Bill Dean

Known for ActingBorn 1921-09-03Died 2000-04-20Everton, Liverpool, England, UK

Bill Dean was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire. He was born Patrick Anthony Connolly, but took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean. After a atring of jobs, it was his work as a Lancashire club comedian that saw him spotted by Ken Loach who gave him his breakthrough role in his TV play The Golden Vision. Famous for his flat but penetrating Scouse tones, Dean went on to star as miserable pensioner Harry Cross in the long running Channel 4 soap Brookside from its inception in 1983 to 1990. He briefly returned to the series in 1999 for three episodes, when his character re-appeared in Brookside Close suffering from Alzheimer's disease and wrongly believing that he still lived there. The same character was the inspiration behind the 1980s group 'Jegsy Dodd and the sons of Harry Cross' who hailed from the Wirral and Dean himself appeared in the video of the Liverpudlian band The Farm's Groovy Train as Cross, who was a former train driver. He did of a heart attack aged 78 in 2000.Read more

Movies & web series

The Gathering Seed

Beasts: What Big Eyes

Speech Day

The Expert

Public Eye

The Sweeney

Pennies from Heaven

Going Gently

Hillsborough

Kes

Heartbeat

Flame

Justice

Family Life

Man in a Suitcase

Minder

Budgie

Scum

BBC2 Play of the Week

Beasts

Playhouse

ITV Saturday Night Theatre

Let Him Have It

The Rank and File

The Big Flame

Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime

Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!

Priest

The Wackers

The Best Pair of Legs in the Business

Night Watch

New Scotland Yard

Gumshoe

The Golden Vision

The Mirror Crack'd

Roll On Four O'Clock

Brookside: Friday the 13th

Rising Damp

The Wednesday Play

Slayground

Skallagrigg

A Turn for the Worse

Night People

Freedom of the Dig

Bag of Yeast

Waiting at the Field Gate

In Sickness and in Health

Break In