Patrick Wymark

Patrick Wymark
in Where Eagles Dare (1968)
Born	Patrick Carl Cheeseman (1926-07-11)11 July 1926 Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, England
Died	20 October 1970(1970-10-20) (aged 44) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	Highgate Cemetery, London
Monuments	Wymark View, Grimsby
Residence	Parliament Hill, Hampstead, London
Education	University College London
Alma mater	Old Vic Theatre School
Occupation	Stage, film and television actor
Years active	1959–70
Organization	Royal Shakespeare Company
Home town	Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Television	The Plane Makers (1963–65) The Power Game (1965–69)
Spouse(s)	Olwen Wymark (m. 1953)
Children	4 (including Jane Wymark)
Relatives	William Wymark Jacobs (grandfather-in-law)
Awards	British Academy Television Award for Best Actor (1965)

Patrick Wymark (11 July 1926 – 20 October 1970) was an English, stage, film and television actor.^[1]

Early life

Wymark was born Patrick Carl Cheeseman in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire the son of Thomas William Cheeseman^[2] and Maria Agnes, daughter of Carl Olsen, a Finnish seaman.^[3] He was brought up in neighbouring Grimsby and frequently revisited the area at the height of his career.

Career

Wymark attended University College London before training at the Old Vic Theatre School and making his first stage appearance in a walk-on part in Othello in 1951. He toured South Africa the following year and then directed plays for the drama department at Stanford University, California.

After moving to the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Wymark played a wide range of Shakespearean roles, including Dogberry in Much Ado about Nothing, Stephano in The Tempest, Marullus in Julius Caesar and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Other stage credits included the title role in Danton's Death and, with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Ephihodov in The Cherry Orchard. His theatre roles also included Bosola in a RSC production of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi in 1960.

In television, Wymark was best known for his role as the machiavellian businessman John Wilder in the twin drama series The Plane Makers and The Power Game (which were broadcast from 1963 to 1969), which led to offers of real company directorships and the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1965. However, Wymark was a gentle person in real life and was, by his own admission, ignorant of business matters. He considered the character of Wilder a "bastard" and was described by his wife Olwen as "the most inefficient, dreamy muddler in the world."^[4] In the mid-1960s, Wymark was considered as the replacement for William Hartnell in the title role of Doctor Who.^[5]

Wymark's film appearances included: Children of the Damned (1964), Operation Crossbow (1965), Repulsion (1965), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Witchfinder General (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), Doppelgänger (1969), The Blood on Satan's Claw (1970) and Cromwell (1970)

Personal life

Wymark married Olwen Wymark, an American playwright, in 1953. He took his acting name from his grandfather-in-law, the writer William Wymark Jacobs. The couple lived in Parliament Hill, Hampstead, and had four children, including the future actress Jane Wymark. He had a brother, John Cheeseman.

Wymark's grave in Highgate Cemetery

Wymark died suddenly in Melbourne, Australia on 20 October 1970, aged 44, of a heart attack in the hotel room in which he was staying. He had been due to star in the play Sleuth at the Comedy Theatre three days later. On the night of his death, he was to appear on the TV variety program In Melbourne Tonight.^[6] He, guest Richard Deacon and host Stuart Wagstaff had just appeared together in a TV production of Hans Christian Andersen stories,^[7] and his non-appearance led to several jokes by Wagstaff and Deacon. Host Wagstaff was informed of Wymark's death mid-way through the programme and announced it at the end.

He was buried at Highgate Cemetery in London. Wymark View—located in his home town, Grimsby—is named after him.

Selected filmography

• The Criminal (1960)
• The League of Gentlemen (1960)
• West 11 (1963)
• Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow (1963)
• Children of the Damned (1964)
• The Secret of Blood Island (1964)
• Operation Crossbow (1965)
• Repulsion (1965)
• The Skull (1965)
• The Psychopath (1966)
• Woman Times Seven (1967)
• Tell Me Lies (1968)
• Witchfinder General (1968)
• Where Eagles Dare (1968)
• Doppelgänger (1969) (alternative title: Journey to the Far Side of the Sun)
• Battle of Britain (1969)
• Cromwell (1970)
• The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)

References

External links

• Patrick Wymark at the Internet Movie Database
• Patrick Wymark at Find a Grave