Patrick Wymark

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Patrick Wymark
Born	Patrick Cheeseman July 11, 1926(1926-07-11) Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom
Died	October 20, 1970 (aged 44) Melbourne, Australia
Years active	1959-1970
Spouse(s)	Olwen Wymark (1932– )

Patrick Wymark (born 11 July 1926 in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, England, died 20 October 1970 in Melbourne, Australia) was an English actor. Brought up in neighbouring Grimsby he frequently re-visited the area during the height of his career. He was married to Olwen Wymark, a playwright living in London who has authored numerous plays, including Brezhnev's Children. They had four children, including actress Jane Wymark.

Born Patrick Carl Cheeseman, he took his acting name from the writer William Wymark Jacobs, his grandfather-in-law. His film roles included: Children of the Damned, Repulsion, Operation Crossbow, The Secret of Blood Island, Witchfinder General, Battle of Britain, Where Eagles Dare, Blood on Satan's Claw, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun and Cromwell. His theater roles include Bosola in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi in 1960.

On television, he was best known for his role as the machiavellian businessman John Wilder in the drama series The Plane Makers/The Power Game, a role which led to offers of company director jobs. Wymark, however, was a gentle man in real life, self-confessedly ignorant of business matters, who considered the Wilder character to be a "bastard" and was described by his wife as "the most inefficient, dreamy muddler in the world." ^[1]

At one point he was considered as a replacement for William Hartnell on Doctor Who.^[2]

Wymark died of a heart attack on October 20, 1970, in Melbourne, Australia, aged 44.