Christopher Hewett

Christopher Michael Hewett (5 April 1921[1][2] – 3 August 2001) was a British actor and theatre director best known for his role as Lynn Aloysius Belvedere on the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere.

Christopher Hewett
Born
Christopher Michael Hewett

(1921-04-05)5 April 1921
Worthing, Sussex, England
Died3 August 2001(2001-08-03) (aged 80)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeBrookwood Cemetery in Brookwood, Surrey, England
NationalityEnglish
OccupationActor, theatre director
Years active1943–1997

Career

Hewett was born in Worthing, Sussex to an army officer father and an Irish mother who was a descendant of Daniel O'Connell.[1] He was educated at Beaumont College and at Wimbledon College, and at aged 7, made his acting debut in Dublin stage production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. At age 16 Hewett joined the Royal Air Force, leaving in 1940. Hewett then joined the Oxford Repertory Company and made his West End theatre debut in 1943.[2][3]

He later appeared on Broadway in the musicals My Fair Lady, First Impressions, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Music Is and Kean and in the plays Sleuth and The Affair, among others, and directed the 1960 Broadway revue From A to Z and the 1967 Off Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hart musical By Jupiter. Hewett also directed several stage productions including The Marriage-Go-Round and Beyond the Fringe and Camelot.[4]

Hewett made his film debut in the crime drama Pool of London (1951), and later appeared in roles on Robert Montgomery Presents and DuPont Show of the Month. He appeared as the grandiose and camp theatre director Roger DeBris in Mel Brooks's comedy The Producers (1968). In 1976, Hewett played the generic bureaucrat Federov in the short-lived sitcom Ivan the Terrible. During the 1979-80 season he played Captain Hook to Sandy Duncan's Peter Pan on Broadway. From 1983 to 1984 he portrayed Lawrence, Mr. Roarke's (Ricardo Montalbán) sidekick on the final season of the ABC series Fantasy Island.

The following year, Hewett landed his best known role as Lynn Aloysius Belvedere, an English butler who works for a middle class American family in the sitcom Mr. Belvedere.[5] After the series ended its run in 1990 Hewett appeared in a guest spot on an episode of the NBC teen sitcom California Dreams in 1994. His last onscreen role was a cameo appearance on the Fox series Ned and Stacey in 1997.[4]

Personal life and death

A devout Catholic and lifelong bachelor, Hewett served at St. Victor's Church in West Hollywood. During his later years, he suffered from arthritis and diabetes.[1]

Hewett died on 3 August 2001, at his Los Angeles home from complications of diabetes. He was 80 years old.[6][7]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1951 Pool of London Mike
1951 The Lavender Hill Mob Inspector Talbot
1954 The Million Pound Note Irate Investor Uncredited
Alternative title: Man with a Million
1968 The Producers Roger De Bris
1986 Ratboy Acting Coach
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1955 Robert Montgomery Presents Major Sanders Episode: "The Cage"
1959 DuPont Show of the Month Policeman Episode: "The Fallen Idol"
1966 The Jackie Gleason Show Mumbling English Pedestrian Episode: "The Honeymooners In England"
1976 Ivan the Terrible Federov 5 episodes
1977 On Our Own Episode: "Julia's Big Bust"
1979 ABC Afterschool Special Butler Episode: "Seven Wishes of a Rich Kid"
1982 The Elephant Man Ross Television film
1982 Hart to Hart Jeremy Lane Episode: "Vintage Harts"
1982 Massarati and the Brain Anatole Television film
1983-1984 Fantasy Island Lawrence Main role, 10 episodes
1984 E/R Englishman Episode: "Mr. Fix-It"
1985-1990 Mr. Belvedere Mr. Lynn Aloysius Belvedere Lead role, 117 episodes
1987 The New Mike Hammer Hubert "The Umbrella" Wembley Episode: "Green Blizzard"
1987 Murder, She Wrote Humphrey Defoe Episode: "It Runs in the Family"
1989 Mario Ice Capades King Koopa Special on ABC.[8][9]
1990 A Very Retail Christmas Ghost of Christmas Past Television film
1993 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Himself Episode: "The Glacier Erasure"
1994 California Dreams Mr. Green Episode: "Follow Your Dreams"
1997 Ned and Stacey Himself Episode: "Saved by the Belvedere", (final appearance)

Award nomination
Year Award Category Title of work
2004 TV Land Award Best Broadcast Butler Mr. Belvedere

See also

References
  1. Gaughan, Gavin (18 October 2001). "Christopher Hewett Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  2. "Christopher Hewett". The Independent. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  3. "Old Wimbledonians Association". www.oldwimbledonians.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  4. "Christopher Hewett Biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  5. Mohr, Jay (20 July 2005). Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live. Hyperion. ISBN 1401308015.
  6. "Christopher Hewett; Stage Actor Best Known as TV's 'Mr. Belvedere'". latimes.com. 5 August 2001. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  7. "Christopher Hewett, Captain Hook and 'Mr. Belvedere,' Dead at 80". paybill.com. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  8. Reeves, Ben (29 December 2011). "Fondly Remembering The Super Mario Bros. Ice Capades". Game Informer. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  9. Orland, Kyle (14 September 2015). "30 years, 30 memorable facts about Super Mario Bros". Ars Technica. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
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