Denys Graham (29 June 1926 – 24 October 2024) was a Welsh actor who appeared in the later series 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, ...

'' as the title character's many-daughtered colleague Percy Hoskins. Over a 70-year career he played a wide range of other roles on stage and screen.

Life and career

Graham was born in Newport,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, Wales on 29 June 1926. An accomplished pianist, he was educated at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

and trained at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

. His extensive and varied theatre work included playing in the original 1956 production of ''

Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh people, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The BBC commissioned the play, which was later adapted for the stage. The first public reading was in New York City in 1953. A Under Milk Wood (1972 film), f ...

'' at the New Theatre, London and appearing in the original 1955 production of ''

Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...

'' at the Arts Theatre, London, directed by Peter Hall. For two years he was a member of

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

’s company at the Phoenix Theatre, London, followed by a season with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

at Stratford-upon-Avon. His final West End role was Victor Witt in ''Grand Hotel'' at the Dominion Theatre in 1992. Graham's best known film roles were Flying Officer L.G. Knight DSO in '' The Dam Busters'' (1955), Private Fraser in ''

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

'' (1958), Private 716 Robert Jones in '' Zulu'' (1964) and

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

in ''

All Quiet on the Western Front ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' () is a semi-autobiographical novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma during the war as well as the detachme ...

'' (1979). Graham died on 24 October 2024, at the age of 98.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1926 births 2024 deaths Male actors from Newport, Wales Welsh male stage actors Welsh male film actors Welsh male television actors People educated at Stanwell School Alumni of New College, Oxford Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century Welsh male actors {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub