Product Code Database
Timothy Lancaster West (20 October 1934 – 12 November 2024) was an English actor with a long and varied career across theatre, film, and television. He began acting in repertory theatres in the 1950s before making his London stage debut in 1959 moving on to three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1960s. West played King Lear (four times) and Macbeth (twice) along with other notable roles in The Master Builder and Uncle Vanya. In 1978, West was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival for his performance in The Homecoming.
On screen, his breakout role was playing King Edward VII in the television series Edward the Seventh in 1975, earning him his first nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor, with a second following in 1980. West appeared in major films such as Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), The Day of the Jackal (1973), and The Thirty Nine Steps (1978). His television highlights included Brass (1982–1990), Bedtime (2001–2003), and Churchill and the Generals for which he won a Royal Television Society award in 1980.
As a director, West led productions at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne, Australia and the Old Vic in London. He was also known for his collaborations with his second wife, actress Prunella Scales, in both acting and personal projects.
West played Macbeth twice, Uncle Vanya twice, Solness in The Master Builder twice and King Lear four times: in 1971 (aged 36) for the Prospect Theatre Company at the Edinburgh Festival; on a worldwide tour in 1991 in Dublin for Second Age; in 2003 for the English Touring Theatre, on tour in the UK and at the Old Vic; and in 2016 at the Bristol Old Vic.
West starred as patriarch Bradley Hardacre in Granada TV's satirical Northern England super-soap Brass over three seasons (1982–1990). He appeared in the series Miss Marple in 1985 (in "A Pocket Full of Rye" as the notorious Rex Fortescue) and made an appearance as Professor Furie in A Very Peculiar Practice in 1986. In 1997, he played Gloucester in the BBC television production of King Lear, with Ian Holm as Lear. From 2001 to 2003, he played the grumpy and frequently volatile Andrew in the BBC drama series Bedtime.
In 1989, West played Nigel in the Thames Television sitcom After Henry alongside his real-life wife, Prunella Scales, who played Sarah France. They appeared together in the episode 'Upstagers', shown on 21 March 1989.
At Christmas 2007, he joined Not Going Out as Geoffrey Adams. He reprised the role in two episodes of series three; Geoffrey Whitehead played the role in later seasons. In 2011, he appeared alongside John Simm and Jim Broadbent in the BBC series Exile, written by BAFTA-winning Danny Brocklehurst.
In February 2013, West joined the cast of ITV soap Coronation Street, playing Eric Babbage. Coronation Street: Timothy West makes his debut, RadioTimes.com, 16 February 2013; accessed 20 June 2015. He joined the cast of EastEnders in 2013, playing Stan Carter from January 2014. He filmed his final scenes for EastEnders in February 2015.
In 2019, West played Private Godfrey in , a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy Dad's Army.
His final acting role was in the penultimate episode of the BBC daytime series Doctors, which was screened the day after his death.
In 2004, West toured Australia with the Carl Rosa Opera Company as director of a production of H.M.S. Pinafore, also singing the role of Sir Joseph Porter.
The Guardian crossword setter Biggles referred to West's 50th wedding anniversary in its prize crossword puzzle (number 26,089) on 26 October 2013.
West and Scales were patrons of the Lace Market Theatre in Nottingham, The Kings Theatre in Gloucester and of the Conway Hall Sunday Concerts programme in London, the longest-running series of chamber music concerts in Europe. West was an Ambassador of SOS Children's Villages, an international orphan charity providing homes and mothers for orphaned and abandoned children. He supported the charity's annual World Orphan Week.
West was patron of the National Piers Society, a charity dedicated to preserving and promoting seaside piers. He and Prunella Scales were patrons of Avon Navigation Trust (ANT), the charity that runs the River Avon from Stratford-upon-Avon to Tewkesbury. They both supported ANT by attending the Stratford River Festival every year. West supported Cancer Research UK.
