George Sewell

George Sewell

Infobox actor
name = George Sewell


imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1924|8|31
birthplace = Hoxton, London
deathdate = death date and age|2007|04|1|1924|8|31
deathplace = London, England
othername =
occupation = actor
spouse =

George Sewell (31 August 1924 — 1 April 2007), was an English actor, born in Tottenham, London.

Early career

His father was a Hoxton printer and his mother a florist;cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/apr/11/guardianobituaries.television|title= Guardian, 11th April 2007] his brother Danny Sewell, a former boxer, also became an actor. George left school at 14 and worked briefly in the printing trade before switching to building work, specifically the repair of bomb-damaged houses. He then trained as a Royal Air Force pilot, though too late to see action during World War II. After demobilisation, joined the Merchant Navy, serving as a steward for the Cunard Line, on the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth on their Atlantic crossings to New York. He also worked as a street photographer, assisted a French roller-skating team and was drummer & assistant road manager of a rumba band. He also travelled Europe as a motor coach courier travelling around Europe for a holiday company.cite web |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1652128.ece|title= The Times, 14th April 2007]

Acting

He had not considered acting until, aged 35, he met the actor Dudley Sutton by chance in a pub. Dudley recommended that Sewell audition for a production by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop of "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be". Sewell did so, and made his acting debut as a policeman in the show both at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East and in the West End. He went on to star in two other Littlewood productions, "Sparrers Can't Sing" (1962) and as Field Marshall Haig in "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1963) which later went to Paris and Broadway. The experience garnered from stage acting led to a long career in both film and television.

For many years Sewell was the gritty face of crime and law enforcement in a huge array of television series. Amongst his early roles, he was the tallyman in Ken Loach's TV play "Up The Junction" (1965), a criminal who runs off with a teenage girl in "Softly, Softly" (1966), a hard-nosed building engineer in "The Power Game" (1965-66), a cowardly informer in "Man in a Suitcase" (1967), and a seedy private eye in "Spindoe" (1968). In 1970 he played Colonel Alec Freeman in the first series of Gerry Anderson's live-action science-fiction drama "UFO".

In 1973, Euston Films reinvigorated the TV series "Special Branch", formerly a videotaped series starring Derren Nesbitt. Sewell was brought in to play the defining character of DCI Alan Craven. The show ran for two seasons with Sewell, and is very fondly remembered - not least as a stylistic fore-runner of crime drama "The Sweeney" (in which Sewell also appeared - as a villain). Later Sewell was to parody this role as Supt Frank Cottam in the Jasper Carrot / Robert Powell comedy "The Detectives".

Later television appearances include "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (1979), in which he played Mendel, and the "Doctor Who" story "Remembrance of the Daleks", (1988), in which he played a fascist called Mr Ratcliffe.

He also appeared frequently in cinema films, notably "Poor Cow" (1967) and "Get Carter" (1971).

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0786577|name=George Sewell
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/04/05/db0503.xml UK Telegraph obituary]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/apr/11/guardianobituaries.television "Guardian" obituary]
* [http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/feature.php/16606/george-sewell "The Stage" obituary]

Persondata
NAME = Sewell, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Actor
DATE OF BIRTH = 1924-08-31
PLACE OF BIRTH = England
DATE OF DEATH = 2007-04-01
PLACE OF DEATH = England


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • George Sewell — (* 31. August 1924 in Hoxton, London, England; † 1. April 2007 in London) war ein britischer Schauspieler. Leben Sewell diente im Zweiten Weltkrieg in der Royal Air Force. Er begann eine Pilotenausbildung, die jedoch mit dem Ende das Krieges… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • George Sewell — Pour les articles homonymes, voir George et Sewell. George Sewell (né le 31 août 1924 à Londres et mort le 1er avril 2007 à Londres, d un cancer), est un acteur britannique. Filmographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sewell (Begriffsklärung) — Sewell heißt der Ort Sewell, Stadt in Chile Sewell (New Jersey), Ort in den USA Sewell ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Anna Sewell (1820–1878), britische Schriftstellerin George Sewell (1924–2007), englischer Schauspieler Henry Sewell… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sewell — may refer to:People*Anna Sewell (1820–1878), British writer, author of Black Beauty , daughter of Mary Wright Sewell *Anthony Sewell (b. 1962), American Bicycle Motocross racer *Brian Sewell, English art critic *Brocard Sewell (1912–2000),… …   Wikipedia

  • Sewell — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sewell peut faire référence à : Personnes : Anna Sewell (1820–1878), une écrivaine britannique, auteure de Black Beauty (Prince noir), fille de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sewell, George — (?1690 1726)    Born at Windsor and educated at Eton College, he graduated B.A. from Peterhouse, Cambridge, in 1790. After studying medicine at Leyden, Holland, he graduated as a physician from Edinburgh in 1725. His London medical practice was… …   British and Irish poets

  • Sewell's Point — is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt water port of Hampton Roads. Sewell s Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to the north, Hampton… …   Wikipedia

  • George Hislop — (June 3, 1927 October 8, 2005) was one of Canada s most influential gay activists. He was the first openly gay candidate for municipal office in Canada, as well as the first openly gay candidate for any political office in Ontario (and only the… …   Wikipedia

  • George Smitherman — MPP (born 1964) is a Canadian politician, who represents the provincial riding of Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He is notable for being the first openly gay Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) elected in Ontario, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Sewell Collins — est un réalisateur et scénariste britannique décédé le 15 février 1934. Filmographie Comme réalisateur 1930 : The Night Porter 1930 : The Message 1931 : Bracelets Comme scénariste 1929 : The Devil s Maze de Gareth… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”