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{{Short description|Scottish actor (1922–2010)}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}

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| birth_place = Edinburgh, Scotland20101911df=yes}}| death_place = Edinburgh, Scotland| occupation = Actor| years_active = 1956–2008Phyllida Hewat|1952}}Sarah Crowden>Sarah}}Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010)NEWS,www.scotsman.com/news/stage-and-screen-star-graham-crowden-dies-aged-87-1699830, Stage and screen star Graham Crowden dies, aged 87, The Scotsman, 21 October 2010, Edinburgh, Nicholas, Randall, NEWS,www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article2775124.ece, Graham Crowden (obituary), The Times, 21 October 2010, 65, was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric scientist, teacher and doctor characters.

Early life

Crowden was born on 30 November 1922 in Edinburgh, the son of University of Edinburgh-educated schoolmaster Harry Graham Crowden (d. 1938) and Anne Margaret (née Paterson).University of Edinburgh Journal, vol. 9, University of Edinburgh Graduates’ Association, 1938, p. 287NEWS,www.scotsman.com/news/obituary-graham-crowden-actor-1699734, The Scotsman, Obituary: Graham Crowden, actor, 21 October 2010, The Newsroom, 9 February 2021, Who’s Who In The Theatre: a biographical record of the contemporary stage, seventeenth edition, vol. I, ed. Ian Herbert, Gale Research Company, 1981, p. 154 He was educated at Clifton Hall School and the Edinburgh Academy before serving briefly in the Royal Scots Youth Battalion of the army until he was injured in an accident. During arms drill he was shot by his platoon sergeant, when the sergeant’s rifle discharged.WEB, 2010-10-22, Graham Crowden obituary,www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/oct/22/graham-crowden-obituary, 2021-02-09, the Guardian, en, The sergeant reportedly enquired “What is it now, Crowden?”, to which Crowden replied “I think you’ve shot me, sergeant.”.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} He later found work in a tannery.

Acting career

Crowden had a long theatrical career, most notably at Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre where he performed as The Player King in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a play by Tom Stoppard.He occasionally played mad scientists in film, taking the role of Doctor Millar in the Mick Travis films of director Lindsay Anderson, O Lucky Man! (1973) and Britannia Hospital (1982) and also playing the sinister Doctor Smiles in the film of Michael Moorcock’s first Jerry Cornelius novel, The Final Programme (1973). He also played the eccentric history master in Anderson’s if.... (1968). In 1970, he appeared in the popular Thames Television series Callan as The Groper, a de-registered doctor, who had been in Wormwood Scrubs called on by Callan, when unofficial medical assistance was required (e.g. Series 3, “A Village Called G” and probably others between 1967 and 1973 though some are now lost).In 1975, he made an appearance in “No Way Out“{{spaced ndash}} an episode of the British sitcom Porridge alongside Ronnie Barker, Brian Wilde, Richard Beckinsale and Fulton Mackay, as the prison doctor when Fletcher was complaining of an injured leg.He was offered the role of the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who in 1974, when Jon Pertwee left the role but turned it down, informing producer Barry Letts that he was not prepared to commit himself to the series for three years. Crowden’s potential hiring was the reason why Ian Marter was originally hired for a role, as the producers and directors considered Crowden too old to be seen running about and taking on a larger physical role. The role of the Doctor ultimately went to Tom Baker. Crowden appeared in The Horns of Nimon (1979–80) as a villain opposite Baker.A regular role was in the BBC comedy-drama A Very Peculiar Practice (1986–1988) as the alcoholic Dr Jock McCannon. In 1990, he appeared as a lecherous peer in the BBC comedy Don’t Wait Up and in 1991 he played a modest role in the Rumpole of the Bailey episode “Rumpole and the Quacks”, playing Sir Hector MacAuliffe, the head of a medical inquest into the potential sexual misconduct on the part of Ghulam Rahmat (played by Saeed Jaffrey).In 1990, he landed the role of Tom Ballard in the sitcom Waiting for God, opposite Stephanie Cole’s character Diana Trent, as the two rebellious retirement home residents. The show ran for five years and was a major success.BBC: Very quietly, Waiting For God became a huge success... In 1994, Crowden played the part of Professor Pollux in the BBC TV adaptation of the John Hadfield novel Love on a Branch Line. Crowden then voiced the role of Mustrum Ridcully in the 1997 animated Cosgrove Hall production of Terry Pratchett’s Soul Music.In 2001, he guest-starred in the Midsomer Murders episode “Ring Out Your Dead” and also played The Marquis of Auld Reekie in The Way We Live Now. Between 2001 and 2002, he played a role in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series The Leopard in Autumn. In 2003, he made a cameo as a sadistic naval school teacher in The Lost Prince. In 2005–2008, he starred in the Radio 4 sci-fi comedy Nebulous as Sir Ronald Rolands. In 2008, he appeared as a guest star in Foyle’s War.

