Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer.
After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Woodward began his career on
stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London
and on Broadway in New York City.
He came to wider attention from 1967 in the title role of the British television spy drama
Callan, earning him the 1970 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.
Among his film credits, Woodward starred as Police Sergeant Neil Howie in the 1973 cult
British horror film The Wicker Man, and in the title role of the 1980 Australian biopic
Breaker Morant.
From 1985 Woodward starred as British ex-secret agent and vigilante Robert McCall in the American
television series The Equalizer, earning him the 1986 Golden Globe Award for Best Television
Drama Actor.
Early life Woodward was an only child, born in Croydon,
Surrey to working class parents Edward Oliver Woodward, a metalworker, and Violet Edith
Woodward.
As a boy he was bombed out of his home three times during the Blitz.
He attended Eccleston Road, Sydenham Road and Elmwood High School in Wallington, as
well as Kingston Day Commercial School, all in Surrey.
He then attended Kingston College.
Career Theatre
Woodward wanted to become an actor but initially in the post-war period became an associate
member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art while taking amateur roles.
Wanting to train as a journalist he eventually took work in a sanitary engineer's office
before attending RADA from age 16.
He was reputedly torn between becoming an actor or a professional footballer.
Woodward was on the books of Leyton Orient and Brentford, making three appearances in
the Football League for the latter; however, a serious knee injury kept him out of the
game for over a year.
His professional acting debut was in the Castle Theatre, Farnham, in 1946.
After graduation from RADA he worked extensively in repertory companies as a Shakespearean
actor throughout England and Scotland, making his London stage debut in R.F.
Delderfield's Where There's A Will in 1955 and also appeared in the film adaptation that
same year, his first film, and then Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.
Having established himself, he also worked in Broadway theatre in New York City and in
Australia.
Woodward first appeared on Broadway in Rattle of a Simple Man and the musical comedy High
Spirits, which won three Tony Awards, followed by the 1966 comedy The Best Laid Plans.
In 1970, after Woodward played Sidney Carton in the West End musical "Two Cities" based
on Dickens's novel, Laurence Olivier invited him to choose his own role in the Royal National
Theatre, and he chose Cyrano de Bergerac.
In 2004, Woodward, alongside Australian actor Daniel MacPherson, appeared as God in a revival
of The Mystery Plays at Canterbury Cathedral.
From a cast of hundreds of local actors, Joseph McManners and Thomas James Longley also featured
with smaller speaking roles.
Film He made occasional appearances until taking
the role of Police Sergeant Neil Howie in the thriller The Wicker Man in 1973.
Woodward was offered a cameo role in the 2005 remake but declined.
He also appeared in the 1982 film Who Dares Wins, also known as The Final Option, as Commander
Powell.
Woodward played the title role in the 1980 Australian biographical film drama Breaker
Morant, which was highly acclaimed, and his presence brought the film worldwide attention.
Woodward also had a supporting role in the 2007 action comedy Hot Fuzz.
His last lead film role was that of the Reverend Frederick Densham in A Congregation of Ghosts;
the story of an eccentric vicar who is said to have alienated his congregation and preached
to cardboard cut-outs.
Robin Hardy, who directed The Wicker Man, said, "He was one of the greatest actors of
his generation, without a doubt, with a broad career on American television as well as on
British film."
Noël Coward once said of him, "He was one of the nicest and most co-operative actors
I've ever met or worked with."
In 1990 Woodward was the narrator for the official FIFA film of the 1990 World Cup entitled
'Soccer Shoot-Out'.
Television During his career Woodward appeared in many
television productions.
In the early 1960s he was a jobbing actor who made a number of minor TV appearances
in supporting roles.
His casting as Guy Crouchback in the 1967 adaption of Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour
trilogy, dramatised by Giles Cooper and directed by Donald McWhinnie, established him as an
actor of quality and standing.
Crouchback was the central character in Waugh's iconic three novels set against the background
of Britain's involvement in World War II.
This black and white TV dramatisation is now much less well known than a more lavish 2001
colour version with Daniel Craig playing the part of Crouchback.
However, the 1967 dramatisation enjoyed a high profile at the time and it featured several
leading actors of that era including Ronald Fraser, Freddie Jones, Vivian Pickles, Nicholas
Courtney and James Villiers.
Moreover, Evelyn Waugh had met and approved Giles Cooper as the scriptwriter, having their
schooling at Lancing College in common, albeit more than a decade apart.
