Donald Churchill (6 November 193029 October 1991) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. He appeared in many film and television productions over a 35-year period and wrote several TV scripts.

Career

His films included ''

Barnacle Bill Barnacle Bill may refer to: * Barnacle Bill (theme tune), the theme tune of the BBC children's TV programme ''Blue Peter'' *William Bernard (sailor), subject of the song *Barnacle Bill (Martian rock), a 40-cm rock on Mars in Ares Vallis *Barnacle ...

'' (1957), ''

The Captain's Table ''The Captain's Table'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Jack Lee and starring John Gregson, Donald Sinden, Peggy Cummins and Nadia Gray. The film is based on the 1954 novel of the same title by Richard Gordon, later adapted int ...

'' (1959), ''

Victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis * Casualty (person), the victim of an event Films and television * ''The Victim ...

'' (1961), ''

The Wild Affair ''The Wild Affair'' is a 1965 British comedy film written and directed by John Krish and starring Nancy Kwan, Terry-Thomas, Jimmy Logan, Gladys Morgan, and Betty Marsden. It was adapted from the 1961 novel ''The Last Hours of Sandra Lee'' by W ...

'' (1964), ''

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

'' (1971), ''

The First Great Train Robbery ''The First Great Train Robbery'' (known in the United States as ''The Great Train Robbery'') is a 1978 British heist comedy film directed by Michael Crichton, who also wrote the screenplay based on his 1975 novel '' The Great Train Robbery' ...

'' (1978), ''

Charlie Muffin ''Charlie Muffin'' (U.S. title: ''A Deadly Game'') is a 1979 British made-for-TV film directed by Jack Gold and starring David Hemmings, Ralph Richardson, Sam Wanamaker, Pinkas Braun, Ian Richardson, Shane Rimmer and Jennie Linden. A Euston F ...

'' (1979) and ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four Detective fiction, crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serial (literature), serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from ...

'' (1983) as

Doctor Watson Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). "The Adventure of Shosc ...

. On television he starred in '' Bulldog Breed'' (1962), ''

Spooner's Patch ''Spooners Patch'' is a British television sitcom, written by Ray Galton and Johnny Speight. It ran for 3 series and 19 episodes and was first broadcast from 9 July 1979 to 24 August 1982 on the ITV network, by ATV. Plot It is set in a polic ...

'' (1980-1982), played game show host Ronnie Kemp in '' Goodnight and God Bless'' (which Churchill also co-wrote, 1983), Mr Scott Eccles in an adaptation of "

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" is one of the fifty-six Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. One of eight stories in the volume '' His Last Bow'', it is a lengthy, two-part story consisting of "The Singular Experience ...

" for ''

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'' ...

'' in 1988, and appeared in ''

Stanley and the Women ''Stanley and the Women'' is a British television drama miniseries starring John Thaw, Samuel West, Geraldine James, Sheila Gish, Penny Downie and Sian Thomas. This series based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Kingsley Amis and adapte ...

'' (1991) and '' C.A.T.S. Eyes''. His plays include ''Mixed Feelings, The Decorator,'' and ''Moments of Weakness.''Donald Churchill at Herald Scotland
Retrieved 15 May 2016Donald Churchill at Variety
Retrieved 15 May 2016

Personal life

Churchill married the actress

Pauline Yates Pauline Lettice Yates (16 June 1929 – 21 January 2015) was an English actress, best known for playing Elizabeth Perrin in the BBC television sitcom ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin''. She also starred in ''Bachelor Father (British ...

in 1960; the couple had two daughters, Jemma and Polly.

Death

He died in Spain of a heart attack after filming his final episode of '' El C.I.D.'' for

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

in which he played the irascible harbour master Metcalf.

Filmography (actor)

*''

'' (1957) as Roy *''

Carve Her Name with Pride ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' is a 1958 British war Drama (film and television), drama film based on the book of the same name by R. J. Minney. The film, directed by Lewis Gilbert, is based on the true story of Special Operations Executive agen ...

'' (1958) as Roy Bushell (uncredited) *'' A Night to Remember'' (1958) as passenger (uncredited) *''

'' (1959) as Jay *''

Yesterday's Enemy ''Yesterday's Enemy'' is a 1959 Hammer Films British war film in MegaScope directed by Val Guest and starring Stanley Baker, Guy Rolfe, Leo McKern and Gordon Jackson set in the Burma Campaign during World War II. It is based on a 1958 BBC te ...

'' (1959) as Elliott (uncredited) *''

Sink the Bismarck! ''Sink the Bismarck!'' is a 1960 black-and-white CinemaScope British war film based on the 1959 book '' The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck'' by C. S. Forester. It stars Kenneth More and Dana Wynter and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. To date ...

'' (1960) as seaman on Ark Royal (uncredited) *''

Doctor in Love ''Doctor in Love'' is a 1960 British comedy film, the fourth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring James Robertson Justice and Michael Craig. It was the first film in the series not to feature Dirk ...

'' (1960) as doctor (uncredited) *'' No Love for Johnnie'' (1961) as Sheilah's party guest (uncredited) *''

'' (1961) as Eddy *''

Spaceflight IC-1 ''Spaceflight IC-1'' (also known as ''Spaceflight IC-1: An Adventure in Space'') is a 1965 British science-fiction film directed by Bernard Knowles and starring Bill Williams and Norma West. It was written by Harry Spalding (as Henry Cross) a ...

'' (1965) as Carl Walcott *''

'' (1965) as Andy *''

'' (1971) (uncredited) *''

'' (1979) as prosecutor *''

'' (1979) as Wilberforce *''

'' (1983) as Dr. John Watson

Filmography (writer)

* '' The Spare Tyres'' (1967)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Donald 1930 births 1991 deaths English male film actors English male television actors 20th-century English male actors