Keith Barron (8 August 1934 – 15 November 2017) was an English actor and television presenter who appeared in films and on television from 1961 until 2017. His television roles included the police drama ''

The Odd Man ''The Odd Man'' was a police series produced by Granada Television, running over four series between 1960 and 1963. The character of pompous police Chief Inspector Charles Rose (William Mervyn) at the start of series 3 cemented the show's pop ...

'', the sitcom ''

Duty Free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, wh ...

'', and

Gregory Wilmot This is an alphabetical list of characters from the ITV drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', which aired from 1971 to 1975. Cast ; Key : Regular cast (4 or more episodes) : Recurring cast (2–3 episodes) : Guest cast (1 episode) ...

in '' Upstairs, Downstairs''.

Career

Born in

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contiguous ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

,'South Yorkshire' did not exist before 1 April 1974. 'West Riding of Yorkshire' is correct. Barron completed his national service in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and his acting career started at the Sheffield Repertory Theatre, where he also met his wife, Mary, a stage designer. He became well known to British television viewers in the early 1960s as the easygoing Detective Sergeant Swift in the

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

series ''

'' and its spin-off ''

It's Dark Outside ''The Odd Man'' was a police series produced by Granada Television, running over four series between 1960 and 1963. The character of pompous police Chief Inspector Charles Rose (William Mervyn) at the start of series 3 cemented the show's pop ...

''. His major breakthrough, however, was as Nigel Barton in the writer

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

's semi-autobiographical plays '' Stand Up, Nigel Barton'' and '' Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton'' (both 1965) in

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's '' The Wednesday Play'' anthology series; he later played a very similar character in Potter's ''

Play For Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' episode ''Only Make Believe'' (1973). Barron made many one-off television appearances, from '' Redcap'' and ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it deb ...

'' in the mid-1960s, to '' Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'', '' Strange Report'', '' The New Avengers'', ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'', '' The Professionals'', ''

Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by ''Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series ...

'', and ''

A Touch of Frost A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

''. He made two appearances in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. In 1982, he appeared in the Dutch show ''

De lachende scheerkwast ''De lachende scheerkwast'' ("The laughing shave brush") is a Dutch television show written and directed by Wim T. Schippers, who also plays one of the lead characters, Jacques Plafond. It ran on VPRO television for six episodes in 1981 before bei ...

''. In March 1983 he was a guest in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' story '' Enlightenment'', replacing

Peter Sallis Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

who was unavailable. He was a frequent voiceover artist for British TV commercials and

public information films Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

. Barron also played a starring role as Bob Ferguson in the 1993 Granada series ''The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes'', entitled ''

The Last Vampyre "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 Sherlock Holmes stories collected between 1921 and 1927 as ''The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in the January 1924 issues ...

''. In 1989 he starred on television in a story of relationships in a new town in the Midlands entitled '' Take Me Home'', with

Annette Crosbie Annette Crosbie (born 12 February 1934) is a Scottish actor.Annette Crosbie fil ...

as his wife and

Maggie O'Neill Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill (born 15 November 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in ''Peak Practice'' (2000–2002), '' Shameless'' (2004–2007) and ''EastEnders'' (2008). In 1986 she appeared in the music video f ...

as his girlfriend. One of his best-loved and best-remembered roles was in the 1980s Yorkshire Television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

''. In the 1990s he co-starred in the sitcoms ''

Haggard Haggard may refer to an adjective reflecting exhaustion or poverty. Haggard may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Haggard (band), a German symphonic metal group * ''Haggard'' (TV series), a British comedy television series * '' ...

'' and '' All Night Long''. In 1990, he appeared as a contestant on ''

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddin ...

'', facing off against fellow actor

Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor and writer. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Sp ...

. In the 2000s he was a regular character on the ITV Sunday-night drama '' Where the Heart Is''. In 2014 he reprised his role of David Pearce in the touring stage show of the TV series 'Duty Free'. He also starred in the first series of the BBC drama '' The Chase''. On the big screen he appeared in '' Baby Love'' (1968) and

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which w ...

's film ''

Melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

'' (1971) as Mr Latimer. Barron also appeared as the guest celebrity in dictionary corner on several episodes of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

words and numbers game ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and ev ...

''. He was the star on '' Bunn and Co.'', a radio show that was broadcast from March 2003 to April 2004 on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

. Barron's performance in the BBC's ''Test the Nation'' IQ test show on 2 September 2006 gave him an IQ of 146. In 2007 Barron joined

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

's ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'' as

George Trench The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' in 2007, by order of first appearance. Roger Stiles Roger Stiles, played by Andrew Dunn, is a plumber who fixes Janice Battersby's (Vi ...

