Stephen Lewis (17 December 1926 – 12 August 2015), credited early in his career as Stephen Cato, was an English actor, comedian, director, screenwriter and playwright. He is best known for his roles as Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in ''

On the Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast on ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned three spin-off feature films and a stage version. Desp ...

'', Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes fo ...

'' and Harry Lambert in ''

Oh, Doctor Beeching! ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' is a BBC television sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove which, after a broadcast pilot on 14 August 1995, ran for two series from 8 July 1996, with the last episode being broadcast on 28 September 1997. ...

'', although he also appeared in numerous stage and film roles.

Early life

Lewis was born at All Saints Maternity Hospital in Poplar,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. He worked as a bricklayer, electrician's mate and carpenter, and also joined the Merchant Navy, before turning to acting. He was persuaded to go to a performance by the

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West En ...

, under its director

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of ...

. It was common, after these performances, to invite members of the audience to meet the cast. He was invited to an audition, landed the part, and left the sea to become a member of the company.

Stage

Lewis made his

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194– ...

debut with the transfer of

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English and ...

's '' The Hostage'' in 1958. In 1960 he wrote ''Sparrers Can't Sing'' with the Theatre Workshop, which was made into the film '' Sparrows Can't Sing'' in 1963, starring

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was known for his roles in films such as The Beatles' '' Help!'' (1965), Clapper in '' How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketee ...

and Lewis himself, as well as his future ''On the Buses'' co-star Bob Grant. He used the surname "Cato" in his early stage career, but after writing ''Sparrows Can't Sing'' he was urged by his agent to use his real name.

Television

From 1969 Lewis starred in his best-remembered role as the gruff inspector Blakey in the British sitcom ''On the Buses'', which ran for 74 episodes and spawned three films: ''

'' (1971), '' Mutiny on the Buses'' (1972), and ''

Holiday on the Buses ''Holiday on the Buses'' is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Bryan Izzard and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the third and final spin-off film from the ITV sitcom ''On the Buses'' and succeeded the films ''On the Buses'' ...

'' (1973). He co-wrote 12 episodes with fellow star Bob Grant. Lewis was made up to look much older than his actual age with heavy make-up; he was only 42 when the programme began. A spin-off series, '' Don't Drink the Water'' (1974–1975), ran for two series. This featured Blakey retiring to Spain with his sister Dorothy (played by

Pat Coombs Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...

). In the 1990s, Blakey appeared regularly on Jim Davidson's version of '' The Generation Game'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

. In addition, Lewis played a coach driver with very similar characteristics to Blakey in a 2000 edition of ITV's 1970s-set sitcom ''

The Grimleys ''The Grimleys'' is a comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after thr ...

''. He also appeared in '' Manhunt'' in a rare villainous role. He and Bob Grant starred in a TV show called ''Jugg Brothers'' (1970), but this never got past the pilot episode.

Film

The films in which Lewis acted included ''

A Prize of Arms ''A Prize of Arms'' is a 1962 British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Stanley Baker, Helmut Schmid, Patrick Magee and Tom Bell with early appearances by several actors including Fulton Mackay, Michael Ripper, Stephen Lewis, Ge ...

'' (1962), '' Sparrows Can't Sing'' (1963) (which he also wrote), '' Negatives'' (1968), '' Staircase'' (1969, with

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable p ...

and

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French Without Tears'', in what ...

), '' Some Will, Some Won't'' (1969), ''

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins ''The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins'' is a 1971 British sketch comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of ''The Magnificent Seven'' and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each r ...

'' (1971), ''

The Last Remake of Beau Geste ''The Last Remake of Beau Geste'' is a 1977 American historical comedy film. It stars and was also directed and co-written by Marty Feldman. It is a satire loosely based on the 1924 novel '' Beau Geste'', a frequently-filmed story of brothers ...

'' (1977), '' Personal Services'', '' Out of Order'' (both 1987), and '' The Krays'' (1990). He also appeared in two British sex comedies, ''

Adventures of a Taxi Driver ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Barry Evans, Judy Geeson and Adrienne Posta. There were two sequels, '' Adventures of a Private Eye'' and '' Adventures of a Plumber's Ma ...

'' (1975) and '' Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' (1978).

Later television roles

In 1988, he took on one of his longest-running roles, playing Clem "Smiler" Hemingway in the BBC sitcom ''

''. The character appeared in many episodes for 17 years, until ill health forced Lewis to leave the series in 2007. In 1996, Lewis played Harry Lambert, the signalman, in the BBC pilot of sitcom ''

'', which ran to two further series. He appeared as a guest in sitcoms such as ''

One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour shows) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first fi ...

'', ''

2point4 Children ''2point4 Children'' is a BBC Television sitcom that was created and written by Andrew Marshall. It follows the lives of the Porters, a seemingly average, working-class London family whose world is frequently turned upside-down by bad luck and ...

'', '' Father, Dear Father'' and ''

''. He also played the character of Alf, a comedy writer, in the second series of '' The All New Alexei Sayle Show'' (1995).

Death

Lewis died at the age of 88 on 12 August 2015, in a nursing home in

Wanstead Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...

, London, where his sister Connie also resided.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Interview with Stephen Lewis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Stephen 1926 births 2015 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors British male comedy actors English male comedians English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from London People from Poplar, London