William Mervyn

Known for ActingBorn 1912-01-03Died 1976-08-06Nairobi, Kenya

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.Read more

Movies & web series

The Liars

Persuasion

The Christmas Messenger

Charlesworth

Raffles

The Odd Man

The Persuaders!

The Loves of Joanna Godden

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

The Ghosts of Motley Hall

Doctor Who: The War Machines

Hancock's Half Hour

Murder Ahoy

Maigret

Mr. Rose

Gideon's Way

Watch It, Sailor!

Now Let Him Go

The Long Arm

The Railway Children

Operation Crossbow

No Love for Johnnie

The Ruling Class

The Blue Lamp

Barnacle Bill

Oliver Twist

The Battle of the Sexes

The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Jokers

All Gas and Gaiters

Atlantic Wall

Carry On Henry

Carry On Again Doctor

Conflict of Wings

Carve Her Name with Pride

A Touch of Larceny

Deadlier Than the Male

Armchair Theatre

Follow That Camel

Circus of Horrors

Crown Court

Upstairs and Downstairs

Stop Press Girl

Hammerhead

Hot Enough for June

Tons of Trouble

Salt & Pepper

BBC Play of the Month