Ronald Stevens (2 September 1925 – 11 November 2006) was an English revue artist, character actor and voice artist credited professionally as Ronnie Stevens.

Life and career

Stevens was born in London, England, the son of Fanny Elizabeth (Carpenter) and Henry Edward Stevens. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in both 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) and ...

(RAF) and the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

.Ronnie Stevens - Gifted and versatile character actor at home in theatre, films and television.
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Retrieved July 24, 2021. He appeared in many television comedy series in regular roles, including ''

May to December ''May to December'' is a British sitcom which ran for 39 episodes, from 2 April 1989 to 27 May 1994 on BBC1. The series was created by Paul Mendelson and produced by Cinema Verity. The series was nominated for the BAFTA award for "Best Televi ...

'', '' Goodnight Sweetheart'' and ''

A J Wentworth, BA ''A.J. Wentworth, B.A.'' is a British sitcom that aired on ITV in 1982. Set in the 1940s, the programme was shown posthumously following the death of its lead actor Arthur Lowe, who died on 15 April 1982. Based on the writings of H. F. Ellis, ...

''. He also appeared as the "Minister of Pollution", in ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comed ...

'' pollution episode. He played minor roles in many other sitcoms including ''

Wild, Wild Women ''Wild, Wild Women'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC from 1968 to 1969. Shot in black-and-white, it starred Barbara Windsor and was written by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney. Cast Pilot *Barbara Windsor – Millie *Derek Franc ...

'', '' Winning Widows'', '' Only When I Laugh'', ''

Ever Decreasing Circles ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' is a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 between 1984 and 1989, consisting of four series and one feature-length special. It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and it reunited them with Richard Briers, who ha ...

'', ''

Hi-de-Hi! ''Hi-de-Hi!'' is a BBC television sitcom shown on BBC1 from 1 January 1980 to 30 January 1988. Set in 1959 and 1960 in Maplins, a fictional holiday camp, the show was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who also wrote ''Dad's Army'' and ...

'', ''

Yes, Prime Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes fro ...

'', ''

Terry and June ''Terry and June'' is a BBC television sitcom, which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of '' Happy Ever After'', and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, Te ...

'', ''

Chance in a Million ''Chance in a Million'' is a British sitcom broadcast between 1984 and 1986, produced by Thames Television for Channel 4. The series was co-written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen and starred Simon Callow and Brenda Blethyn. The producer a ...

'' and '' As Time Goes By''. He played roles in '' The Avengers'', ''

Dick and the Duchess Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * Dicks (album), ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * Dick (film), ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * Dick (song), "Dick" (song), a 2019 song ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, o ...

'', ''

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'' is a British crime drama television series, starring Patricia Routledge as the title character, Henrietta "Hetty" Wainthropp, that aired for four series between 3 January 1996 and 4 September 1998 on BBC One. T ...

'', and as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in the 1980

BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to ...

series presentation of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''. He appeared as Mr Rudge in the ''

Tales of the Unexpected (TV series) ''Tales of the Unexpected (Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected)'' is a British television series that aired between 1979 and 1988. Each episode told a story, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, with an unexpected twist ending. E ...

'' episode (9/5) "The Facts of Life" (1988). In 1965–66 Stevens co-starred in the pioneering Australian TV satirical comedy series ''

The Mavis Bramston Show ''The Mavis Bramston Show'' was a weekly Australian television satirical sketch comedy revue series which aired on the Seven Network from 1964 to 1968. Inspired by the British TV satirical revue TV shows of the period (notably ''That Was The Week ...

'', where he replaced founding cast member

Gordon Chater Gordon Maitland Chater AM (6 April 1922 – 12 December 1999) was an English Australian comedian and actor, and recipient of the Gold Logie, he appeared in revue, theatre, radio, television and film, with a career spanning almost 50 years. Bio ...

. Stevens also appeared in the 1962 film ''

Carry On Cruising ''Carry On Cruising'' is a 1962 British comedy film, the sixth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It was based on an original story by Eric Barker. P&O – Orient Lines were thanked in the credits. Regulars Sid James, Kenn ...

'', the 1996 film ''

Brassed Off ''Brassed Off'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of ...

'', and the 1998 film '' The Parent Trap''. He co-narrated ''

Noggin the Nog ''Noggin the Nog'' is a fictional character appearing in a TV series (of the same name, originally broadcast 1959–1965 and 1982) and a series of illustrated books (published 1965–1977), created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. The TV seri ...

'' with

Oliver Postgate Richard Oliver Postgate (12 April 1925 – 8 December 2008), generally known as Oliver Postgate, was an English animator, puppeteer, and writer. He was the creator and writer of some of Britain's most popular children's television progra ...

. Stevens also lent his voice to the classic children's puppet series '' Space Patrol'' and ''

Sara and Hoppity ''Sara and Hoppity'' is a children's puppet television series, created and produced by Roberta Leigh. It was based on a series of four books written by Leigh and illustrated by Marion Wilson. Most of this series no longer exists in the archives ...

'' and the children's animated series ''

Captain Zed and the Zee Zone ''Captain Zed and the Zee Zone'' is a animated television series, produced by Collingwood O’Hare for Scottish Television Film Enterprises in association with DIC Entertainment and Shanghai Morning Sun Animation Co., Ltd. and distributed by ...

'' along with various British and Canadian voice actors as well as providing voices for the animated film ''Rarg''.

Personal life

His wife, Ann, predeceased him as did his older son Paul. He is survived by their younger son Guy. Ronald was 81 at the time of his death.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Obituary in The Stage
1925 births 2006 deaths English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from London English male voice actors Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British Army personnel of World War II Royal Engineers soldiers {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub