Rodney Bewes

Infobox actor
name = Rodney Bewes


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birthdate = Birth date and age|1938|11|27|df=yes
location = Bingley, West Yorkshire
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birthname = Rodney Bewes
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yearsactive = 1961 - Present

Rodney Bewes (born November 27, 1938 in Bingley, near Bradford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English television actor probably best known for playing the lovable Bob Ferris in the classic BBC sitcoms "The Likely Lads" and "Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?"

Bewes was raised mainly in LutonFact|date=February 2007, where he attended Stopsley Boys School. From the age of 12 he appeared in several television plays for the BBC, and then at 14 he moved to London to attend RADA's preparatory school.

After several odd jobs and National Service in the RAF, he fell into RADA training and got his break in the early 1960s with appearances in rep theatre as well as the TV shows "Z-Cars" and "Dixon of Dock Green". He also appeared in the classic film version of "Billy Liar" alongside his close friend Tom Courtenay.

In between his two stints as a 'Likely Lad' in the 1960s and 1970s, Bewes also appeared in "Man in a Suitcase", "Father Dear Father" and starred in his own ITV sitcom "Dear Mother...Love Albert", which he created and co-wrote. He also starred in the James Mason drama 'Spring And Port Wine' in 1970, and played the Knave of Hearts in "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" (1972). Although Bewes is mainly remembered for his comedic and light acting roles, an example of his talent as a serious actor was in the made-for-TV film adaptation of John Ford's play, "'Tis Pity She's a Whore".

Some of his later film and television roles include "Jabberwocky" (1977), "The Spaceman and King Arthur" (1979), "The Wildcats of St. Trinian's" (1980) and the 1984 "Doctor Who" serial "Resurrection of the Daleks".

Bewes is also fondly remembered for playing straight man, 'Mr Rodney', to cheeky TV puppet Basil Brush in the late 1960s.

On stage he has enjoyed considerable success in the 1990s and since with one-man versions of "Three Men in a Boat" and "Diary of a Nobody", both of which shows he has toured extensively in the UK.

His autobiography, "A Likely Story", was finally published in September 2005. Although born in the north of England, he now regards himself as a Londoner, albeit one with a slight northern accent in his speech. He has also lived in Cornwall for many years. Many people were not happy with him being cast as a Newcastle lad in the "The Likely Lads". His charm and acting ability eventually won over viewers and the "British Onion Marketing Board", who would appoint him their spokesman in 1982.

He revealed in the book, and also on Michael Parkinson's BBC Radio 2 show in 2005, that he has not spoken to his 'Likely Lads' co-star James Bolam for nearly 30 years [http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article3135385.ece] .

A fanatic football supporter, he follows Chelsea FC. This is referenced in the "Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads" episode, "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", where Terry James Bolam sneers at a Londoner the lads have met, "A Chelsea fan eh? I hate Chelsea - them and all their showbiz supporters..."

He now lives in Henley, OxfordshireFact|date=July 2007.

Television Roles

Filmography

* A Prize of Arms (1962)
* Heavens Above! (1963)
* Billy Liar (1963)
* San Ferry Ann (1965)
* Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher (1968)
* Spring and Port Wine (1970)
* Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)
* The Three Musketeers (1973)
* The Likey Lads (1976)
* Jabberwocky (1976)
* Saint Jack (1979)
* The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979)
* The Wildcats of St Trinian's (1980)

Notes and references

External links

*imdb name|id=0079815|name=Rodney Bewes