
William Mervyn
William Mervyn Pickwoad (3 January 1912 – 6 August 1976) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the bishop in the clerical comedy All Gas and Gaiters, the old gentleman in The Railway Children and Inspector Charles Rose in The Odd Man and its sequels. Mervyn was born in Nairobi, British East Africa, but educated in Britain at Forest School, Snaresbrook, before embarking on a stage career, spending five years in provincial theatre. He made his West End debut in The Guinea Pig at the Criterion Theatre in 1946, before parts in plays such as Lend Me Robin at the Embassy Theatre, the comedy Ring Round the Moon, The Mortimer Touch, A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde at the Savoy Theatre in 1953 and Charley's Aunt. Mervyn's later stage roles included those of O'Trigger in The Rivals, Lord Greenham in the comedy Aren't We All? and Sir Patrick Cullen in The Doctor's Dilemma. Although he was admired in the theatre, it was with television that he became really well known. One of his first major small screen roles was Sir Hector in the 1962 series Saki. Four years later, he played the Bishop of St. Ogg's in the comedy series All Gas and Gaiters. It was, at that time, breaking with tradition, allowing a laugh at the expense of the established church. He also played the police chief inspector Charles Rose in the Granada TV series The Odd Man and its spin-offs It's Dark Outside and Mr Rose. He played the Hon. Mr. Justice Campbell in the Granada TV series Crown Court. Having taken the part of a Chief Inspector in the 1949 Ealing Studios film The Blue Lamp, in which PC George Dixon first appears (only to be shot dead by a young Dirk Bogarde), he then reappeared in a 1960 Dixon of Dock Green episode "The Hot Seat". He was in the 1966 Doctor Who story The War Machines and several Carry On films in the late 1960s, and also appeared as Mr. Whitty in the Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) episode "A Disturbing Case" in 1969. Usually cast as a wealthy upper class gentleman, he also appeared in The Railway Children (1970), as the children's train passenger friend, and The Ruling Class (1972). Around the same time, he appeared as Sir Hector Drummond, Bt., in the British TV series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, in an episode entitled "The Superfluous Finger" (1973). Mervyn was married to Anne Margaret Payne-Cook, a theatre designer and architect who survived him with their three sons - Michael Pickwoad, who in 2010 became the production designer on Doctor Who, Richard, television director and aerial cameraman and Nicholas (Pickwoad), expert on bookbinding. Mervyn's granddaughter Amy Pickwoad became an art director and standby art director for Doctor Who. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Mervyn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 1977 · Raffles as Osborne
- 1976 · The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones as Squire Alworthy
- 1976 · The Ghosts of Motley Hall as Mr. Brayling
- 1972 · Crown Court as The Hon. Mr. Justice Campbell
- 1972 · The Ruling Class as Sir Charles Gurney
- 1972 · Up the Front as Lord Twithampton
- 1971 · The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes as Sir Hector Drummond
- 1971 · The Persuaders! as Sir Charles Worthington
- 1971 · Carry On Henry as Physician
- 1971 · Blood Suckers as Marc Honeydew
- 1970 · The Railway Children as Old Gentleman
- 1970 · Atlantic Wall as Protestant Bishop, Jeff's father
- 1969 · Carry On Again Doctor as Lord Paragon
- 1969 · The Best House in London as Cabinet Minister (uncredited)
- 1968 · Hammerhead as Walter Perrin
- 1968 · Salt & Pepper as Prime Minister
- 1967 · Carry On Follow That Camel as Sir Cyril Ponsonby
- 1967 · The Jokers as Uncle Edward
- 1967 · Mr. Rose as Charles Rose / Marcus Despard
- 1967 · Deadlier Than the Male as Chairman of the Phoenician Board
- 1967 · All Gas and Gaiters as The Bishop, The Right Reverend Cuthbert Hever
- 1966 · Doctor Who: The War Machines as Sir Charles Summer
- 1966 · The Liars as Sir Gerald
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Sir Hector Rose
- 1965 · Operation Crossbow as Dutch Technical Examiner
- 1965 · Gideon's Way as Mr. Pater
- 1965 · The Legend of Young Dick Turpin as Lord Justice
- 1965 · Old Man's Fancy as The Bishop
- 1964 · Murder Ahoy as Breeze-Connington
- 1964 · It's Dark Outside as Chief Insp. Charles Rose
- 1964 · Hot Enough for June as Passenger on Plane
- 1962 · Oliver Twist as Mr. Grimwig
- 1961 · Watch It, Sailor! as Ship's Captain
- 1960 · Persuasion as Almirante Croft
- 1960 · Maigret as Doctor
- 1960 · The Odd Man as Chief Insp. Charles Rose
- 1960 · Circus of Horrors as Dr. Morley
- 1960 · The Battle of the Sexes as Detective's Friend
- 1960 · A Touch of Larceny as Capt. Balfour (uncredited)
- 1959 · The Young Lady from London as King Klaus
- 1959 · Upstairs and Downstairs as Kingsley
- 1959 · No Hiding Place as Colonel Frew
- 1959 · No Hiding Place as Ivor Naunton
- 1959 · Charlesworth as Charles Begbie
- 1958 · Carve Her Name with Pride as Colonel Buckmaster
- 1957 · Barnacle Bill as Captain
- 1957 · Nicholas Nickleby as Mr. Witterly
- 1957 · Now Let Him Go as Sir Edmund
- 1956 · Hancock's Half Hour as Council Official
- 1956 · The Long Arm as Manager of Festival Hall
- 1956 · Tons of Trouble as Roberts (MI5)
- 1956 · Kitty Clive as Colley Cibber
- 1955 · The Adventures of Robin Hood as Thomas
- 1955 · The Adventures of Robin Hood as Judd
- 1954 · Conflict of Wings as Mr. Wentworth/Col. Wentworth
- 1950 · Four Men in Prison as (uncredited)
- 1950 · The Blue Lamp as Chief Inspector Hammond (Uncredited)
- 1949 · Stop Press Girl as Cinema Manager (uncredited)
- 1947 · The Loves of Joanna Godden as Huxtable