William Mervyn
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 3, 1912
- Died
- August 6, 1976 (aged 64)
- Birthplace
- Nairobi, Kenya
Biography
William Mervyn Pickwoad (3 January 1912 – 6 August 1976) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the bishop in the clerical comedy All Gas and Gaiters, the old gentleman in The Railway Children and Inspector Charles Rose in The Odd Man and its sequels. Mervyn was born in Nairobi, British East Africa, but educated in Britain at Forest School, Snaresbrook, before embarking on a stage career, spending five years in provincial theatre. He made his West End debut in The Guinea Pig at the Criterion Theatre in 1946, before parts in plays such as Lend Me Robin at the Embassy Theatre, the comedy Ring Round the Moon, The Mortimer Touch, A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde at the Savoy Theatre in 1953 and Charley's Aunt. Mervyn's later stage roles included those of O'Trigger in The Rivals, Lord Greenham in the comedy Aren't We All? and Sir Patrick Cullen in The Doctor's Dilemma. Although he was admired in the theatre, it was with television that he became really well known. One of his first major small screen roles was Sir Hector in the 1962 series Saki. Four years later, he played the Bishop of St. Ogg's in the comedy series All Gas and Gaiters. It was, at that time, breaking with tradition, allowing a laugh at the expense of the established church. He also played the police chief inspector Charles Rose in the Granada TV series The Odd Man and its spin-offs It's Dark Outside and Mr Rose. He played the Hon. Mr. Justice Campbell in the Granada TV series Crown Court. Having taken the part of a Chief Inspector in the 1949 Ealing Studios film The Blue Lamp, in which PC George Dixon first appears (only to be shot dead by a young Dirk Bogarde), he then reappeared in a 1960 Dixon of Dock Green episode "The Hot Seat". He was in the 1966 Doctor Who story The War Machines and several Carry On films in the late 1960s, and also appeared as Mr. Whitty in the Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) episode "A Disturbing Case" in 1969. Usually cast as a wealthy upper class gentleman, he also appeared in The Railway Children (1970), as the children's train passenger friend, and The Ruling Class (1972). Around the same time, he appeared as Sir Hector Drummond, Bt., in the British TV series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, in an episode entitled "The Superfluous Finger" (1973). Mervyn was married to Anne Margaret Payne-Cook, a theatre designer and architect who survived him with their three sons - Michael Pickwoad, who in 2010 became the production designer on Doctor Who, Richard, television director and aerial cameraman and Nicholas (Pickwoad), expert on bookbinding. Mervyn's granddaughter Amy Pickwoad became an art director and standby art director for Doctor Who. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Mervyn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Raffles
TV · as Osborne · 1 ep
The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones
Movie · as Squire Alworthy
The Ghosts of Motley Hall
TV · as Mr Brayling · 1 ep
The Christmas Messenger
Movie · as (voice)
Up the Front
Movie · as Lord Twithampton
The Ruling Class
Movie · as Sir Charles Gurney
Crown Court
TV · as The Hon. Mr. Justice Campbell · 75 eps
Carry On Henry
Movie · as Dr. Finlay
Blood Suckers
Movie · as Marc Honeydew
The Persuaders!
TV · as Sir Charles Worthington · 1 ep
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Sir Hector Drummond · 1 ep
The Railway Children
Movie · as Old Gentleman
Atlantic Wall
Movie · as Protestant Bishop, Jeff's father
Carry On Again Doctor
Movie · as Lord Paragon
The Best House in London
Movie · as Cabinet Minister (uncredited)
Hammerhead
Movie · as Walter Perrin
Salt & Pepper
Movie · as Prime Minister
Follow That Camel
Movie · as Sir Cyril Ponsonby
The Jokers
Movie · as Uncle Edward
Deadlier Than the Male
Movie · as Chairman of the Phoenician Board
Mr. Rose
TV · as Charles Rose / Marcus Despard · 24 eps
All Gas and Gaiters
TV · as The Bishop, The Right Reverend Cuthbert Hever · 32 eps
Doctor Who: The War Machines
Movie · as Sir Charles Summer
The Liars
TV · as Sir Gerald · 13 eps
Old Man's Fancy
Movie · as The Bishop
Operation Crossbow
Movie · as Dutch Technical Examiner
The Legend of Young Dick Turpin
Movie · as Lord Justice
Gideon's Way
TV · as Mr. Pater · 1 ep
BBC Play of the Month
TV · as Sir Hector Rose · 1 ep
Thirty-Minute Theatre
TV · as Father, Sir Eric Brown · 1 ep
Reluctant Bandit
TV · as Carson · 5 eps
Heiress of Garth
TV · as Squire Griffin · 6 eps
Murder Ahoy
Movie · as Breeze-Connington
Hot Enough for June
Movie · as Passenger on Plane
It's Dark Outside
TV · as Chief Insp. Charles Rose · 16 eps
Saki
TV · as Sir Hector · 8 eps
Watch It, Sailor!
Movie · as Ship's Captain
No Love for Johnnie
Movie · as Postmaster-General (uncredited)
Circus of Horrors
Movie · as Dr. Morley
A Touch of Larceny
Movie · as Capt. Balfour (uncredited)
The Battle of the Sexes
Movie · as Detective's Friend
Maigret
TV · as Doctor · 1 ep
The Odd Man
TV · as Chief Insp. Charles Rose · 8 eps
Persuasion
TV · as Admiral Croft · 4 eps
On Trial
TV · as President of the Court · 1 ep
Upstairs and Downstairs
Movie · as Kingsley
No Hiding Place
TV · as Colonel Frew, Ivor Naunton · 1 ep
Charlesworth
TV · as Charles Begbie · 22 eps
The Young Lady from London
TV · as King Klaus · 3 eps
Bleak House
TV · as Mr Kenge · 3 eps
Carve Her Name with Pride
Movie · as Colonel Buckmaster
Now Let Him Go
Movie · as Sir Edmund
Barnacle Bill
Movie · as Captain
Nicholas Nickleby
TV · as Mr. Witterly · 1 ep
The Long Arm
Movie · as Manager of Festival Hall
Tons of Trouble
Movie · as Roberts (MI5)
Kitty Clive
Movie · as Colley Cibber
Hancock's Half Hour
TV · as Council Official · 1 ep
Armchair Theatre
TV · as Dr. Scott, Sir Edmund · 1 ep
The Adventures of Robin Hood
TV · as Thomas, Judd · 1 ep
Conflict of Wings
Movie · as Mr. Wentworth/Col. Wentworth
The Blue Lamp
Movie · as Chief Inspector Hammond (Uncredited)
Four Men in Prison
Movie · as (uncredited)
Stop Press Girl
Movie · as Cinema Manager (uncredited)
The Loves of Joanna Godden
Movie · as Huxtable