Derek Royle (7 September 1928 – 23 January 1990) was a British actor born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. He graduated from

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 ...

in 1950. His face was probably better known than his name to British viewers, but he acted in films and TV from the early 1960s until his death. He had a supporting role in the Beatles' film '' Magical Mystery Tour'' in 1967, as well as a minor one with

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

in the film '' Work Is a Four-Letter Word'' a year later. Most of his film appearances were in comedy films such as ''

Tiffany Jones ''Tiffany Jones'' was a British comic strip that ran in syndication between 1964 and 1977 and was published in ''Daily Sketch''. The series centred on a young woman who travelled to London to become a fashion model. It is notable for being cre ...

'' (1973), '' Don't Just Lie There, Say Something!'' (1974) and ''Confessions of a Sex Maniac'' (1974).

Stage and television roles

He appeared in a children's TV comedy series, ''Hogg's Back'' (1975) as Doctor Hogg, an eccentric general practitioner (GP); in 2016, this series appeared on

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 ...

. Royle acted with

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom '' Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the so ...

and

Pat Coombs Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...

over two series.

Hog's Back The Hog's Back is a hilly ridge, part of the North Downs in Surrey, England. It runs between Farnham in the west and Guildford in the east. Name Compared with the main part of the Downs to the east of it, it is a narrow elongated ridge, henc ...

is a ridge of hills in Surrey. Royle played the hotel guest who dies in his room in the ''

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 ...

'' episode "

The Kipper and the Corpse ''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 ...

". He also was the first actor to portray

Monsieur Ernest Leclerc This is a list of all main and recurring characters of BBC television's sitcom Allo 'Allo!'' that ran from 1982 until 1992 and 85 episodes. Overview René Artois René Francois Artois (Gorden Kaye) – The local café proprietor who, whil ...

in the sixth series of ''

'Allo 'Allo! ''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a Fren ...

'' (replacing Jack Haig, who had portrayed Ernest's brother Roger), and had a supporting role in a remake of ''Indiscreet'' (1988) and a new BBC version of a

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries ...

story. As a stage actor he was a mainstay of

Brian Rix Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix, (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016) was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including ''Dry Rot'', ''Simple Spymen'' and ''One for ...

's Whitehall farces company. He specialised in absent minded characters and used his acrobatic skills to fall down stairs and immediately get up again as if nothing had happened. Theatre critic

Michael Coveney Michael Coveney (born 24 July 1948) is a British theatre critic. Education and career Coveney was born in London and educated at St Ignatius’ College, Stamford Hill, and Worcester College, Oxford. After graduation, he worked as a script r ...

called him "simply one of the funniest men on the English stage".

Personal life and death

He was married to make-up artist Jane Royle and their daughters Amanda and

Carol Royle Carol Buchanan Royle (born 10 February 1954) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Jenny Russell in the BBC sitcom '' Life Without George'' (1987—1989) and Lady Patricia Brewster in ''Heartbeat'' (1997—2003). Early life Born ...

became actresses. He died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

aged 61.

References

External links

* 1928 births 1990 deaths Deaths from cancer in England English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British male comedy actors {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub