Hywel Bennett

Hywel Thomas Bennett[1][lower-alpha 1] (8 April 1944 – 25 July 2017) was a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is perhaps best known for his leading roles in films including The Family Way (1966) and for playing the titular James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley (1979–1992).

Hywel Bennett
Bennett in 1966
Born	Hywel Thomas Bennett 8 April 1944 Garnant, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Died	25 July 2017 (aged 73) Cardiff, Wales
Alma mater	RADA
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1965–2007
Spouse(s)	Cathy McGowan ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 1988)​ Sandra Layne Fulford ​ ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	1

Having played opposite Hayley Mills in The Family Way and Twisted Nerve and starred as Private Brigg in the comedy film The Virgin Soldiers (1969), Bennett's screen roles continued into the 1970s in films such as Loot (1970) and Percy (1971). Bennett's character, Ricki Tarr, was pivotal in the BBC serial based on John le Carré's novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979). Bennett appeared in EastEnders during 2003 as crime boss Jack Dalton.

Early life

Bennett was born in Garnant, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of Sarah Gwen (née Lewis) and Gorden Bennett.[3] He was the brother of actor Alun Lewis, who is best known for playing Vic Windsor in Emmerdale. Bennett was brought up in London from an early age, and attended Sunnyhill School, Streatham, Henry Thornton Grammar School, Clapham (1955–62) and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[4]

Career

Bennett debuted on stage in the role of Ophelia in a Queen's Theatre production of Hamlet in 1959.[4]

His first film appearance was as Leonardo in the 1966 Italian Il marito è mio e l'ammazzo quando mi pare ("It's my husband and I'll decide when to kill him"), directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile, a comedy in which a young wife carefully plans to murder her husband, who is 40 years her senior, to marry a young beatnik.[5]

He starred opposite Hayley Mills in several films, including The Family Way (1966), Twisted Nerve (1968) and Endless Night (1972).

He starred in The Virgin Soldiers (1969), the film adaptation of Loot (1970) by Joe Orton, and Percy (1971).[6] In 1969, contemporary critic Roger Ebert called him "one of England's best young actors".[7]

On television Bennett appeared in Doctor Who (1965) and The Sweeney (1976).[8]

He played major parts in several Dennis Potter television plays, including Where the Buffalo Roam (1966), an episode of 1978's Pennies from Heaven, "Better Think Twice", in which he played Tom, a pimp; Karaoke (1996); and Cold Lazarus (also 1996). He took the lead role in Shelley (1979–84) and its sequel The Return of Shelley (1988–92).

He was also the villainous Mr Croup in Neil Gaiman's serial Neverwhere (1996).[9] Bennett also starred in the four-part BBC mini-series Malice Aforethought (1979) based on a novel written in the 1920s by Francis Iles.[10] Bennett's character, Ricki Tarr, was pivotal in the BBC serial based on John le Carré's novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979).[7] He also appeared in Lock, Stock... (2000) as Deep Throat.[11]

In 2003, Bennett joined the cast of the long-running soap opera EastEnders as Jack Dalton – the ruthless gangland kingpin of Walford.

Bennett also appeared as an occasional character, Peter Baxter, on The Bill and was in the first episode of Jam & Jerusalem.[12][13]

He appeared in the 1986 music video of "Loving You's a Dirty Job but Somebody's Gotta Do It" by Bonnie Tyler and Todd Rundgren in which he lip synced Rundgren's vocals.

Personal life and death

From 1970 to 1988, Bennett was married to Cathy McGowan, who was the presenter of the TV rock show Ready Steady Go! in the mid-1960s. They had a daughter, Emma. In 1998, he married Sandra Layne Fulford. He has a brother called Alun Lewis who appeared in Emmerdale and Birds of a Feather.

