Howard Lew Lewis (21 August 1941 – 20 January 2018)
(born Howard R. Lewis) was an English comedian and actor, best known for his roles in comedy series including ''
Maid Marian and Her Merry Men
''Maid Marian and her Merry Men'' is a British children's television series created and written by Tony Robinson and directed by David Bell. It began on 16 November 1989 on BBC1 and ran for four series, with the last episode shown on 16 Februar ...
'', ''
Brush Strokes
''Brush Strokes'' is a British television sitcom broadcast on BBC1 from 1986 to 1991. Written by Esmonde and Larbey and set in South London, it depicted the (mostly) amorous adventures of a wisecracking house painter, Jacko (Karl Howman). Ther ...
'' and ''
Chelmsford 123
''Chelmsford 123'' is a British television situation comedy produced for Channel 4 by Hat Trick Productions. It originally ran for two series, of six and seven episodes respectively, in 1988 and 1990.
The series is set in the British town of C ...
''.
Biography
Lewis was born in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England. His parents were both born in southern Wales (Tenby and Bridgend). As a young man, Lewis flat-shared with
Ken Morley
Kenneth William Morley (born 17 January 1943) is an English actor and comedian, best known for playing Reg Holdsworth in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 1989 to 1995. He also played General Leopold von Flockenstuffen in the BBC ...
(
Reg Holdsworth
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' in 1989, by order of first appearance.
Dawn Prescott
Dawn Prescott, portrayed by Louise Harrison, was a shop assistant at ''Weatherfield S ...
of ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'') and Andy Carr, actor and screenwriter. His first job was with the Royal Air Force, where he was a computer operator. He worked for several years in computing and telecommunications, but when promoted to manager-level he decided instead to pursue acting as a career after being asked to fire a colleague whom he believed to be a good worker.
He was married twice. His first marriage lasted just over a year. His second marriage was to Anna Goodall. They married in 1990 with Ken Morley as best man.
Television
One of his more notable roles was as Rabies, one of the Merry Men 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 ...
children's television comedy series ''
Maid Marian and Her Merry Men
''Maid Marian and her Merry Men'' is a British children's television series created and written by Tony Robinson and directed by David Bell. It began on 16 November 1989 on BBC1 and ran for four series, with the last episode shown on 16 Februar ...
'' where he appeared in all 26 episodes. He also had a prominent part as the dim barman Elmo Putney in the BBC sitcom ''
Brush Strokes
''Brush Strokes'' is a British television sitcom broadcast on BBC1 from 1986 to 1991. Written by Esmonde and Larbey and set in South London, it depicted the (mostly) amorous adventures of a wisecracking house painter, Jacko (Karl Howman). Ther ...
'' between 1986-91.
Lewis also featured in "Now You See Them", a 1988 episode of the ITV anthology drama series ''
Dramarama
Dramarama is an American, New Jersey–based alternative rock/power pop band, who later moved to Los Angeles. The band was formed in New Jersey in 1982 and disbanded in 1994. The band formally reunited in 2003 following an appearance on VH1's ' ...
.''
He appeared in two other prominent historical comedy series - as Blag in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
sitcom ''
Chelmsford 123
''Chelmsford 123'' is a British television situation comedy produced for Channel 4 by Hat Trick Productions. It originally ran for two series, of six and seven episodes respectively, in 1988 and 1990.
The series is set in the British town of C ...
'' (1988) set during the Roman occupation of Britain in AD 123, and as assorted
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
peasants, (including Piers and Mr Applebottom) in ''
The Black Adder
''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 Ju ...
'' (1983) and he had minor parts in two
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', ...
sitcoms - ''
The Magnificent Evans
''The Magnificent Evans'' is a 1984 BBC situation comedy written by Roy Clarke and starring Ronnie Barker, Sharon Morgan and Myfanwy Talog.
Plot
Ronnie Barker played Welsh photographer Plantagenet Evans, a tactless but likeable bully with an ...
'' (1984) and ''
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 ...
'' (1985) - and the ITV comedy-drama ''
Minder
A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds".
Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' (1984).
Films
Lewis appeared in several films, again mostly in minor roles. Notable film appearances included
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...
's 1985 film ''
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
'', where he played one of the Black Maria guards, and as one of Robin Hood's followers in the 1991 film ''
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', playing a character named Hal.
He also appeared in the 1992
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-nominated semi-biographical film ''
Chaplin Chaplin may refer to:
People
* Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director
* Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin
Films
* ''Unknown Chaplin'' (1983)
* Chaplin (film), ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992)
* Chaplin (2011 fi ...
'', and was the
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
voice of
Obelix
Obelix ( ; ) is a cartoon character in the French comic book series ''Asterix''. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman as well as one of the primary defenders of the Gaulish village, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his ...
in the 1994 film of ''
Asterix in America'' to
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2 ...
'
Asterix
''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...
. In 2005, he played the part of Lillas Pastia, the innkeeper, in Bizet's ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'' at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, London, and in 2007, played alongside
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis ( ; born 3 February 1970) is an English actor and television presenter. Active within the industry since he was eleven, Davis is one of the highest grossing supporting actors of all time and has the highest average gross r ...
in the film ''Small Town Folk''.
Death
In an interview with the ''
Scottish Mail on Sunday'' in late 2017, Lewis confirmed he had been diagnosed with
dementia
Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
. His fellow actor and friend
Tony Robinson
Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom ''Blackadder'' and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel ...
announced on Twitter on 22 January 2018 that Lewis had died on 20 January 2018.
On 28 January 2018, it was reported that police in Edinburgh were investigating the circumstances surrounding the actor's death after his step-daughter Debora Milazzo claimed he had been placed on a regime of high-dose sedatives and maximum-strength opiate painkillers, and had been needlessly placed on the kind of treatment plan that would be prescribed for the terminal phase of a malignant disease, explaining that her stepfather had not received a terminal diagnosis. Police Scotland confirmed it was investigating the complaint.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Howard Lew
1941 births
2018 deaths
English male comedians
English male film actors
English male television actors
Male actors from London
Comedians from London