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Ronald Lewis (actor)

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Ronald Lewis
Born(1928-12-11)11 December 1928
Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Died11 January 1982(1982-01-11) (aged 53)
Pimlico, London, UK
Cause of deathoverdose
Years active1953–1978

Ronald Lewis (11 December 1928 – 11 January 1982), was a Welsh actor, best known for his appearances in British films of the 1950s and 1960s.[1]

Birth and career

Lewis was born in Port Talbot, Glamorgan, and made his first screen appearance in 1953. From then on, he averaged one or two films a year until the mid-1960s, including classics like The Wind Cannot Read (1958) and Billy Budd (1962). As the British film industry declined and he grew older, he made the transition to television but with limited success.

Death

He committed suicide by taking a barbiturate overdose. In Twice Round the Daffodils (1962), Lewis appeared alongside Kenneth Williams, often believed to have also committed suicide. The Kenneth Williams Diaries entry for 12 January 1982 records Williams' reaction to Lewis' death: "The paper says Ronald Lewis has taken an overdose! He was declared bankrupt last year! Obviously nobody offered him work & he was driven to despair. I remember Ronnie... and that drinking session at the White Horse all those years ago... he was a kind boy & people used him. He was 53."[2]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ "Ronald Lewis". BFI.
  2. ^ The Kenneth Williams Diaries, edited by Russell Davies, published 1993 by Harper Collins

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