Jeremy Hawk (20 May 1918 – 15 January 2002) was a character actor with a long career in music halls and on London's

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

stage.

Early life

Hawk was born Cedric Joseph Lange in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

; his father was a matinee idol who used the name Douglas Drew, and his mother, June, of Irish origin, was of the third generation of an acting family. After his parents' divorce and his mother's subsequent marriage to a wealthy Yorkshire wool merchant, he was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

. Already nicknamed "Hawk" because of the shape of his nose, Lange began using the name Jeremy Hawk on entering

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

. By his first wife, Tuli, he had a daughter, Berenice Hawk; he married secondly actress Joan Heal, with whom he had another daughter, the actress Belinda Lang.

Career

Hawk appeared on television as straight man to Benny Hill, Arthur Askey, Norman Wisdom and

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

as well as hosting the ITV programme '' Criss Cross Quiz'' and the junior version for children's television from 1957 to 1962. He later presented the improvisation comedy show '' Impromptu''. He also appeared in several films, including ''

Lucky Jim ''Lucky Jim'' is a novel by Kingsley Amis, first published in 1954 by Victor Gollancz. It was Amis's first novel and won the 1955 Somerset Maugham Award for fiction. The novel follows the exploits of the eponymous James (Jim) Dixon, a relucta ...

'' (1957). He found little other work though is remembered for a long running famous Cadbury's chocolate tropical style advert in the 1970s: "Nuts, who-le ha-zelnuts. Cadbury's take 'em and they cover 'em in chocolate". He died, aged 83, in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east o ...

, survived by his third wife, Lisa.

Filmography

* '' The Goose Steps Out'' (1942) - A.D.C. * '' The Peterville Diamond'' (1942) - Pierre * '' Face the Music'' (1954) - Recording Technician * ''

A Stranger Came Home ''A Stranger Came Home'' is a 1954 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paulette Goddard, William Sylvester and Patrick Holt. The film was produced by Hammer Films at Bray Studios with sets designed by the art director J. E ...

'' (1954) - Sgt. Johnson * ''

Mask of Dust ''Mask of Dust'' (later named 'Race for Life' ) is a 1954 British motor racing drama film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Richard Conte, Mari Aldon and Peter Illing. The film was based on the 1953 novel ''The Last Race'' by Jon Man ...

'' (1954) - Martin - racer * '' Who Done It?'' (1956) - Himself * ''

'' (1957) - Bill Atkinson * '' The 39 Steps'' (1959) - Theatre Compere (uncredited) * '' Left Right and Centre'' (1959) - T.V. Interviewer * ''

Dentist in the Chair ''Dentist in the Chair'' is a 1960 British comedy film, directed by Don Chaffey and starring Bob Monkhouse, Ronnie Stevens (actor), Ronnie Stevens, Eric Barker and Vincent Ball. The screenplay was written by Val Guest, and based on a novel by M ...

'' (1960) - Dental Instructor * '' Dentist on the Job'' (1961) - Professor Lovitt * ''

Panic Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reac ...

'' (1963) - Spike * '' Mystery Submarine'' (1963) - Adm. Saintsbury * Boy with a Flute (1964) Narrator. * ''

The Trygon Factor ''The Trygon Factor'' is a 1966 British-West German crime film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Stewart Granger, Susan Hampshire and Robert Morley. It is one of the films based on works by Edgar Wallace of the 1960s and its German title i ...

'' (1966) - Bank Manager * ''

Eskimo Nell Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik (or Yuit) of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related thi ...

'' (1975) - Vernon Peabody * '' Stealing Heaven'' (1988) - Ancient Priest * '' Elizabeth'' (1998) - Bishop #2 (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawk, Jeremy 1918 births 2002 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male comedians English male film actors English game show hosts English male television actors People from Johannesburg People from Reading, Berkshire 20th-century English comedians South African emigrants to the United Kingdom