Conrad Philip Havord (13 April 1925 – 13 January 2016), known professionally as Conrad Phillips, was an English television and film actor. He is best known for playing

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

in the adventure series '' The Adventures of William Tell'' (1958–1959).

Life and career

Phillips was born Conrad Philip Havord in London, the son of Horace Havord who was a journalist and detective story writer. He attended St John's Bowyer School,

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

, south London.Conrad Philips obituary
''The Guardian''. Retrieved 13 January 2016. He worked for an insurance company, and forged his birth date on his ration book so that he could join the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

at the age of 17. In three years of service during the

Second World War 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he saw action in the Atlantic Ocean,

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

and survived the mining of a landing craft. He called himself 'Bill' in the navy because his shipmates kept ridiculing the name Conrad. His name wasn't changed to 'Phillips' until he started acting. His father had been using the name 'Conrad Phillips' as a pen name for his thriller writing, and suggested that his son use this as his stage name. In his autobiography, Conrad said that he regretted making that decision. He studied at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

, and then appeared in repertory theatre and in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

. He is best known for portraying

in the popular ITV television series '' The Adventures of William Tell'', which ran for 39 episodes from 1958 to 1959. Phillips also played Stefan, Tell's mentor, in the updated version ''

Crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fir ...

'' in 1987. During the 1960s and 1970s, he worked in theatre, television and films – it was to be his busiest period as an actor. Severe back pain, two replacement knees and a replacement hip brought a premature end to Conrad Phillips' acting career, and he retired from the screen in 1991. He spent the last episode of '' The Adventures of William Tell'' in a wheelchair, because he had broken his ankle whilst on location. Even the fighting shots were done in this way. He met his second wife, Jennie, in April 1968. In January 1972 they set about restoring a Scottish hill farm called Skeoch.
'Skeoch – Our life on a Scottish hill farm''. Retrieved 15 January 2013. They finally lived in

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in northwest Wiltshire, England. It lies northeast of Bath, west of London, and is near the Cotswolds Area of Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon and some form of settlement is ...

, Wiltshire. Phillips released his autobiography, ''Aiming True'', in 2013.

Other TV appearances

* ''

The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel'' is a British television series based on the 1905 adventure novel of the same name by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. The series was created by writer Michael Hogan and produced by the Towers of London for ...

'' (1956) episode 17 – ''Gentlemen of the Road''. Character – Latour. * ''

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 ...

'' – Series 2, Episode 12 – ''Shadow Bomb'' (1961). Character – Captain Finch. * ''

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 ove ...

'' (1961–62 TV series) – episode 21 – ''A Marriage of Convenience'' (1962). Character – Guy. * ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'' (1966) episode – ''Silent Dust''. Character – Mellors. * ''

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

'' (1967) episode – ''Jack on Top''. Character – Wilson. * ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

'' (1967) episode – " The General" * '' UFO'' (1971) episode – ''Reflections in the Water''. Character – Skipper. * ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television ...

'' (1975) episode – '' The Wedding Party''. Character – Mr Lloyd * ''

Cribb ''Cribb'' (''Sergeant Cribb'' in North America) is a television police drama, which debuted in 1979 as a 90-minute TV film from Granada Television in the United Kingdom. Later, thirteen 50-minute episodes were produced, which ran from 1980 t ...

'' (1980) episode – ''Mad Hatter's Holiday''. Character – Dr. Prothero * ''

The Return of Sherlock Holmes ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1905 collection of 13 Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published in 1903–1904, by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The stories were published in the '' Strand Magazine'' in Britain and ''Collier's'' ...

'' (1985) episode – ''The Abbey Grange''. Character – Sir

Eustace Brackenstall "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'' (1905). It was first published in ''The Strand ...

* '' Hannay'' (1989) episode - ''Double Jeopardy''. Character – Dirk Huysman. Other TV shows: ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with '' The Three Musketeers''. L ...

