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'', Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire 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 seri ...

'' and Harry Lambert in '' Oh, Doctor Beeching!'', 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 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 on Friday, 17 December 1926. 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 ...

, 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 M ...

. 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.

Career

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. 1194–1195, ...

debut with the transfer of

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

'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 (franchise), ''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 an English character actor and comedian. He was known for his acting roles in movies such as Henry Salt in the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', Algernon in The Be ...

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: '' On the Buses'' (1971), '' Mutiny on the Buses'' (1972), and '' Holiday 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 James Cameron Davidson (born 13 December 1953) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter. He hosted the television shows '' Big Break'' and '' The Generation Game''. In 2014 he was the winner of the 13th series of ''Cel ...

's version of ''

The Generation Game ''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes. The game There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's me ...

'' on

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

. 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''. He also appeared in '' Manhunt'' in a rare villainous role, as a Milice in episode 2. 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'' (1962), '' Sparrows Can't Sing'' (1963) (which he also wrote), '' Negatives'' (1968), ''

Staircase A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway ...

'' (1969, with

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

and

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French W ...

), ''

Some Will, Some Won't ''Some Will, Some Won't'' is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Duncan Wood, starring an ensemble British cast including Michael Hordern, Ronnie Corbett, Dennis Price, Leslie Phillips and Arthur Lowe. It is a remake of ''Laughter in Paradise ...

'' (1969), '' The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins'' (1971), ''

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

'' (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 are two sequels, ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' (1977) and ''Adventures of a Plumber ...

'' (1976) and ''

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate ''Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' is a 1978 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil as Sid South. It was written by Stephen D. Frances and Aubrey Cash. Following '' Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976) a ...

'' (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 and retire in 2007. In 1996, Lewis played Harry Lambert, the signalman, in the BBC pilot of sitcom '' Oh, Doctor Beeching!'', 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 British sitcom, sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour episodes) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late ...

'', '' 2point4 Children'', ''

Father, Dear Father ''Father, Dear Father'' is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973. An Australian sequel s ...

, London's Burning (1 episode)'' and '' The Grimleys''. 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 an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...

, 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 Merchant Navy personnel British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II English male comedians English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from London Actors from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Comedians from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People from Poplar, London