. In 2011, Barron starred in the BBC show, '' Lapland'', a role which he returned to for a series, ''

Being Eileen ''Being Eileen'' is a BBC comedy-drama which began as a new six-part series on 4 February, and ended on 11 March 2013. It began as a one-off Christmas special titled ''Lapland'', broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 24 December 2011. A ...

'', from February 2013.

Personal life

Barron died on 15 November 2017 after a short illness. He was survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary Pickard, and his actor son, Jamie. He lived in the

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

town of

East Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second reta ...

for some years.

Selected filmography

* '' Baby Love'' (1969) – Doctor Robert Quayle * '' The Man Who Had Power Over Women'' (1970) – Jake Braid * ''

The Firechasers ''The Firechasers'' is a 1971 British crime film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Chad Everett, Anjanette Comer, and Keith Barron. Its plot concerns an insurance investigator who tries to find out who is behind a series of arson attacks. ...

'' (1971) – Jim Maxwell * '' She'll Follow You Anywhere'' (1971) – Alan Simpson * ''

'' (1971) – Mr. Latimer – Daniel's father (uncredited) * ''

Freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...

'' (1971) – Gary * '' Nothing But The Night'' (1973) – Dr. Haynes * '' The Land That Time Forgot'' (1974) – Bradley * '' At the Earth's Core'' (1976) – Dowsett * ''

Voyage of the Damned ''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976 drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, and Malcolm McDowell. The story was inspired by actual events co ...

'' (1976) – Purser Mueller * '' God's Outlaw'' (1986) – Henry VIII * ''La passione'' (1996) – Roy * ''

Police 2020 ''Police 2020'' is a one-off television pilot, first broadcast in 1997, that was set to be the first episode of an ongoing British crime drama series. Set in the near future, the pilot starred Liam Cunningham as DCI Billy O'Connell, the head o ...

'' (1997) – Eddie Longshaw * '' Lapland'' (2011, TV Movie) – Maurice * '' In Love with Alma Cogan'' (2012) – Cedric

Television

* ''

A Chance of Thunder ''A Chance of Thunder'' is a 1961 British television series written by John Hopkins and produced by the BBC. It was transmitted in six episodes.Baskin p. 59 The BBC later wiped the series, and none of the six episodes are thought to survive. C ...

'' (TV Series) (1961) – Bank Cashier * ''The Night of the Match'' (TV Movie) (1961) – Bob * '' The Avengers'' (TV Series) (1961) – Technician * ''The Odd Man'' (1962–1963) – Det. Sgt. Swift * ''It's Dark Outside'' (1964) – Det. Sgt. John Swift * '' Crane'' (1965) – Rene Leclerc * ''

The Troubleshooters ''The Troubleshooters'' (titled ''Mogul'' for the first series) is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. It recounted events in an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. Th ...

'' (1965) – Miles * ''Stand Up, Nigel Barton'' The Wednesday Play (1965) – Nigel Barton * ''Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton'' The Wednesday Play (1965) – Nigel Barton * ''Spywatch'' (1967) * ''

Further Adventures of Lucky Jim ''Further Adventures of Lucky Jim'' or ''The New Adventures of Lucky Jim'' is a comedy television series which first aired on BBC 1 in 1967. Inspired by the novel ''Lucky Jim'' by Kingsley Amis, it updates the story from the early 1950s of the nov ...

'' (1967) – Jim Dixon * ''

A Family at War ''A Family At War'' is a British drama series that aired on ITV from 1970 to 1972. It was created by John Finch and made by Granada Television for ITV. The original producer was Richard Doubleday, and with 13 directors during the series. The ...

'' (1972) Major Harkness * ''Thinking Man as Hero'' (1973, TV Movie) – David Duncan * '' Armchair_Theatre'' (1973, Red Riding Hood TV Movie) – Henry * '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1974) – Gregory Wilmot * ''

No Strings ''No Strings'' is a musical drama with book by Samuel A. Taylor and words and music by Richard Rodgers. ''No Strings'' is the only Broadway score for which Rodgers wrote both lyrics and music, and the first musical he composed after the death of ...

