GEOFFREY BAYLDON

11 May

(7 January 1924 - 10 May 2017)

Having allegedly turned down the part of Doctor Who for fear of being typecast in an old-man part, the actor Geoffrey Bayldon went on to make his name as Catweazle in the TV series of the same name about an 11th-century wizard reincarnated into the 20th century, an iconic role that put him among the most popular TV roles. Later on he would gain more fans as the Crowman in Worzel Gummidge and the hero of Magic Grandad, all parts of an old man. Before entering TV he had worked on stage at Stratford-upon Avon, Glasgow, Birmingham and London’s Old Vic etc. In films from 1952, he was uncredited in Trent’s Last Case with Orson Welles, but then concentrated on television while also taking small roles in films such as The Camp on Blood Island, Dracula, A Night to Remember, The Rough and the Smooth and Libel. Still concentrating on television Bayldon also made films including The Longest Day, 55 Days at Peking, Becket, King Rat, Sky West and Crooked, Casino Royale (1967, as Q), To Sir, With Love, Inspector Clouseau, A Dandy in Aspic, Otley and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. Never a leading man in films, he played a waiter in Born to Boogie with Marc Bolan and Ringo Starr, a vicar in Steptoe and Son Ride Again, an Archbishop in The Slipper and the Rose, the governor in the film of Porridge, and a colonel in Bullshot. Apart from appearing in umpteen high-profile TV series, his last films included Madame Sousatzka, Tom and Viv, Ladies in Lavender and Love/Loss (2010). But it is as Catweazle that Geoffrey Bayldon will be best remembered and loved.

MICHAEL DARVELL

Michael Darvell

Michael Darvell trained as a librarian at Watford and in Surrey before joining Ealing Libraries where he became Music Librarian for the borough. He edited Masthead, the magazine of the University of North London School of Librarianship, The Surrealist, the staff magazine of Surrey County Library, and contributed to the Assistant Librarian and London Librarian professional journals. A freelance film reviewer since 1970, he has written for Film, Films Illustrated, Film Review, Movie Maker and Radio Times, as well as editing Montage, the London film societies magazine, for ten years. A change of career saw him joining What’s On in London as Features Editor and he eventually stepped into the shoes of the late F. Maurice Speed (founding father of Film Review annual) as the magazine’s Editor. From 2007 to 2015, he was co-editor of the Film Review annual with Mansel Stimpson. As well as writing about films, Michael has reviewed theatre for The Stage newspaper, and has written about music theatre and cabaret for the Classical Source and Musical Theatre Review websites. He is also a former restaurant critic for the ViewLondon website. Michael has been a member of the London Film Critics’ Circle since 2005.

GEOFFREY BAYLDON

BRAD GREY

MICHAEL PARKS