Graham Armitage
Graham Armitage | |
|---|---|
 in The Avengers: Quick-Quick Slow Death (1966) | |
| Born | Edgar Harvey Armitage 24 April 1936 Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 6 March 1999 (aged 62) |
| Alma mater | RADA |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1952-1999 (Film and TV) |
Graham Armitage (24 April 1936 – 6 March 1999) was an English stage, film and television actor.[1][2][3]
Armitage was born in Blackpool in Lancashire,[3] the son of Albert Edward Armitage (1908–1959) and Isabel W. née Bailes (1909–). In 1947 Harvey left the UK with his family, flying to South Africa and eventually settling in Cape Town where he attended Sea Point Boy's High School and then the Christian Brothers College. In early 1951 Harvey and his family moved to Salisbury, in Southern Rhodesia where he attended Prince Edward School. During 1952 Harvey wrote the entrance exam for late entry to Dartmouth Naval College. Whilst his Maths and Geography results were outstanding he had not studied the same syllabus for English Literature and History so failed to obtain entrance. In 1955 he married Carole Shirley England (1934–2017) at the Anglican Cathedral in Salisbury, Rhodesia. The couple had three children. He graduated from RADA in 1952[4] following which he made his début in the BBC television play Without The Prince, which was transmitted live. For the next twenty years Armitage regularly appeared on screen, mainly on television. He had roles in such shows as The Saint, The Avengers and made several appearances on The Dick Emery Show. In 1973 Armitage went to South Africa to appear in the Noël Coward revue Cowardy Custard and decided to stay there, becoming a familiar face on local television and stage.[5]
In 1974 Olivia Manning adapted two of Arnold Bennett's works (The Card and The Regent) into an eight part BBC Radio play: Denry - The Adventures Of A Card. Armitage portrayed the eponymous Denry with Ursula O'Leary as the beautiful Countess of Chell.[6] From 1979 to 1985 he portrayed Sherlock Holmes for Springbok Radio.[7][8] His last appearance was in 1999 as a vicar in the South African family film Alec to the Rescue.
Graham Armitage died in Johannesburg in South Africa in 1999. His ashes were buried in the grounds of Manchester Crematorium in the UK.
Selected filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) - Pawson (uncredited)
- The Fiction-Makers (1968) - Carson
- Battle of Britain (1969) - Radar Officer (uncredited)
- The Fifth Day of Peace (1970) - Mark
- The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) - Wiggins (uncredited)
- Scrooge (1970) - Party Guest (uncredited)
- The Music Lovers (1970) - Prince Balukin
- Games That Lovers Play (1971) - Mr. Adams
- The Devils (1971) - Louis XIII of France
- The Boy Friend (1971) - Michael
- Take Me High (1973) - Boardman
- The New Spartans (1975)
- Spanish Fly (1975) - Perkins
- Zulu Dawn (1979) - Capt. Shepstone (uncredited)
- Game for Vultures (1979) - Harken
- Flashpoint Africa (1980) - Don
- The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) - The Reverend (voice, uncredited)
- Die Groen Faktor (1984) - William Honiball
- Wie Laaste Lag... (1986) - Heart attack businessman
- Going Bananas (1987) - Gen. Smythe-Paget
- Jane and the Lost City (1987) - Cake Waiter
- Code Name Vengeance (1987) - Forrest (uncredited)
- Diamonds High (1988) - Bank manager
- Merchants of War (1989) - Gordon
- Circles in a Forest (1989) - Commissioner
- That Englishwoman: An Account of the Life of Emily Hobhouse (1990) - Minister
- Oddball Hall (1990) - The Grand Noble Master
- River of Diamonds (1991) - Judge
- Fei zhou he shang (1991) - Auctioneer
- Sweet 'n Short (1991) - Bryce Williams
- Fleshtone (1994) - Dr. Sydney Frye
- Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) - Judge
- Alec to the Rescue (1999) - Vicar (final film role)
Television[edit]
- Theatre 625 (1966) - Monsieur Bernard
- The Avengers (1966-1967) - Algernon 'Algy' Wynche / Huggins
- Doctor Who (1967) - Barney
- The Saint (1968) - Carson
- The First Churchills (1969) - Earl of Rochester
- Randall and Hopkirk (1970) - Young Stage Director
- From a Bird's Eye View (1971) - Johnstone
- Seven of One (1973) - Arthur (Episode "My Old Man")
- The Naked Civil Servant (1975) - Mr. Dunsmore
- Open All Hours (1976) - Man from Matlock Mutual Protection Society
References[edit]
- ^ Ross p.183
- ^ Wearing, J. P. (16 September 2014). The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893085 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Graham Armitage". BFI. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017.
- ^ Fabrique. "Graham Armitage — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk.
- ^ Actor and Actress Index - Who's Who in Randall and Hopkirk Database
- ^ Sutton Elms BBC Radio Plays from 1974 Retrieved 2021-12-15.
- ^ III, Harris M. Lentz (24 October 2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1999: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. ISBN 9780786452040 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Graham Armitage - The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia". www.arthur-conan-doyle.com.
Bibliography[edit]
- Ross, Robert. The Complete Terry-Thomas. Reynolds & Hearn, 2002.