Death

For many years in later life, Crowden lived in Mill Hill, London. Crowden died on 19 October 2010 in Edinburgh after a short illness, survived by his wife, Phyllida Hewat, whom he married in 1952, a son and three daughters, one of whom, Sarah Crowden, followed him into acting.

Filmography

Television roles{|class “wikitable“|+

! Year !! Title !! Role !! NotesDavid Copperfield (1956 TV serial)>David Copperfield Mr. Gulpidge Nicholas Nickleby (1957 TV series)>Nicholas Nickleby Mr. Pyke Charlesworth at Large >|HMS Paradise>|Redcap (TV series)>Redcap Major Fraser Episode: “The Patrol”Danger Man>|Episode: “That’s Two Of Us Sorry”Edgar Wallace Mysteries>Dead Man’s Chest (1965 film)>Dead Man’s ChestThe Sullavan Brothers >|Catweazle>|Episode: “The Enchanted King”The Guardians (British TV series)>The Guardians The Dirtiest Man Episode: “The Dirtiest Man in the World”The Adventures of Black Beauty>|Episode: “Goodbye Beauty”|1974Father Brown (1974 TV series)>Father Brown|Colonel Bohun|Episode: “The Hammer of God”Porridge (1974 TV series)>Porridge Prison Physician Christmas Special – “No Way Out”1990 (TV series)>1990 Dr. Sondeberg Episode: “Decoy”Raffles (TV series)>Raffles Sir Arthur Rumbold Episode: “Home Affairs”Doctor Who >|“The Horns of Nimon”The Brack Report >|Bleak House (1985 TV serial)>Bleak House Lord Chancellor A Very Peculiar Practice >|All Passion Spent>|Screen Two >| Episode: “East of Ipswich”Waiting for God (TV series)>Waiting for God Tom Ballard Rumpole of the Bailey >|The Alleyn Mysteries >|Episode: “Final Curtain”Love on a Branch Line (TV series)>Love on a Branch Line Professor Pollux Gulliver’s Travels (miniseries)>Gulliver’s Travels Professor of Politics The 10th Kingdom >|Dr. Terrible’s House of Horrible >|Episode: “Curse of the Blood of the Lizard of Doom”The Way We Live Now (2001 TV serial)>The Way We Live Now The Marquis of Auld Reekie Midsomer Murders >|Episode: “Ring Out Your Dead”Waking the Dead (TV series)>Waking the Dead Sir Cyril Barrett Episode: “Deus ex Machina”Foyle’s War >| Episode: “Broken Souls”

Film roles{|class “wikitable“|+

! Year !! Title !! Role !! NotesThe Bridal Path (film)>The Bridal Path Man Giving Directions to the Beach UncreditedDon’t Bother to Knock (1961 film)>Don’t Bother to Knock Scoutmaster UncreditedWe Joined the Navy >| UncreditedOne Way Pendulum (film)>One Way Pendulum Prosecuting Counsel / Caretaker Morgan - A Suitable Case for Treatment >|If.... >|The File of the Golden Goose >|The Virgin Soldiers >|Leo the Last >|The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer >|Percy (1971 film)>Percy Alfred Spaulton The Night Digger >|Something to Hide >|Up the Chastity Belt >|The Ruling Class (film)>The Ruling Class Kelso Truscott The Amazing Mr Blunden >|O Lucky Man! >|The Final Programme (film)>The Final Programme Dr. Smiles The Abdication >|The Little Prince (1974 film)>The Little Prince The General Romance with a Double Bass >|The New Spartans >|Hardcore (1977 film)>Hardcore Lord Yardarm Jabberwocky (film)>Jabberwocky Fanatics’ Leader Three Dangerous Ladies >| (segment “The Island“)For Your Eyes Only (film)>For Your Eyes Only First Sea Lord Britannia Hospital >|The Missionary >|The Company of Wolves >|(Code Name: Emerald) >|Out of Africa (film)>Out of Africa Lord Belfield A Handful of Dust (film)>A Handful of Dust Mr. Graceful The Innocent Sleep >|The Sea Change >|I Want You (1998 film)>I Want You Old Man Possession (2002 film)>Possession Sir George Calendar Girls >|

References

{{reflist}}Michael Palin, Halfway to Hollywood, p. 162

External links

• {{IMDb name|189561|Graham Crowden}}
• Obituary in The Independent
• {{British Comedy Guide|people|graham_crowden}}

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