'' (1974) – Derek * ''The Foundation'' (1977) – Don Prince * '' The Professionals'' (1977) "Private Madness, Public Danger" – Charles Nesbitt * ''

Telford's Change ''Telford's Change'' is a 1979 BBC television series by Brian Clark which stars Peter Barkworth. The theme music was composed and played by jazz composer John Dankworth. Outline Barkworth plays a bank manager, Mark Telford, who takes a backward ...

'' (1979) – Tim Hart * ''

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illne ...

'' (1979) – Charles James Fox * ''

Stay with Me Till Morning ''Stay with Me Till Morning'' is a 1970 novel by the British writer John Braine. In 1981 it was adapted into a three-part television series by the same name. Produced by Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Tel ...

'' (1981) – Stephen Belgard * '' Tales of the Unexpected'' (1982) "A Harmless Vanity" – George Hitchman * ''

'' (1982) - Mr Carrington * ''

'' (1983) "Enlightenment" – Striker * '' Minder'' (1984) – Johnny Caine * '' Leaving'' (1984–1985) – Daniel Ford * ''

'' (1984–1986) – David Pearce / David * '' Room at the Bottom'' (1986–1988) – Kevin Hughes * '' Take Me Home'' (1989) – Tom * ''

(TV series) (1990–92) – Squire Amos Haggard * '' The Good Guys'' (1992) – Guy Lofthouse * ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'' The Last Vampyre'' (1994) – Rob Ferguson * ''

Under the Hammer ''Under the Hammer'' is a British comedy drama television series which originally aired on ITV in 1994. Written by John Mortimer, it is set at a London auction house. Episodes #"The Fatal Attribution" (10 January 1994) #"Wonders in the Deep" (1 ...

'' (1994) – Ned Nunelly * '' Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' A Case of Coincidence (1996) – Inspector Masters * '' Dalziel and Pascoe episode 6, 28 July 1997, – Dick Elgood. * '' Pie in the Sky episode 34, series 5–6, July 1997 – Chairman of a Jury housed overnight in the Luxor Hotel * ''

Spywatch ''Spywatch'' is an educational serial produced by the BBC as part of '' Look and Read''. It originally aired on BBC2 from 15 January to 25 March 1996. Its main educational focus was World War II. Story In the modern day, adult Norman Starkey g ...

'' (1996) – Norman Starkey (adult) * ''The Round Tower (Catherine Cookson), UK TV series (1998) – Jonathan Ratcliffe * ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their m ...

'' (2000) - Series 9 Episode 12 "Last Orders" - Jeff Barton * '' NCS: Manhunt'' (2001–2002) – Detective Superintendent Bob Beausoleil * ''

Clocking Off ''Clocking Off'' is a British television drama series which was broadcast on BBC One for four series from 2000 to 2003. It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott. It was effectively an an ...

'' (2003) – Roy Fletcher * '' Where the Heart Is (2003) – Alan Boothe * ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'': "The Straw Woman" (2004) – Alan Clifford * '' New Tricks'' (2005) – Ronnie Ross * '' The Chase'' (2006–2007) – George Williams * ''Pickles: The Dog Who Won the World Cup'' (2006, TV Movie) – Bernie * ''

'':S4E1 "Invasion" (2007) – David Barrett * '' Heartbeat series 18, episode 6 'Strike up the band' (2008) – Les Hepplewhite * ''

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotel ...

'' (2009) – Deputy Mayor * ''

My Family ''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadc ...

'' Ben Behaving Badly (2010) - Harry * '' Doctors'' (2011–2015) – Arthur Barrett / Ludo Jameson / Brian Olsen * ''

'' (2013) – Maurice * '' Stella'' (2014) – The Captain * '' DCI Banks'' (2015–2016) – Arthur Banks * '' Not Going Out'' (2017) – Michael (final television appearance) The BBC dedicated the episode in Barron's memory.

Radio

* ''Not as Far as Velma'', as Commissaire Henri Castang (1990)Freeling, Nicholas
Not as far as Velma
suttonelms.org.uk * '' To the Manor Born'', as Richard Devere (1997) * ''

My Turn to Make the Tea ''My Turn to Make the Tea'' is the third semi-autobiographical book by the British author Monica Dickens. First published in 1951 by Michael Joseph (publisher), Michael Joseph, the book relates Dickens' time working as a junior reporter on the '' ...

'' as Mr Pellet (2006)

Notes

References

External links

*
Keith Barron
at Aveleyman {{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Keith 1934 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors People from Mexborough People from Molesey Actors from Yorkshire Male actors from Surrey Actors from Doncaster