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Geoffrey Bayldon

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Geoffrey Bayldon
Geoffrey Bayldon in 2009
Born (1924-01-07) 7 January 1924 (age 100)
Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK
OccupationActor
Years active1952–2010

Geoffrey Bayldon (born 7 January 1924 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire) is a British actor. After playing roles in many dramas including Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series Catweazle (1970–72), after turning down the opportunity to play both the First and Second Doctors in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Bayldon's other long-running parts include the Crowman in Worzel Gummidge (1979–81) and Magic Grandad in the BBC television series Watch (1995).

Early life

Bayldon attended Bridlington School and Hull College of Architecture. He appeared in amateur theatricals and then trained at the Old Vic Theatre School.[1]

Career

Bayldon made several film appearances in the 1960s and 1970s, including King Rat (1965), To Sir, with Love (1967), Casino Royale (as Q) (1967), the Envy segment of The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), the Marc Bolan/T. Rex film Born To Boogie (1972), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), as well as the film versions of Steptoe and Son, Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973) as the vicar, and Porridge (1979) as the Governor. Bayldon also appeared in several horror films; Dracula and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed for Hammer Film Productions and The House That Dripped Blood, Asylum and Tales from the Crypt for Amicus Productions. In 2004, after many years of successful television work he appeared in the film Ladies in Lavender.

He did eventually appear in Doctor Who with a guest appearance as Organon in The Creature from the Pit (1979). Subsequently, he played an alternative First Doctor in two audio plays based on the Doctor Who television series by Big Finish Productions in the Doctor Who Unbound series: Auld Mortality (2003) and A Storm of Angels (2005).

Other notable television roles include, ITV Play of the Week (1957, 1959, 1964, 1967), The Avengers (1961 and 1967), Z-Cars (1963, 1968), Theatre 625 (1964-1968), The Wednesday Play (1968, 1969), ITV Sunday Night Theatre (1970, 1972), Space: 1999 (1976), The Tomorrow People (1976), Tales of the Unexpected (1980, 1983), Blott on the Landscape (1985), Star Cops (1987), Rumpole of the Bailey (1987), The Chronicles of Narnia (1989). He later took part in a number of BBC Schools programmes,[2] where he displayed a number of otherwise unexploited talents (such as singing). In 1993, he played Simplicio in the Open University video Newton's Revolution.

In 1986 Bayldon provided the vocals on Paul Hardcastle's The Wizard which was also used (without the vocal) as the theme for BBC1's Top of the Pops.

Among his more recent television appearances were the Five game show Fort Boyard (1998-2001), Waking the Dead (2004), Heartbeat (2004), Casualty (2006, after previous appearances in 1991, 1997 and 2004). His final television appearances before his retirement were New Tricks (2007) and My Family (2010).

TV and film credits

References

  1. ^ Alan Curthoys & John Doyle (1985). Who's Who on Television, 1st Edition. Independent Television Books Ltd. ISBN 0-900727-72-1.
  2. ^ http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/schools/bbcschoolsprogrammes70s.html
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