West was a Patron of Kids for Kids, helping children living in remote villages of Darfur, Sudan through sustainable projects. He and his wife supported Kids for Kids for many years and he continued to be a Reader at the annual Candlelit Christmas Concert at St Peter’s Eaton Square where he always chose something he knew the children would love.
West was a supporter of the Talyllyn Railway in mid Wales, the first preserved railway in the world. He visited on a number of occasions, the last being the summer of 2015 to attend the railway's 150th anniversary. He was a patron of the Inland Waterways Association.
West was president of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art for 31 years (being succeeded by Benedict Cumberbatch in January 2018), and was president of the Society for Theatre Research. He was also patron of London-based drama school Associated Studios.Associated Studios website: http://www.associatedstudios.co.uk
After a fall, West's health declined throughout his final months, and he died at a care home in Wandsworth on 12 November 2024, aged 90. His wife of 61 years, Prunella Scales, died almost a year later
During his life, West was awarded eight honorary doctorates: University of Bradford (1993), University of the West of England (1994), University of East Anglia (1996), University of Westminster (1999), University of London (2004), University of Hull (2004), Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (2004), and University of Kent (2018) He also received an honorary degree from the University of Bristol in 2017.
Honours
In 1984, West was appointed CBE for his services to drama. He was accepted as a fellow to the Royal Society of Arts in 1992.
Selected theatre appearances
Filmography
Film
1966 The Deadly Affair Matrevis Uncredited 1968 Twisted Nerve Superintendent Dakin 1969 The Looking Glass War Taylor 1971 Nicholas and Alexandra Dr. Botkin 1973 Prof. Karl Gebhardt The Day of the Jackal Commissioner Berthier 1974 Soft Beds, Hard Battles Convent Chaplain 1975 Hedda Judge Brack 1977 Joseph Andrews Mr. Tow-Wouse The Devil's Advocate Father Anselmo 1978 News From Nowhere William Morris The Thirty Nine Steps Porton 1979 Agatha Kenward 1980 Rough Cut Nigel Lawton 1987 Cry Freedom Captain De Wet 1988 Consuming Passions Dr Rees 1998 Ever After King Francis 1999 Cauchon 2000 102 Dalmatians Judge 2001 The Fourth Angel Jones Iris Older Maurice 2002 Villa des Roses Hugh Burrell 2003 King Dymas Voice Beyond Borders Lawrence Bauford 2009 Endgame P.W. Botha 2012 Run for Your Wife Man in pub Cameo 2016 Delirium College Bursar 2018 We the Kings Victor 2022 The Book of Water Geiser
Television
1960 Persuasion Charles Hayter 1961 Deadline Midnight Ambulance Man 1 episode 1969 Big Breadwinner Hog Lennox dir Mike Newell/Michael Apted 1970 Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) National Film and Television Archive (Great Britain) (1994). 9780851704203, Bloomsbury Academic. . ISBN 9780851704203Sam Grimes Series 1 Episode 24 "Vendetta for a Dead Man" 1972 The Edwardians Horatio Bottomley Episode "Horatio Bottomley" 1975 Edward the Seventh King Edward VII 1977 Hard Times Josiah Bounderby 1979 Crime and Punishment Porfiry Petrovich Henry VIII Cardinal Wolsey Part of the BBC Television Shakespeare Churchill and the Generals Winston Churchill 1980 Tales of the Unexpected: Royal Jelly Albert Taylor 1981 Masada Emperor Vespasian 1982 Murder Is Easy Gordon, Lord Easterfield 1983–1990 Brass Bradley Hardacre Three series 1984 The Last Bastion Winston Churchill 1985 Miss Marple Rex Fortescue Episode: "A Pocket Full of Rye" 1986 A Very Peculiar Practice Professor Furie The Good Doctor Bodkin Adams John Bodkin Adams A drama based on the 1957 trial