John Quayle (actor)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Quayle (born 21 December 1938) is an English actor who had roles in many sitcoms including ''
All Gas and Gaiters ''All Gas and Gaiters'' is a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC One, BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of John Wraith when writing th ...
'', ''
Terry and June ''Terry and June'' is a BBC television sitcom, broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of '' Happy Ever After'', and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, Terry and J ...
'', '' Steptoe and Son'' 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 ...
''.


TV career

The younger brother of actress Anna Quayle, his first main TV role was that of Jim Hawkins in the 1951
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 ...
serialisation of ''
Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...
'' alongside Bernard Miles as
Long John Silver Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1883 novel '' Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg ...
. He also appeared in a 1952 episode of ''
Billy Bunter William George Bunter is a fictional schoolboy created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards. He features in stories set at Greyfriars School, a fictional English public school in Kent, originally published in the boys' weekly ...
'' of '' Greyfriars School''. His roles in the 1960s included appearances in '' The Power Game'' and ''
No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV (TV network), ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' ...
''. He also appeared in a 1964 episode 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 ...
'' as an army bomb disposal officer. He appeared in the
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 ...
''
All Gas and Gaiters ''All Gas and Gaiters'' is a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC One, BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of John Wraith when writing th ...
'' in 1970. Later appearances included '' Steptoe and Son'', ''
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 ...
'', '' Doomwatch'', '' The Dick Emery Show'', '' The Good Life'', ''
The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth (producer), John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV (TV network), ITV period drama ''Upstairs, ...
'', '' Happy Ever After'', ''
Rising Damp ''Rising Damp'' is a British sitcom, written by Eric Chappell and produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, which was originally broadcast from 2 September 1974 until 9 May 1978. Chappell adapted the story from his 1973 stage play ''The Banana ...
'', ''
Citizen Smith ''Citizen Smith'' is a British television sitcom written by John Sullivan, first broadcast from 1977 to 1980. It starred Robert Lindsay as Walter Henry "Wolfie" Smith, a young Marxist "urban guerrilla" in Tooting, south London, who is attempti ...
'', ''
Mind Your Language ''Mind Your Language'' was a British sitcom that premiered on ITV in 1977. It was produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stuart Allen. Three series were made by London Weekend Television between 1977 and 1979, and it was briefly ...
'' and ''
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' is a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role. Three series were produced from 1976 to 1979, based on a series of novels written by David Nobbs. Nobbs adapted the screenplay for the fi ...
''. Quayle also made numerous appearances in
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...
's popular
period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
'' Upstairs, Downstairs.'' His first appearance was in the episode '' The Path of Duty'' (1971) as
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
William ''"Billy"'' Watson, an army friend of James Bellamy and potential
suitor Courtship is the period wherein some Couple (relationship), couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage or committed romantic, ''de facto'' relationship. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with th ...
of Bellamy's younger sister Elizabeth. Quayle was then cast in the recurring role of Bunny Newbury, again a close friend of James Bellamy. The 1980s saw Quayle play the two roles that he is perhaps the most remembered for. Firstly, he played the Duke of Broughton in the BBC period drama ''
Nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...
''. Secondly, in 1985 he became the third actor (after Terence Alexander and Tim Barrett) to play the Medfords' best friend Malcolm in the sitcom ''
Terry and June ''Terry and June'' is a BBC television sitcom, broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of '' Happy Ever After'', and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, Terry and J ...
''. He also played a lead role in
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
's sitcom '' Farrington of the F.O.'' alongside
Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress and comedienne, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for ...
and
Angela Thorne Angela Margaret Leslie Thorne (25 January 1939 – 16 June 2023) was a British actress of stage, television and film having performed roles in '' World in Ferment'' (1969), ''Get Some In!'' (1976), '' The Good Life'' (1977), ''Midsomer Murders'' ...
. Other appearances in the 1980s included roles in Johnny Speight's ''The Nineteenth Hole'' and '' Only When I Laugh''. In 2006, he appeared in '' The Line of Beauty'' as Geoffrey Titchfield. In more recent years Quayle played Mr Wilcox in ''
Hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
'', Anthony Stephens in ''
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 ...
'', as well as roles in ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
'', ''
Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...
'', '' Monarch of the Glen'', and '' Lab Rats''.


Theatre career

Appearances include
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
's ''Afternoon at the Seaside'', and ''Light Up The Sky'', together with '' For Services Rendered'' by
Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
at the National Theatre in 1979. He played the role of Bernard in
Don't Dress for Dinner ''Don't Dress for Dinner'' is an adaptation of a two-act play titled ''Pyjama Pour Six'' by French playwright Marc Camoletti, who wrote '' Boeing-Boeing.'' It ran in London for six years and opened on Broadway in 2012. Productions After a succ ...
in the West End in 1991 and a New Zealand tour in 1993.


Film career

In 1953, Quayle played the office boy in the film '' The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan''. Other films include ''Night Train to Paris'', '' Privates on Parade'', ''
Longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...
'', ''Seeing Red'', ''A.K.A.'' and ''Fish Tales''.


Animal sanctuary

At the time of the filming of series 2 of ''Farrington'', John Quayle and his wife Petronell were using their farmhouse home as an animal sanctuary. They began in 1976 when they adopted two donkeys from the Donkey Sanctuary near
Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 13,258 in 2021, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...
in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
. In 1984 they adopted their third donkey, Jacob. Other animals included a pony, a horse, three pugs, a
Russian Blue The Russian Blue cat (), commonly referred to as just Russian Blue, is a pedigreed cat breed with solid blue colours that vary from a light shimmering silver to a darker, slate grey. The short, dense coat, which stands out from the body, has b ...
cat and a giraffe named Binkie.


References

Yorkshire Television, ''Press Pack for Farrington Series Two''.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quayle, John 1938 births English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Lincoln, England Living people