Deryck Guyler
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| Deryck Guyler | |
|---|---|
 as Please, Sir!' s Norman Potter |
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| Born | 29 April 1914 Wallasey, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 7 October 1999 (aged 85) Ashgrove, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Paddy Lennox (m. 1941-09-15) |
Deryck Guyler (29 April 1914 - 7 October 1999) was a versatile English actor, equally at home with comedy, classical and character roles, but best known for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as Please Sir! and Sykes.
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[edit] Career
Guyler was born in Wallasey in Cheshire and brought up in Liverpool, and originally planned a career in the church. During the Second World War he was called up and joined the RAF Police but was later invalided from service, whereupon he joined Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) and then (on 4 May 1942) the BBC's Drama and Repertory company in Manchester.
[edit] Career
After the war, he became a regular on the immensely popular radio series, It's That Man Again (ITMA) until the series was cancelled in 1949 upon the death of the main star Tommy Handley. Guyler claimed his character Frisby Dike was the first time the real Liverpudlian accent was heard on the radio.
After ITMA, Guyler carried on working in a variety of roles from light entertainment (BBC Children's Hour) to classical (acting with Sir John Gielgud in King Lear). In the 1950s, he played the time-traveller (also known as "the voice") in the British sci-fi radio series Journey Into Space. His success continued into the 1960s when he starred in the satirical radio programme about life in the British civil service The Men from the Ministry with Richard Murdoch.
He holds a unique place in theatrical history having 'acted' in every performance of The Mousetrap since the opening night on 6th October 1952 in Nottingham. He delivered a news bulletin via a recording which is still being used at the St Martin's Theatre at present day.
He appeared as the Police Inspector in The Beatles 1964 film A Hard Day's Night and as the art professor in the Gerry & The Pacemakers 1965 film "Ferry Cross The Mersey".
His first television success came as one of Michael Bentine's sidekicks in the inventive and surreal BBC show It's a Square World (1960). Later he appeared in numerous television light entertainment shows in which he performed a novelty act playing the washboard. He was also a regular on the sitcoms Please Sir! and as Constable Turnbull (alias Corky) in Sykes.
In the TV series Please Sir!, he is probably best known for being the cantankerous school janitor Norman Potter. He would often speak with John Alderton who played the part of schoolteacher Mr Hedges about the class 'Five C' and their 'dreadful behaviour'.
In 1975, he appeared in the ITV children's show The Laughing Policeman, based on the Charles Penrose song and his PC Corky character from Sykes.
In 1990, he played the washboard on three tracks of an album by longtime fan Shakin' Stevens.
[edit] Personal life
A long term resident of Norbury, South London, he retired to Ashgrove, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1983, where he lived until his death.
Deryck Guyler was a well known wargamer, and was a founding member of the Society of Ancients, a group of wargamers specialising in the classical era. Very active in the society in its early years, he was later made an honorary life president of the society.
His funeral service was held at St. Mark's Catholic Church, Inala on 13 October 1999 and he was cremated at Mt. Gravatt Cemetery. In 1995, there was a 10 minute tribute to Guyler, made by Danny Baker and the BBC, which the family used as a part of the eulogy delivered by his son Chris at his funeral service at St. Mark's. Guyler's wife, Paddy, passed away on 6 January 2002. Both are buried at Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens in the Brisbane suburb of Holland Park.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Deryck Guyler at the Internet Movie Database
- Radio Roots: Deryck Guyler Russell Davies' programme about Guyler's career, on BBC7 'Listen again' - streaming audio
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Guyler, Deryck |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1914-04-29 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wallasey, Cheshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1999-10-07 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
