Patrick Newell
| Patrick Newell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patrick David Newell 27 March 1932 Hadleigh, Suffolk, England |
| Died | 22 July 1988 (aged 56) Essex, England |
Patrick David Newell (27 March 1932 – 22 July 1988)[1] was a British actor known for his large size. It is reputed he gained weight as a deliberate attempt to boost his career, marking him out for some niche roles. It has been written that his entry in Who's Who On Television in the late 1970s, Newell described himself as "Actor with a weight problem--the more he diets, the less work he seems to get."
His most notable role was as "Mother," the spymaster in The Avengers. He had previously appeared in two earlier Avengers episodes: "The Town of No Return" (Diana Rigg's debut) and "Something Nasty in the Nursery" as a Government official (sometimes suggested as an earlier incarnation of Mother).
Other cult television appearances included roles in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), the Doctor Who story The Android Invasion, The Young Ones and Kinvig, and the character of Sutton/Blessington in ITV's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes production of The Adventure of the Resident Patient. In 1980 he played Inspector Lestrade in a Sherlock Holmes TV series made in Poland. He also turned up as a Playboy Bunny in one of the Benny Hill comedy specials. Film appearances include the Gluttony segment of The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971).
Later in life, Newell succeeded in losing a substantial amount of weight, but this did not prevent his early death from a heart attack. He was married with two children.
[edit] Selected filmography
- The Dock Brief (1962)
- The Boys (1962)
- Unearthly Stranger (1963)
- Every Day's a Holiday (1965)
- The Alphabet Murders (1965)
- A Study in Terror (1965)
- The Sandwich Man (1966)
- The Long Duel (1967)
- The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971)
- Go for a Take (1972)
- Vampira (1974)
- Man About the House (1974)
- The Incredible Sarah (1976)
- The Shillingbury Blowers (1980)
- Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
- Consuming Passions (1988)
