- Stephen Lewis (actor)
Infobox actor
name = Stephen Lewis
birthname = Stephen Cato
birthdate = birth date and age|1936|11|14|df=y
location =London ,England ,UK
spouse =
yearsactive = 1961 - 2007Stephen Lewis (born Stephen Cato 14
November 1936 inLondon ) is an Englishactor . He is best known for his roles as Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in the LWT SitcomOn The Buses , Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in the longest running sitcomLast of the Summer Wine and Harry Lambert in BBC Television'sOh Doctor Beeching! Lewis began his career as a merchant seaman, but was persuaded to go to a performance by the
Theatre Workshop , under their directorJoan Littlewood . It was common, after these performances, to invite members of the audience to meet the cast. He was invited to an audition and landed the part, he left the sea, becoming a member of the company, and made his West End debut with the transfer ofBrendan Behan 's "The Hostage" in 1958. In 1960 he wrote "Sparrers Can't Sing " with the Theatre Workshop, which was made into a 1963 film, starringBarbara Windsor ,Roy Kinnear and Lewis himself.In 1969 Lewis starred in his best remembered role as Blakey in the British
sitcom "On the Buses ", which ran for 74 half-hour episodes and spawned three films.He also appeared in two British sex comedies "Adventures of a Taxi Driver" (1975) and "Adventures of a Plumber's Mate" (1978), both directed by
Stanley Long .In 1988 he took on one of his longest-running roles, playing the ironically-named 'Smiler' Hemingway in the BBC sitcom "
Last of the Summer Wine ". The character recurred in occasional episodes for 17 years before ill health forced Lewis to leave the series in 2007.In 1995, Lewis played Harry Lambert, the signalman in the BBC pilot of sitcom "
Oh, Doctor Beeching! ", which ran to two further series. Stephen Lewis has also appeared as a guest in sitcoms such as "One Foot in the Grave " and "Father, Dear Father ", and in the movie "The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins ".Television Roles
External links
* [http://members.lycos.co.uk/busesfanclub/newpage5.html Interview with Stephen Lewis]
*Persondata
NAME= Lewis, Stephen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Cato, Stephen
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actor, playwright
DATE OF BIRTH= 1936-11-14
PLACE OF BIRTH=London ,England ,UK
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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