Gabriel Woolf (born 2 October 1932) is a British film, radio and television actor.

Career

Among Woolf's leading parts was his performance as the Apostle John in a frequently repeated BBC adaptation of

The Man Born to Be King ''The Man Born to Be King'' is a radio drama based on the life of Jesus, produced and broadcast by the BBC during the Second World War. It is a play cycle consisting of twelve plays depicting specific periods in Jesus' life, from the events su ...

where he also introduced each play. His film roles include Sir

Percival Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the Gra ...

in the 1953 film, ''

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in li ...

'' and Sutekh in the 1975 '' Doctor Who'' serial ''

Pyramids of Mars ''Pyramids of Mars'' is the third serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Written by Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer under the pseudonym of "Stephen Harris" and directed by Paddy Russell, ...

''. Woolf renewed his association with ''Doctor Who'' in 1981 by reading three novelisations of Doctor Who stories for the

Royal National Institute of Blind People The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss. History The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had eye ...

. The books were '' The Three Doctors'', '' Doctor Who and the Carnival of Monsters'' and '' Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster'', all written by

Terrance Dicks Terrance William Dicks (14 April 1935 – 29 August 2019) was an English author and television screenwriter, script editor and producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', working as a ...

. He joined up with the Doctor again by performing in the

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

audio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

Arrangements for War ''Arrangements for War'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. Synopsis The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn become involved in a tricky political situation on the pl ...

'' and its sequel, '' Thicker than Water''. He appeared on the ''Pyramids of Mars''

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in a sketch called ''Oh Mummy: Sutekh's Story'' and a documentary piece titled ''Osiran Gothic''. In 2005, he returned to work with the writers of ''Oh Mummy'', appearing in the ''Doctor Who'' DVD extra ''Eye On Blatchford'' as the demented Doctor Amadeus Gowel. In the Magic Bullet ''

Faction Paradox ''Faction Paradox'' is a series of novels, audio stories, short story anthologies, and comics set in and around a "War in Heaven", a history-spanning conflict between godlike "Great Houses" and their mysterious enemy. The series is named after a ...

'' audio plays ''Coming to Dust'' (2005), ''The Ship of a Billion Years'' (2006) and ''Body Politic'' (2008), all written by

Lawrence Miles Lawrence Miles (born 15 March 1972 in Middlesex) is a science fiction author known for his work on original '' Doctor Who'' novels (for both the Virgin New Adventures and BBC Books series) and the subsequent spin-off Faction Paradox. He is a ...

, Woolf reprises his role as Sutekh. In 2008 Woolf played Witchfinder General

Matthew Hopkins Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...

in the third story in the '' Scarifyers'' series, ''For King and Country''. The play was broadcast on

BBC7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the pr ...

in 2009. In the 2006 series of ''Doctor Who'', Woolf returned to provide the voice of " The Beast" in the two part story "

The Impossible Planet "The Impossible Planet" is the eighth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television networ ...

" and "

The Satan Pit "The Satan Pit" is the ninth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on 10 June 2006. It is the second part of a two-part story. The first part, "The Impossible Planet ...

". His many parts on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

include Shakespeare's

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a pries ...

and Inspector Charles Parker in the dramatisations of the

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 ...

mysteries. He toured with the author

Colin Dexter Norman Colin Dexter (29 September 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English crime writer known for his '' Inspector Morse'' series of novels, which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as an ITV television series, '' Inspector Morse'', ...

, performing readings to accompany Dexter's talks. Woolf is also a Vice President of the Joyful Company of Singers.

Arthur Ransome

Woolf has abridged and recorded all of

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childr ...

's ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books. He was also elected President of

the Arthur Ransome Society The Arthur Ransome Society, also known by its acronym Tars, and whose members refer to themselves as ''Tars'', is a society whose goals are to "celebrate the life, promote the works and diffuse the ideas of Arthur Ransome". It is based at the A ...

.Gabriel Woolf profile
chichesterliterarysociety.co.uk; accessed 9 April 2016.

Personal life

He is married to the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

singer Dame

Felicity Lott Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano. Education Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and be ...

and they have a daughter, Emily (b. 1984). He also has two children from his earlier marriage to Zara E Green.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Magic Bullet

''

'' audio play.
Magic Bullet

''

'' audio play.
Joyful Company of Singers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolf, Gabriel 1932 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors