Graham Armitage (24 April 1936 – 6 March 1999) was an English stage, film and television actor. From 1973 he lived and worked in South Africa, where he had spent part of his childhood.

Early life and education

Armitage was born in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, the son of Albert Edward Armitage (1908–1959) and Isabel W. ''née'' Bailes (1909–). In 1947 Harvey left the UK with his family, flying to South Africa and eventually settling in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

where he attended Sea Point High School and then the Christian Brothers College. In early 1951 Harvey and his family moved to

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

where he attended Prince Edward School. During 1952 Harvey wrote the entrance exam for late entry to Dartmouth Naval College. Whilst his Maths and Geography results were outstanding he had not studied the same syllabus for English Literature and History so failed to obtain entrance. He graduated from RADA in 1952, following which he made his début in the BBC television play ''Without The Prince'', which was transmitted live.

Career

For the next twenty years Armitage regularly appeared on screen, mainly on television. He had roles in such shows as '' The Saint'', '' The Avengers'' and made several appearances on '' The Dick Emery Show''. In 1973 Armitage went to South Africa to appear in the

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

revue '' Cowardy Custard'' and decided to stay there, becoming a familiar face on local television and stage. In 1974 Olivia Manning adapted two of

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...

's works (''

The Card ''The Card'' is a comic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911 (entitled ''Denry the Audacious'' in the American edition). It was later made into a 1952 movie, starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark. Like much of Bennett's best work, it is ...

'' and ''The Regent'') into an eight-part

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

play: '' Denry - The Adventures Of A Card''. Armitage played Denry, with

Ursula O'Leary Ursula O'Leary (Birmingham, 10 March 1926 – 17 May 1993) was an English stage, radio and television actor.Deaths, The Times, 19 May 1993 O'Leary graduated in stage management from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in 1948. Her stage ...

as the Countess of Chell. From 1979 to 1985 he portrayed

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

for

Springbok Radio Springbok Radio (spelled ''Springbokradio'' in Afrikaans, ) was a South African nationwide radio station that operated from 1950 to 1985. History SABC's decision in December 1945 to develop a commercial service was constrained by post-war financia ...

. His last appearance was in 1999 as a vicar in the South African family film ''Alec to the Rescue''.

Personal life

In 1955 he married Carole Shirley England (1934–2017) at the

Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints, Harare The Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints, Harare is an Anglican cathedral in Zimbabwe. The cathedral, located at the intersection of Nelson Mandela Avenue and Sam Nujoma Street in Harare, was begun in 1913 to plans by British architect Herbert B ...

in Rhodesia. The couple had three children. Armitage died in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

in South Africa in 1999.

Selected filmography

Film

* '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' (1965) - Pawson (uncredited) * '' The Fiction-Makers'' (1968) - Carson * ''

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

'' (1969) - Radar Officer (uncredited) * '' The Fifth Day of Peace'' (1970) - Mark * '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970) - Wiggins (uncredited) * '' Scrooge'' (1970) - Party Guest (uncredited) * '' The Music Lovers'' (1970) - Prince Balukin * '' Games That Lovers Play'' (1971) - Mr. Adams * '' The Devils'' (1971) -

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

* '' The Boy Friend'' (1971) - Michael * '' Take Me High'' (1973) - Boardman * ''The New Spartans'' (1975) * '' Spanish Fly'' (1975) - Perkins * '' Zulu Dawn'' (1979) - Capt. Shepstone (uncredited) * '' Game for Vultures'' (1979) - Harken * ''Flashpoint Africa'' (1980) - Don * '' The Gods Must Be Crazy'' (1980) - The Reverend (voice, uncredited) * ''Die Groen Faktor'' (1984) - William Honiball * ''Wie Laaste Lag...'' (1986) - Heart attack businessman * '' Going Bananas'' (1987) - Gen. Smythe-Paget * '' Jane and the Lost City'' (1987) - Cake Waiter * ''Code Name Vengeance'' (1987) - Forrest (uncredited) * ''Diamonds High'' (1988) - Bank manager * ''Merchants of War'' (1989) - Gordon * '' Circles in a Forest'' (1989) - Commissioner * ''That Englishwoman: An Account of the Life of Emily Hobhouse'' (1990) - Minister * '' Oddball Hall'' (1990) - The Grand Noble Master * ''River of Diamonds'' (1991) - Judge * '' Fei zhou he shang'' (1991) - Auctioneer * '' Sweet 'n Short'' (1991) - Bryce Williams * '' Fleshtone'' (1994) - Dr. Sydney Frye * '' Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1995) - Judge * ''Alec to the Rescue'' (1999) - Vicar (final film role)

Television

* '' Theatre 625'' (1966) - Monsieur Bernard * '' The Avengers'' (1966-1967) - Algernon 'Algy' Wynche / Huggins * ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' (1967) - Barney * '' The Saint'' (1968) - Carson * '' The First Churchills'' (1969) - Earl of Rochester * '' Randall and Hopkirk'' (1970) - Young Stage Director * '' From a Bird's Eye View'' (1971) - Johnstone * '' Seven of One'' (1973) - Arthur (Episode "My Old Man") * '' The Naked Civil Servant'' (1975) - Mr. Dunsmore * ''

Open All Hours ''Open All Hours'' is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes over four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982, and 1985. The programme was developed from a television pilot broadcast ...

'' (1976) - Man from Matlock Mutual Protection Society

References

Bibliography

* Ross, Robert. ''The Complete Terry-Thomas''. Reynolds & Hearn, 2002.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Graham 1936 births 1999 deaths English male television actors English male stage actors English male film actors Male actors from Blackpool Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Alumni of Sea Point High School