Bennett retired from acting in 2007 after being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect,[14] and later moved to Deal, Kent. He died on 25 July 2017, aged 73.[15][4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	Julius Caesar	Octavius Caesar	TV film
1966	The Family Way	Arthur Fitton
1968	Il marito è mio e l'ammazzo quando mi pare	Leonardo	Italian
	Twisted Nerve	Martin Durnley/Georgie Clifford
1969	The Virgin Soldiers	Private Brigg
1970	The Buttercup Chain	France
	Loot	Dennis
1971	Percy	Edwin Anthony
1972	Endless Night	Michael Rogers
	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland	Duckworth
1973	The Love Ban	Mick Goonahan
1981	Artemis 81	Gideon Harlax	TV film
1985	Murder Elite	Jimmy Fowler
1987	Deadline	Mike Jessop
1991	A Mind to Kill	Gareth D. Lewis	TV film
1994	Deadly Advice	Dr. Crippen
1997	Hospital!	Dickie Beaumont	TV film
	Harpur and Iles	ACC Desmond Iles	TV film
1999	Misery Harbour	The Captain
	Nasty Neighbours	The Boss
	Mary, Mother of Jesus	Herod	TV film
2000	Vatel	Jean-Baptiste Colbert
	Married 2 Malcolm	Reg
2003	Lloyd & Hill	Dr. Freddie Marks	TV film
	One for the Road	Richard Stevens
2004	The Second Quest	Ronno	TV film
	The Final Quest	Ronno	TV film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	Redcap	Brown	Episode: "Nightwatch"
1965	Doctor Who	Rynian	Episode: "The Death of Time"
	Jury Room	Joe Mintz	Episode: "The Side of Mercy"
	Theatre 625	Lipstrob	Episode: "Unman, Wittering and Zigo"
1966		Beliayev	Episode: "A Month in the Country"
	The Idiot	Hypolite Terentiev	Mini-series
	Thirteen Against Fate	Gilles Mauvaisin	Episode: "The Traveller"
	The Wednesday Play	Willy Turner	Episode: "Where the Buffalo Roam"
1967		Oliver Treefe	Episode: "Death of a Teddy Bear"
	BBC Play of the Month	Romeo	Episode: "Romeo and Juliet"
1973	Play for Today	Tony	Episode: "Three's One"
1976	The Sweeney	Steve Castle	Episode: "Sweet Smell of Succession"
1978	Pennies from Heaven	Tom	Episode: "Better Think Twice"
	Strangers	Jack Slater	Episode: "Silver Lining"
1979	Malice Aforethought	Dr. Edmund Bickleigh	Mini-series
	Play for Today	Harry Essendorf	Episode: "Coming Out"
	Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy	Ricki Tarr	Mini-series
1979-1984	Shelley	James Shelley	Series regular
1982	BBC Play of the Month	Mr. King/Mr. Puff	Episode: "The Critic"
1983	The Consultant	Chris Webb	Mini-series
1985	Theatre Night	John	Episode: "Absent Friends"
1986	Screen Two	Allan Blakeston	Episode: "Frank and Johnnie"
	The Twilight Zone	Grant	Episode: "Devil's Alphabet"
	Robin of Sherwood	King Arthur	Episode: "The Inheritance"
1987	Tickets for the Titanic	Brian Stebbings	Episode: "Checkpoint Chiswick"
1988	The Modern World: Ten Great Writers	Professor	Episode: "Joseph Conrad's 'The Secret Agent'"
	Boon	Richard Jay	Episode: "Charity Begins at Home"
1988-1992	The Return of Shelley	James Shelley	Series regular
1991	Ålder okänd	James Williams	Mini-series
1992	The Other Side of Paradise	Purvis	Mini-series
	Virtual Murder	Harold Bingham	Episode: "A Bone to Pick"
	Screen One	Ralph	Episode: "Trust Me"
1993	Casualty	Paul Lawson	Episode: "Life in the Fast Lane"
	Frank Stubbs Promotes	Clive Riley	Episode: "Book"
1994	Murder Most Horrid	Clancy	Episode: "Smashing Bird"
1996	Karaoke	Arthur 'Pig' Mallion	Mini-series
	Cold Lazarus		Mini-series
	Frontiers	DS Eddie Spader	Series regular
	Neverwhere	Mr. Croup	Mini-series
2000	Dirty Work	Mostyn Hughes	Episode: "A Fish Called Rhondda"
	Lock, Stock...	Deep Throat	Episode: "...And Spaghetti Sauce"
2001	Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)	Roger Whale	Episode: "Whatever Possessed You?"
2002	Last of the Summer Wine	Kevin	Episode: "It All Began with an Old Volvo Headlamp"
	Time Gentlemen Please	Barsteward in Wheelchair	Episode: "Optics Wide Shut"
	The Quest	Ronno	Mini-series
2003	EastEnders	Jack Dalton	Recurring role
2005	Casualty@Holby City	David Wincott	Episode: "Interactive: Something We Can Do"
	High Hopes	Uncle Tom	Episode: "Uncle Tom"
2006	Jam & Jerusalem	Dr. Mike Vine	Episode: "Sudden Death"
2007	The Last Detective	Reggie Conway	Episode: "Dangerous Liaisons"

Notes

1. According to director Roy Boulting, Bennett was not consistent on the pronunciation of his given name: "It's pronounced 'Howell' or 'Hugh-el,' ... altho [sic] he seems to use one pronunciation one day, and another the next."[2]

References

1. Hayward, Anthony (4 August 2017). "Hywel Bennett obituary" – via www.theguardian.com.
2. Terry, Clifford (9 July 1967). "Little Hayley Now Mature Miss Mills". Chicago Tribune – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Hywel Bennett Biography (1944–)". www.filmreference.com.
4. Williamson, Marcus (3 August 2017). "Hywel Bennett obituary: Beloved actor who rose to fame as a sitcom star". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
5. "Il MARITO È MIO E L'AMMAZZO QUANDO MI PARE (1967)". BFI. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
6. "Hywel Bennett – Movies and Filmography – AllMovie". AllMovie.
7. "Hywel Bennett obituary: fashionable young man who grew up fast – Sight & Sound".
8. "Il MARITO È MIO E L'AMMAZZO QUANDO MI PARE (1967)". BFI. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
9. "EastEnders star Hywel Bennett passes away aged 73". 4 August 2017.
10. "Malice Aforethought Part 3 (1979)".
11. "Lock, Stock...And Spaghetti Sauce (2000)".
12. "Hywel Bennett".
13. TV.com. "Jam and Jerusalem". TV.com.
14. "Hywel Bennett obituary". The Guardian. 4 August 2017.
15. "Hywel Bennett, star of television and film, dies aged 73". BBC News. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.

External links

• Hywel Bennett at the British Film Institute
• Hywel Bennett at IMDb
• HYWEL BENNETT