as "Mr Derek" in The Basil Brush Show (1969–1973), Bernard Woolley in the sitcom Yes Minister (1980–1984) and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister (1986–1988), and as Oscar Blaketon in Heartbeat (1992–2010).

Peter Vaughan English actor

Peter Vaughan was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage.

Anthony Steel (actor) British actor and singer (1920–2001)

Anthony Maitland Steel was a British actor and singer who appeared in British war films of the 1950s such as The Wooden Horse (1950) and Where No Vultures Fly, and his marriage to Anita Ekberg.

Jonathan Kerrigan is an English actor well known for various leading roles on TV including In The Club, The Five, Casualty, Heartbeat, Merseybeat and Reach For The Moon. Films include Diana, FLiM, The Somnambulists and The Best Possible Taste. He is also a musician and has composed for both television and film.

E. E. Clive Welsh actor and director (1879–1940)

Edward Erskholme Clive was a Welsh stage actor and director who had a prolific acting career in Britain and America. He also played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood movies between 1933 and his death.

Neil Dudgeon is an English actor who, since 2011, has played DCI John Barnaby in the ITV drama series Midsomer Murders. He replaced John Nettles in the lead role.

George Woodbridge (actor) English actor (1907–1973)

George Authur Woodbridge was an English actor who appeared in films, television, and theatre ranging from the 1930s to the 1970s. George became well known for his ruddy-cheeked complexion and West Country accent, this meant he often played publicans, policemen or yokels, most prominently in horror and comedy films alongside Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

Bill Dean British actor (1921–2000)

Bill Dean was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire. He took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean.

George Merritt (actor) English actor

Frederick George Merritt was an English theatre, film and television actor, often in authoritarian roles. He studied German theatre in Magdeburg, Germany, and taught at the Berlitz School at the outbreak of the First World War, when he was held as a British Civil Prisoner of War, and interned at Ruhleben, 1914–1918. He was involved in over 50 plays at Ruhleben. He lived for many years in Lissenden Gardens, Parliament Hill, north west London.

Lockwood West British actor (1905–1989)

Harry Lockwood West was a British actor. He was the father of actor Timothy West and the grandfather of actor Samuel West.

Cyril Smith (actor) Scottish actor

Cyril Edward Bruce-Smith was a Scottish actor who began his career as a child in 1900 and went on to appear in numerous stage plays as well as over 100 films between 1914 and his death almost 50 years later. The son of Frederick and Elsa Smith; his mother travelled with him on his engagements during his boyhood.

Fred Groves (actor) British actor

Fred Groves was a British actor of the celebrated Groves acting family. On stage from 1896, he appeared in the original West End production of Noël Coward's Cavalcade (1931-2); and was a leading man in silent films, latterly becoming a character player in movies. He appeared in the 1925 play Number 17 in the West End.

Arnold Diamond British actor

Arnold Diamond was an English character actor, regularly cast in small parts on television.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Evans, Chris, ed. (27 June 2019). "William Simons Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. No. 51, 042. p. 23. ISSN   0307-1235.
  2. ↑ Hayward, Anthony (27 June 2019). "William Simons obituary". The Guardian.
  3. 1 2 "Heartbeat actor William Simons dies aged 79". BBC News. 23 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "In memory of Yorkshire actor William Simons who starred in every Heartbeat series". The Yorkshire Post. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  5. ↑ http://www.boyactors.org.uk/actors/2389.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  6. 1 2 Padman, Tony (7 September 2013). "Whatever happened to Heartbeats PC Alf Ventress". The Sunday Express . Retrieved 10 August 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.