Felix Hervè Talbot Bowness (30 March 1922 – 13 September 2009) was a British comedy actor who was best remembered for his portrayal of the

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

Fred Quilley in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Hi-de-Hi! ''Hi-de-Hi!'' is a British sitcom created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and produced for the BBC. The programme initially began with a pilot on 1 January 1980 and aired for nine series between 26 February 1981 and 30 January 1988, and starre ...

.''

Biography

Born in the village of Harwell,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

(now

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

), to

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

parents, he became a

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

champion.

Second World War

At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he joined the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

as a

signalman A signalman is a rank who makes signals using flags and light. The role has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed forces, or construction (to direct heavy equi ...

. At the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, after his

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

was hit and sunk, he only remembered waking in a French

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. During recovery he attended a

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

concert, after which she gave him a singing lesson.

Performing career

Bowness returned to Britain and started performing on the comedy circuit, undertaking two summer seasons at Clacton-on-Sea Pier in 1948 and 1949. He eventually broke into films and television in the early 1960s, and supplemented his income by becoming a well used

warm-up 'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before s ...

act for television shows including ''

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew; 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman; 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...

'', ''Home To Roost'', ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo se ...

'' and later

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...

chat show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (20 ...

Wogan ''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 to 1992 and presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcast ...

'' and ''

Noel's House Party ''Noel's House Party'' is a BBC light entertainment series that was hosted by Noel Edmonds. Set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo, it ran from 23 November 1991 to 20 March 1999 on BBC One and ...

''. He was also the warm-up act for '' This Is Your Life'' and became the subject of it in 1985. Bowness did not come to mainstream public attention until he was picked up by the writing partnership of

Jimmy Perry James Perry (20 September 1923 – 23 October 2016) was an English scriptwriter and actor. He devised and co-wrote the BBC sitcoms ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977), '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981), '' Hi-de-Hi!'' (1980–1988) and '' You R ...

and David Croft. He was cast as former jockey Fred Quilley in the sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!'' and appeared in all 58 episodes. He subsequently appeared with the same ensemble cast in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''

Oh, Doctor Beeching! ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' is a British television sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove, and produced for the BBC. After a pilot for the programme was broadcast on 14 August 1995, full production was green-lighted, with the sitcom ...

''. During his career he also had credits in such comedy series as ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...

'', ''

The Liver Birds ''The Liver Birds'' is a British sitcom, set in Liverpool, North West England, which aired on BBC1 from April 1969 to December 1978, and again in 1996. The show was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. The two Liverpudlian housewives had me ...

'', ''

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 The Goodies (TV series), ...

'', ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'', ''

Porridge Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...

'', ''

Sykes "Sykes" is a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origins, which generally has topographical roots as it original linguistic origin. The name derives from the Old Norse word "sík" or "síkja", meaning a small stream, marshy hollow, or gully. It eventua ...

'' Till Death Us Do Part and ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...

''. Bowness was not known for cinematic roles, but in 1979 he appeared in the soft-porn film ''Queen of the Blues' starring

Mary Millington Mary Ruth Maxted (née Quilter; 30 November 1945 – 19 August 1979), known professionally as Mary Millington from 1974 onwards, was an English model, call girl and pornographic actress. Her appearance in the short softcore film '' Sex is ...

and

Milton Reid Milton Rutherford Reid (29 April 1917 – c. 1987) was a British-Indian actor and professional wrestler. He was born in India, the son of a Scottish-born Customs and Excise inspector and an Indian woman. He wrestled in England under the name of ...

Personal life and death

Bowness and Mavis (formerly Dungey), his wife of 59 years, lived in

Earley Earley ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, Berkshire, Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; fo ...

, Caversham and then Woodley, all near

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. Bowness retired from acting in 2003 after being diagnosed with dementia. Felix passed away peacefully in 2009 at his home in Woodley, Reading, with his wife, Mavis, and his youngest grandson, Christopher, by his side. He is survived by his wife, Mavis, his son, Robert, three grandchildren Jonathan, David, and Christopher and three great-grandchildren, Faith, Evie, and Charlie.

Television roles

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Guardian''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowness, Felix 1922 births 2009 deaths Military personnel from Berkshire English people of Canadian descent English male boxers Royal Berkshire Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War II English male comedians English male television actors Male actors from Berkshire Deaths from cancer in England Comedians from Berkshire Actors from Vale of White Horse People from Earley People from Sonning 20th-century English sportsmen Actors from the Borough of Wokingham