of the doctor The Monocled Mutineer Brigadier General Thompson 1987 When We Are Married Councillor Albert Parker What the Butler Saw Dr Rance 1988 The Contractor Frank Ewbank By David Storey 1989 Campion: Police at the Funeral Uncle William Faraday Blore, M.P. Derek Blore A drama loosely based on the Profumo affair 1990 Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham Adapted from the play about Thomas Beecham Colonel Wilfred Wood 1992 : The Tempest Prospero Voice Framed DCI Jimmy McKinnes 1994 Smokescreen International Federation of Film Archives (2026). 9782960029604, Indiana University Press. . ISBN 9782960029604Frank Sheringham 1996 Over Here Archie Bunting (elderly) An elder version of main protagonist Archie Bunting, played by West's son, Samuel 1998 King Lear Gloucester Goodnight Sweetheart MI5 agent Tufty MacDuff The Day the Guns Fell Silent presenter BBC TV documentary about the end of the Great War 2000 Midsomer Murders Marcus Devere Episode: "Judgement Day" 2000–2008 Water World presenter Eight series 2001 Murder in Mind Dr William Collins Episode: "Mercy" 2001–2003 Bedtime Andrew Oldfield Three series 2002 Martin Luther Martin Luther PBS Empires series 2004 Waking the Dead Joe Doyle Episodes #4.3 and #4.4 ("False Flag") 2005 New Tricks Professor Ian Mears Episode #2.8 Bleak House Sir Leicester Dedlock 2007–2009 Not Going Out Geoffrey Series 2 and 3 2010 Terry Pratchett's Going Postal Mustrum Ridcully 2 episodes Agatha Christie's Poirot Reverend Cottrell Episode: "Hallowe'en Party" Lewis Professor Donald Terry Series 4, Episode 3: "Your Sudden Death Question" 2011 Exile Don Metzler 2 episodes 2012 Titanic Lord Pirrie 2013 Coronation Street Eric Babbage 7 episodes 2013, 2020 Last Tango in Halifax Ted Buttershaw 4 episodes 2014 Inside No. 9 Andrew Episode 1, "Sardines" 2014–2015 EastEnders Stan Carter 104 episodes 2014–2019 Great Canal Journeys Presenter Channel 4 television series with wife, Prunella Scales 2015 Toast of London Ormond Sacker Episode: "Man of Sex" 2016 Comedy Playhouse Milton Episode: "Broken Biscuits" 2018 Johnnie Falstaff Episode 2 2019–2022 Gentleman Jack Jeremy Lister Main cast 2019 Private Godfrey Three episodes 2023 Sister Boniface Mysteries Charles Usher Episode: "The Star of the Orient" 2024 Doctors Artie Simkins Episode: "Go Out Dancing", final acting role, broadcast posthumously
Selected radio
Timothy West was a member of the BBC Radio Drama Repertory Company in 1962 A Moment Towards the End of the Play, p 72 and took part in over 500 radio broadcasts. In 1959, he wrote and produced a short audio play, This Gun That I Have in My Right Hand Is Loaded, satirising typical mistakes of radio drama, including over-explanatory dialogue and misuse of sound cues.
Audiobooks
Timothy West recorded many unabridged audiobooks, including the complete Barchester Chronicles and the complete Palliser novels by Anthony Trollope, and seven of George MacDonald Fraser's The Flashman Papers books. He received four AudioFile Earphones Awards for his narration.
Books
External links
Categories: 1934 Births, 2024 Deaths, 20th-century English Male Actors, 21st-century English Male Actors, People Educated At Bristol Grammar School, Alumni Of The Regent Street Polytechnic, Audiobook Narrators, British Waterways Activists, Commanders Of The Order Of The British Empire, English Male Film Actors, English Male Radio Actors, English Male Shakespearean Actors, English Male Singers, English Male Soap Opera Actors, English Male Stage Actors, English Male Television Actors, English Opera Singers, Male Actors From Bradford, People Associated With Conway Hall Ethical Society, People Educated At The John Lyon School, Royal Shakespeare Company Members, Timothy
|
|