In 1967 Woodward played the eventual victim in an episode of The Saint TV series.
The same year he was cast as David Callan in the ITV Armchair Theatre play A Magnum
for Schneider, which later became the spy series Callan, one of his early television
roles and one in which he demonstrated his ability to express controlled rage.
His iconic performance assured the series success from 1967 to 1972, with a film appearing
in 1974.
He also appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in a 1978 adaptation of Saturday, Sunday,
Monday in the Laurence Olivier Presents anthology series.
The success of Callan typecast him somewhat, but the enduring success of the genre allowed
him to gain leading roles in similar productions, though none would prove as iconic as Callan.
In 1977 he starred in two series of the BBC2 dystopian drama 1990, about a future Britain
lurching into totalitarianism.
The late 1970s were spent on both stage and film, but it was not until he took the lead
role in the American television series The Equalizer as a former British intelligence
operative that he found recognition and popularity exceeding that of Callan.
After filming a few episodes of the third season, Woodward suffered a massive coronary.
For several episodes, additional actors were brought in to reduce the workload on Woodward
as he recovered from the condition.
The first episode filmed following Woodward's heart attack involved his character being
severely injured by a KGB bullet, providing Woodward with a chance to rest over several
episodes.
Later in the season, Woodward resumed his full duties and carried the show through an
additional, fourth season during the 1988-1989 season.
During this period he also starred in the Cold War espionage thriller, Codename: Kyril,
as an MI6 double agent.
Subsequently he starred in the short-lived CBS series Over My Dead Body, which ran in
1990, playing a mystery writer who gets involved in solving real crimes.
In 1994 and 1997 Woodward starred in the BBC drama Common As Muck in which he played a
binman called Nev.
In 1993, Woodward appeared in the Welsh language drama, Tan ar y Comin.
Versions were made in both English and Welsh, and Woodward appeared in both, being specially
coached in the latter since he did not speak a word of the language.
In 1999 Woodward appeared alongside his son Peter in The Long Road, an episode of the
Babylon 5 spin off, Crusade, on which Peter was a regular cast member.
While both actors were playing the part of unrelated Technomages, the on-screen chemistry
between them was clear.
His career continued with TV guest star roles including an appearance in The New Alfred
Hitchcock Presents and Mr. Jones in the series La Femme Nikita.
He also guest starred with his son Tim and grandson Sam as a London gangster family in
a special storyline for The Bill in 2008.
In March 2009, he joined EastEnders for six episodes, playing Tommy Clifford.
Woodward was a wargamer and hosted a series of programmes for Tyne Tees Television in
1978 about the hobby with fellow enthusiast Peter Gilder, who built and owned the beautiful
Gettysburg diorama used for one of the gaming scenes from the 1974 film Callan.
Woodward was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions: in February 1971 when he
was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the bar of London’s White House Hotel, and in February
1995, when Michael Aspel surprised him during a photoshoot at Syon House in West London.
Recording artist His capability as tenor enabled him to record
twelve albums of romantic songs, as well as three albums of poetry and fourteen books
to tape.
His vocal ability and acting skill enabled him to make a number of appearances when time
allowed on the BBC's Edwardian era music hall programme, The Good Old Days.
Personal life Woodward was married twice.
His first marriage was to the actress Venetia Barrett from 1952 to their divorce in 1986.
They had two sons: Tim Woodward and Peter Woodward, both of whom became actors, as well
as a daughter, the Tony Award-nominated actress Sarah Woodward.
Woodward left Barrett for actress Michele Dotrice, the daughter of his contemporary
Roy Dotrice, and married her in New York in January 1987.
Their daughter, Emily Beth Woodward, was present at the ceremony.
Woodward suffered a massive heart attack in 1987 and another one in 1994.
He underwent triple bypass surgery in 1996 and quit smoking.
In February 2003 it was announced that he had prostate cancer.
In July 2009 it was announced that a performance planned for later in 2009 of Love Letters,
co-starring his wife Michele Dotrice, would be postponed because of damage caused to his
hip when he fell down the stairs at his West Country home.
Death Edward Woodward died at the Royal Cornwall
Hospital in Truro on 16 November 2009 at the age of 79.
He had lived in Hawker's Cove, Cornwall, near Padstow and had been suffering from various
illnesses, including pneumonia.
His remains were subsequently buried in Padstow Cemetery.
He is survived by his wife, Michele Dotrice; their daughter; and the three children of
his first marriage.