'', '' The New Adventures of Charlie Chan'', ''The Newcomers'' (recurring character – Robert Malcolm), ''

Sutherland's Law ''Sutherland's Law'' is a television series made by BBC Scotland between 1973 and 1976. The series had originated as a stand-alone edition of the portmanteau programme ''Drama Playhouse'' in 1972 in which Derek Francis played Sutherland and w ...

'', '' Howards' Way'', ''

Never the Twain ''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer ...

'', '' The Gaffer'', '' Sorry!'' and '' Emmerdale Farm'' (recurring character – Dr Christopher Meadows from 1981 to 1986). Mini-series: '' Into the Labyrinth'' and '' The Master of Ballantrae''.

Selected filmography

* '' A Song for Tomorrow'' (1948) – Lieutenant Fenton * '' The Temptress'' (1949) – Captain Green * '' Lilli Marlene'' (1950) – Security Officer * '' The Last Page'' (1952) – Detective Todd (uncredited) * '' It Started in Paradise'' (1952) – 1st Photographer (uncredited) * '' Three Steps to the Gallows'' (1953) – Clerk – Travel Agent (uncredited) * '' Mantrap'' (1953) – Barker * '' The Diamond'' (1954) – Policeman (uncredited) * '' Johnny on the Spot'' (1954) – Police Sergeant (uncredited) * ''

The Secret Tent ''The Secret Tent'' is a 1956 crime film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Donald Gray and Andrée Melly and was made at Shepperton Studios. Plot Respectable wife Ruth attempts to conceal her secret past as a criminal from neighbours and from he ...

'' (1956) – Detective Sergeant * '' The Last Man to Hang'' (1956) – Dr. Mason * ''Circus Friends'' (1956) – Larry * '' The Battle of the River Plate'' (1956) – Lt. Washbourne – Gunnery Officer, HMS Achilles (uncredited) * '' Zarak'' (1956) – Johnson – Young Officer * '' A Question of Adultery'' (1958) – Mario * '' The White Trap'' (1959) – Sgt. Morrison * '' Witness in the Dark'' (1959) – Inspector Coates * '' The Desperate Man'' (1959) – Curtis * '' Circus of Horrors'' (1960) – Insp. Arthur Ames * '' Sons and Lovers'' (1960) – Baxter Dawes * '' The Fourth Square'' (1961) – Bill Lawrence * ''

No Love for Johnnie ''No Love for Johnnie'' is a 1961 British drama film in CinemaScope directed by Ralph Thomas. It was based on the 1959 book of the same title by the Labour Member of Parliament Wilfred Fienburgh, and stars Peter Finch. It depicts the disillusi ...

'' (1961) – Drake * '' The Secret Partner'' (1961) – Dr. Alan Richford * '' Shadow of the Cat'' (1961) – Michael Latimer * '' Murder, She Said'' (1961) – Harold * ''A Guy Called Caesar'' (1962) – Tony * '' The Durant Affair'' (1962) – Julian Armour * '' Dead Man's Evidence'' (1962) – David Baxter * '' Don't Talk to Strange Men'' (1962) – Ron * '' Impact'' (1963) – Jack Moir * '' The Switch'' (1963) – John Curry * ''

Heavens Above! ''Heavens Above!'' is a 1963 British satirical comedy film starring Peter Sellers, directed by John and Roy Boulting, who also co-wrote along with Frank Harvey, from an idea by Malcolm Muggeridge. It is in a similar vein to the earlier collabor ...

'' (1963) – P.R.O. * ''Stopover Forever'' (1964) – Eric Cunningham * '' Dateline Diamonds'' (1965) – Tom Jenkins * '' The Murder Game'' (1965) – Peter Shanley * '' Who Killed the Cat?'' (1966) – Inspector Bruton * ''The Ghost of Monk's Island'' (1967) – Eli Oakes.

References

External links

*
''Aiming True – The Autobiography of Conrad Phillips''''Skeoch – Our New Life On A Scottish Hill Farm''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Conrad English male television actors 1925 births 2016 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Royal Navy personnel of World War II 21st-century English male writers English autobiographers