Norman Eshley (born 30 May 1945) is an English actor best known for his television roles.

Biography

Eshley attended

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

and worked in a bank, before training as an actor at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...

. He played many Shakespearean roles on stage. His first screen role was in the 1968 film ''

The Immortal Story ''The Immortal Story'' (french: Une histoire immortelle) is a 1968 French film directed by Orson Welles and starring Jeanne Moreau. The film was originally broadcast on French television and was later released in theatres. It was based on a shor ...

'', directed by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. He played a lead character, Steve, in ''

Blind Terror ''Blind Terror'' is a 2001 thriller film directed by Giles Walker and starring Nastassja Kinski, Stewart Bick and Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (born July 12, 1930) is a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He is known for h ...

'' (1971) and appeared in the Pete Walker horror film ''

House of Mortal Sin ''House of Mortal Sin'' (also known as ''The Confessional'' and ''The Confessional Murders'') is a 1976 British horror slasher film directed and produced by Pete Walker. It was scripted by David McGillivray from a story by Walker. Its plot co ...

'' in 1975. In 1969 Eshley appeared alongside

Dudley Sutton Dudley Sutton (6 April 1933 – 15 September 2018) was an English actor. Active in radio, stage, film and television, he was arguably best known for his role of Tinker Dill in the BBC Television drama series '' Lovejoy''. Early life Sutton w ...

in two very similar villainous roles: in the ''

Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Dennis Spooner and pro ...

'' episode "Could You Recognise the Man Again?", and in the '' Department S'' episode, "Handicap Dead". However he is possibly best known for his role in the sitcom ''

George and Mildred ''George and Mildred'' is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from '' Man About the House'', and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple ...

'' (1976–79) as the snobbish, right-wing

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged ...

Jeffrey Fourmile, the foil to George. In the show's direct predecessor ''

Man About the House ''Man About the House'' is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer that starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy. Six series were broadcast on ITV from 15 August 1973 to 7 A ...

'' (1973–76) he had previously featured in several episodes as Robin Tripp's brother Norman, who married Chrissy (

Paula Wilcox Paula Wilcox (born 13 December 1949) is an English actress. With a career spanning over 50 years, she is best known for her role as Chrissy in the popular ITV sitcom ''Man About The House'' from 1973 to 1976. She has also had roles in TV shows ...

)—and he was mentioned in the spin-off show '' Robin's Nest'' in the episode "Love and Marriage" as Robin's best man who never turned up to the wedding due to having mumps. In an earlier ''Man About the House'' episode "In Praise of Older Men" in 1974 he played a sleazy married executive named Ian Cross who tried to seduce Chrissy. In 1985 Eshley played the

Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

Redwood, a benevolent

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

who runs a social club with a view to rehabilitating ex-

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

s in the ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

episode, ''Give Us This Day Arthur Daley's Bread. His other TV credits include: ''

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 Colour of Blood"/US title: "The Carnation Killer", 1973) as an escaped serial killer, ''

Warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

'' (1973–74), ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma ...

'', ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Ro ...

'', ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Insp ...

'' (all 1976), ''

Return of the Saint ''Return of the Saint'' is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian b ...

'' (1978), a former SAS colleague of Bodie in '' The Professionals'' episode "Kickback" (1980), a vicar in ''

'' (1985), ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 Septembe ...

'' (1990), ''

Cadfael Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedic ...

'' (1994), ''

One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour shows) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first fi ...

'' (1997), '' Dangerfield'' (1998), and ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

'' (1999–2000). In 1988 he appeared in a public information film about road safety called ''Accident in Park Road''. His character is seen driving a Ford Escort before running over a child who dashes out between cars in front of him. He is questioned by Graham Cole who plays a policeman, a role Cole played as PC

Tony Stamp ''The Bill'' is a long-running British television police procedural television series, named after a slang term for the police. The characters are all police officers or civilian staff at the fictional Sun Hill police station in London. Senior ...

in ''The Bill''. Along with Douglas Fielding, he provided the narration for the

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres.Nightfall in Middle-Earth ''Nightfall in Middle-Earth'' is the sixth studio album by German power metal band Blind Guardian. It was released on 28 April 1998 through Virgin Records. It is a concept album based upon J. R. R. Tolkien's '' The Silmarillion'', a book of t ...

''. He had roles in the BBC TV series ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...

'' (2007) and ''A Christmas Campaign'' (short, 2011). In 2019, he appeared in the documentary The Immortal Orson Welles, directed by Chris Wade.

Personal life

In 1993, Eshley was a passenger in a car which was involved in a crash in the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

in France. He sustained multiple injuries, including head trauma. Eshley now lives with his wife in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England.

Filmography

Film

* ''

'' (1968) – Paul, the sailor * '' The Lost Continent'' (1968) – Jonathan, the Prisoner * '' Crossplot'' (1969) – Athol * '' See No Evil'' (1971) – Steve Reding * ''

'' (1976) – Father Bernard Cutler * '' The Disappearance'' (1977) – Young Husband * ''

'' (1980) – Jeffrey Fourmile * ''Empty Mirror'' (2000) – Oz Riley * ''A Christmas Campaign'' (2011) - Creative Director * ''The Immortal Orson Welles'' (2019) - Himself * '' Cold Sun'' (2021) - Head of Counter Terrorism Commander

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eshley, Norman Living people 1945 births English male film actors English male television actors People educated at Bristol Grammar School Male actors from Bristol