Awards In 1969 and 1970, he was Television Actor
of the Year, and Best Actor at the Sun Awards in 1970, 1971 and 1972.
Woodward won the 1970 BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his title role in Callan.
He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1978.
At the 1987 Golden Globe Awards, he won Best Actor in a Dramatic TV Series for his role
of Robert McCall in The Equalizer.
At the Emmy Awards from 1986 to 1990, he was nominated each year for The Equalizer.
Golden Globe - 1987 RTS Television Actor of the Year - 1969, 1970
Sun Award for Best Actor - 1970, 1971, 1972 Order of the British Empire - 1978
BAFTA Award for Best Actor Emmy Award nominated
Filmography Stage
1955 - Where There's a Will 1958 - Romeo and Juliet
1958 - Hamlet 1962 - Rattle of a Simple Man
1964 - High Spirits 1968 - Two Cities
1971 - Cyrano de Bergerac 1971 - The White Devil
1973 - The Wolf 1975 - Male of the Species
1976 - On Approval 1978 - The Dark Horse
1980 - The Beggar's Opera 1980 - Private Lives
1982 - The Assassin 1982 - Richard III
1992 - The Dead Secret Films
1955 - Where There's a Will 1960 - Inn for Trouble
1964 - Becket 1969 - File of the Golden Goose
1970 - Incense for the Damned 1972 - Sitting Target
1972 - Young Winston 1973 - Hunted
1973 - The Wicker Man 1974 - Callan
1975 - Three for All 1977 - Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers
1980 - Breaker Morant 1981 - The Appointment
1981 - Wet Job 1982 - Who Dares Wins
1983 - Love is Forever 1984 - Champions
1984 - A Christmas Carol 1985 - Arthur the King
1986 - King David 1987 - Uncle Tom's Cabin
1989 - The Man in the Brown Suit 1990 - Over My Dead Body
1990 - Hands of a Murderer 1990 - Mister Johnson
1990 - Soccer Shootout - Official Film 1990 World Cup
1993 - Deadly Advice 1993 - Tân ar y Comin
1994 - A Christmas Reunion 1995 - The Shamrock Conspiracy
1996 - Harrison: The Cry of the City 1996 - Gulliver's Travels
1999 - Marcia's Dowry 2007 - Hot Fuzz
2009 - A Congregation of Ghosts Television series
1967 - Sword of Honour 1967-72, 1981 - Callan
1972 - Whodunnit?
1977-78 - 1990 1977-78 - The Bass Player and the Blonde
1978 - Laurence Olivier Presents: Saturday, Sunday, Monday
1981 - Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years 1981 - Nice Work
1985-89 - The Equalizer 1987 - Codename: Kyril
1990 - Over My Dead Body 1991 - In Suspicious Circumstances
1991 - America at Risk 1994-97- Common as Muck
1998 - CI5: The New Professionals 1999 - Crusade
2000 - La Femme Nikita 2001 - The Lone Gunmen: Planet of the Frohikes
- Voice Only 2001-07 - Messiah, BBC drama series
2004 - Murder in Suburbia 1 episode 2007 - Five Days, BBC and HBO drama mini-series
2008 - The Bill 2 episodes - As Johnie Jackson 2009 - EastEnders 6 episodes
2009 Harry Brown Made-for-TV films
1983 - Merlin and the Sword 1983 - Love is Forever
1984 - A Christmas Carol 1986 - Uncle Tom's Cabin
1988 - The Man in the Brown Suit 1990 - Hands of a Murderer
1995 - The Shamrock Conspiracy Television specials
1969 - Omnibus: Scott Fitzgerald 1970 - Bit of a Holiday
1971 - Evelyn 1979 - Rod of Iron
1980 - The Trial of Lady Chatterley 1980 - Blunt Instrument
1981 - Wet Job 1986 - The Spice of Life
1988 - Hunted 1990 - Hands of a Murderer, or The Napoleon
of Crime 1991 - In My Defence
1994 - Harrison 1995 - Cry of the City
1995 - Gulliver's Travels References
External links
Edward Woodward at the Internet Movie Database The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Daily Mail - November 16, 2009: "'He was one of the greatest actors of his generation':
Edward Woodward dies aged 79" The Washington Post - November 17, 2009: "Edward
Woodward: British leading man personified 'the actor's life'"
Michele Dotrice recalls Edward's appearance on This Is Your Life