Michael John Leigh Barlow (18 January 1936 – 20 January 2023) was an English actor who performed many small roles in a variety of

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

programmes, and plays, under the stage name Tim Barlow or Timothy Barlow.

Life and career

Barlow was born 18 January 1936. His father, a solicitor, died when he was five years old. Barlow was raised by his mother. After graduating from school at the age of 18, he entered the British Army, and spent 15 years there. Barlow left the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1969 to pursue a career in

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

, receiving advice from

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dir ...

and Sir

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. He wrote and performed a one-man show in which he described how he came to the decision to go into the acting profession. He previously had much success with another one man show entitled "My Army" in which he described his life in the British army in the 1960s. This toured for many years. One of his most notable roles was playing Mr. Morrow, a blind man allergic to his guide dog in '' The Tall Guy'' alongside Jeff Goldblum. He played Tyssan in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' serial '' Destiny of the Daleks''. He also appeared on stage with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

and as the BFG at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon, and on screen as Mr Treacher in ''

Hot Fuzz ''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 buddy cop action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote the film with Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Nicholas Angel, an elite London police officer, whose proficiency makes the rest of his team look bad, causing hi ...

''. In 2007 he played an Ancient Blind Oracle in the HBO series ''

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

''. Barlow lost his hearing in the 1950s when testing a high velocity Muzzle

Rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

, most likely an L1A1 prototype known as the X-8 Self Loading Rifle (SLR), for the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, until 2008, when surgery to fit a

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

allowed him to recover some of his hearing. His experience of having the cochlear implant fitted was detailed in an episode of BBC Radio 4 programme ''It's My Story'', called "Earfull - From Silence into Sound". In 2016 he performed in ''Him'', an autobiographical work about memory, ageing and the art of theatre, created by theatre-maker Sheila Hill, with videographer Hugo Glendinning, and musician Sebastiano Dessanay. He died on 20 January 2023, aged 87.

TV and films

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barlow, Tim 1936 births 2023 deaths English male television actors Male actors from Blackpool British male deaf actors English male stage actors English male film actors 20th-century British Army personnel