Willoughby Wittenham Rees Goddard (4 July 1926 – 11 April 2008) was an English actor whose trademark rotund figure was well known on television and in films for more than 40 years.

Biography

Goddard was born in

Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an eco town at North-East Bicester and self-build village aGraven Hill Its loca ...

, Oxfordshire. He played

Mr. Bumble Mr. Bumble is a fictional character and minor antagonist in the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. Character When the story was first serialised in ''Bentley's Miscellany'' in 1837 Mr. Bumble is the cruel and self-important bead ...

in two versions of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's '' Oliver Twist'' – a 1962

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

adaptation, and the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of the musical '' Oliver!''. He originated the role of Cardinal Wolsey in the West End production of

Robert Bolt Robert Oxton Bolt (15 August 1924 – 20 February 1995) was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for ''Lawrence of Arabia'', ''Doctor Zhivago'', and '' A Man for All Seasons'', ...

's '' A Man for All Seasons''. He appeared in the television series ''

The Adventures of William Tell ''The Adventures of William Tell'' is a British swashbuckler adventure series, first broadcast on the ITV network in 1958, and produced by ITC Entertainment. In the United States, the episodes aired on the syndicated NTA Film Network in 1958 ...

'' (which lasted 39 episodes) in 1958 and 1959 as the villain Landburgher Gessler and as Sir Geoffrey in '' The Man in Room 17'', which ran two series of 13 hour-long black-and-white episodes in 1965 and 1966. He was cast as Reeder's boss, Sir Jason Toovey, (head of the Department of Public Prosecutions) in '' The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder'', a TV series of 16 hour-long episodes with first season 1969 and second season 1971 based on short stories by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

. Goddard retired from the industry in 1987 and died in 2008, aged 81. Goddard is buried in Teddington Cemetery.

Filmography

Film appearances

* '' Bait'' (1950) - John Hartley * ''

The Million Pound Note ''The Million Pound Note'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gregory Peck, Ronald Squire, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Jane Griffiths. It is based on the 1893 Mark Twain short story '' The Million Pound Bank Note'' ...

'' (1950) - Stockbroker (uncredited) * '' The Green Man'' (1956) - Statesman * '' A Touch of the Sun'' (1956) - Golightly * '' Stranger in Town'' (1957) - Publican * '' Heart of a Child'' (1958) - Scott * ''

In the Wake of a Stranger ''In the Wake of a Stranger'' is a 1959 British thriller film directed by David Eady and starring Tony Wright, Shirley Eaton and Danny Green. In the film, a group of murderers try to frame an innocent sailor, Tom Cassidy (Tony Wright), for thei ...

'' (1959) - Shafto * '' Inn for Trouble'' (1960) - Sgt Saunders * ''

The Millionairess ''The Millionairess'' is a 1960 British romantic comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith, and starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers. Set in London, it is a loose adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1936 play of the same name. Plot By the ...

'' (1961) - President * ''

The Secret Partner ''The Secret Partner'' is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stewart Granger, Haya Harareet and Bernard Lee. The screenplay concerns a shipping executive officer who is blackmailed by an evil dentist. Plot Jo ...

'' (1961) - Hotel Kepper * '' Double Bunk'' (1961) - Prospective Purchaser * '' The Long Shadow'' (1961) - Schober * ''

Fate Takes a Hand ''Fate Takes a Hand'' is a 1961 British anthology drama film. Plot The recovery of a mail bag stolen in a robbery 15 years before has varying consequences on the lives of five of the recipients of the letters, when the post office decide that ...

'' (1961) - Rollenshaw * ''

The Golden Rabbit ''The Golden Rabbit'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Timothy Bateson, Maureen Beck and Willoughby Goddard. Plot A bank clerk attempts to become wealthy by manufacturing gold. Cast * Timothy Bateson - ...

'' (1962) - Clitheroe * '' Carry On Cruising'' (1962) - Large Man * '' The Wrong Box'' (1966) - James White Wragg * '' The Charge of the Light Brigade'' (1968) - Squire * '' Laughter in the Dark'' (1969) - Colonel * ''The Juggler of Notre Dame'' (1970) - Judge Broadbottom * '' The Canterbury Tales'' (1971) - Placebo * '' Gawain and the Green Knight'' (1973) - Knight * ''

Joseph Andrews ''The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams'', was the first full-length novel by the English author Henry Fielding to be published and among the early novels in the English language. Appearing in 1742 ...

'' (1977) - Fourposter Innkeeper * ''

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The ...

'' (1977) - Eggman (uncredited) * ''

Quincy's Quest ''Quincy's Quest'' is a 1979 British family film directed by Robert Reed, and starring Tommy Steele, Mel Martin and Charles Morgan. A version was first shown on television on 23 December 1962 as ''The Tommy Steele Show: Quincy's Quest''. Plot ...

'' (1979) - General * '' Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985) - School Reverend * '' God's Outlaw'' (1986) - Cardinal Wolsey

TV appearances

* ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' (1956) - Mr. Creakle * '' The Buccaneers'' (1956) - Phineas Bunch – "Marooned" * '' The Buccaneers'' (1956) - Lawyer Pym – "Blood Will Tell" * '' Gay Cavalier'' (1957) - Bulstrode – "Dragon's Heart" * ''

'' (1958–1959) - Landburger Gessler – regular cast * ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...

'' (1961) - Crowther – "Bank Raid" * '' Charlesworth'' (1959) - Calvarez1 * ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' (1961) - McFadden – "The Journey Ends Halfway" * '' Oliver Twist'' (1962) -

* '' Ghost Squad'' (1963) - Slim Salmon – "The Missing People" * ''

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

'' (1963) - Arnold – "The Lord of Kenak" * '' Public Eye'' (1965) - Chambers – "A Harsh World for Zealots" * '' The Man in Room 17'' (1965–1966) - Sir Geoffrey – regular cast * '' The Baron'' (1967) - Colbert - "The Edge of Fear" * '' The Saint'' (1969) - (ex) King Boris – "The Ex-King of Diamonds" * '' The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder'' (1969) - Sir Jason Toovey – regular cast * '' The Main Chance'' (1969) – ''What About Justice?'' * '' Orson Welles Great Mysteries'' (1973) - Sir Thomas "Captain Rogers" * '' The Sweeney'' (1976) - Kitter – "Sweet Smell of Succession" * '' Space: 1999'' (1977) - The Taybor – "The Taybor" * '' The Famous Five'' (1978) - The Man - "Five go to Mystery Moor" * ''

My Son, My Son "My Son, My Son" is a traditional popular music song written by Gordon Melville Rees, Bob Howard and Eddie Calvert in 1954. A recording of the song by Vera Lynn reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in November that year. It was Lynn's ...

'' (1979) - Mr. Moscrop * ''

The Incredible Mr Tanner ''The Incredible Mr Tanner'' was a short-lived British television sitcom which aired on ITV in 1981.Newcomb p.1270 It was scripted by the writing team of Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer, a remake of their earlier series ''Kindly Leave the Kerb'' ...

'' (1981) - Tom * ''

The Black Adder ''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC 1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 ...

'' (1983) - The Archbishop – "The Queen Of Spain's Beard" * '' John Silver's Return to Treasure Island'' (1986) - Sir Solomon Pridham – "The Map" * '' Porterhouse Blue'' (1987) - Professor Siblington

References

External links

*
Obituary: ''Guardian''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Willoughby 1926 births 2008 deaths People from Bicester English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors