Peter Barkworth
Encyclopedia
Peter Wynn Barkworth was an English
actor.
, Kent
. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Bramhall
in Cheshire
and Barkworth was educated at Stockport School. His headmaster wanted him to go to university but Barkworth had set his heart on a career in acting. In 1946 he won a scholarship to RADA
. He spent the next few years in repertory
in Folkestone
, with the Arthur Brough
company, and also in Sheffield
. From the mid 1950s to the early 1960s he taught acting technique at RADA.
(1979), watched every week by seven million viewers. This series followed the life of a senior banking executive as he downsized to Dover
to start his life over again, leaving his wife in London
. Barkworth co-starred with Hannah Gordon
, with Keith Barron
as her seducer.
and The Country Party (both 1977). His character in the 1965 boardroom drama The Power Game was a recurring role. In the late 1960s, he appeared in a leading role as Vincent in the World War II
drama series Manhunt on LWT and various episodes of The Avengers
. He also had a part in the Doctor Who
serial The Ice Warriors
as Leader Clent. Barkworth also played the expatriate British novelist Hugh Neville in the episodes Guilt and Lost Sheep of Secret Army (1977). Later TV included the part of Stanley Baldwin
in Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
(1981), and the serials The Price (1985) and Late Starter (also 1985) in both of which he played angst-filled, middle-aged, middle-class characters beset by marital problems in the context respectively of a kidnapping and the early retirement of an academic. Both these series and Telford's Change were based on Barkworth's original ideas. He also had a leading guest role as Colonal Ross in the 1988 episode "Silver Blaze", from season four of the 1984 Sherlock Holmes TV series
, notably as Edward VIII
in Royce Ryton
's Crown Matrimonial at the Haymarket Theatre
in 1972, a role which he repeated on TV two years later. He also devised a one-man show based on the work of Siegfried Sassoon
.
. He had subsequent roles in Where Eagles Dare
(1968), Patton
(1970) and International Velvet
(1978). His last appearance was in the film Wilde
in 1997. He then retired from acting.
for 16 years. His book About Acting – formerly titled The Complete About Acting – is often recommended reading for students and professional actors alike.
He also edited For All Occasions: A Selection of Poems, Prose and Party Pieces (1997).
for many years, and died at the Royal Free Hospital
in London
of bronchopneumonia
10 days after suffering a stroke
. He never married.
, John Peter wrote:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor.
Early life
Peter Barkworth was born at MargateMargate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Bramhall
Bramhall
Bramhall is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of about 25,500.Research by the University of Sheffield has placed Bramhall as the "least lonely" place in Britain. Bramhall is also regarded as an affluent area where most residents...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
and Barkworth was educated at Stockport School. His headmaster wanted him to go to university but Barkworth had set his heart on a career in acting. In 1946 he won a scholarship to RADA
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
. He spent the next few years in repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
in Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
, with the Arthur Brough
Arthur Brough
Arthur Brough was a British actor, best known for portraying the character of senior menswear salesman Mr...
company, and also in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. From the mid 1950s to the early 1960s he taught acting technique at RADA.
Acting career
Television and film appearances followed over four decades. He is perhaps best remembered for playing Mark Telford in the TV series Telford's ChangeTelford's Change
Telford's Change was a 1979 BBC television series by Brian Clark starring Peter Barkworth.Barkworth played a bank manager, Mark Telford, who took a backward step in his career in order to retreat from the rat race...
(1979), watched every week by seven million viewers. This series followed the life of a senior banking executive as he downsized to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
to start his life over again, leaving his wife in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Barkworth co-starred with Hannah Gordon
Hannah Gordon
Hannah Cambell Grant Gordon is a Scottish actress who is well known in the United Kingdom for her television work, including Upstairs, Downstairs, Telford's Change, My Wife Next Door, Joint Account and an appearance in the final episode of One Foot in the Grave.-Early life:Gordon was born in...
, with Keith Barron
Keith Barron
Keith Barron is an English actor and television presenter, well-known from numerous roles on British television from the 1960s to the present day.-Career:...
as her seducer.
Television
Barkworth won a BAFTA for his roles in Professional FoulProfessional Foul
Professional Foul is a play written by Czech-born, British playwright Tom Stoppard. It was first published in 1977 and was filmed for BBC television and broadcast in September of the same year....
and The Country Party (both 1977). His character in the 1965 boardroom drama The Power Game was a recurring role. In the late 1960s, he appeared in a leading role as Vincent in the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
drama series Manhunt on LWT and various episodes of The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
. He also had a part in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial The Ice Warriors
The Ice Warriors
The Ice Warriors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from November 11 to December 16, 1967...
as Leader Clent. Barkworth also played the expatriate British novelist Hugh Neville in the episodes Guilt and Lost Sheep of Secret Army (1977). Later TV included the part of Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
in Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years is an 8-part 1981 drama serial based on the life of Winston Churchill, and particularly his years in enforced exile from political position during the 1920s and 30s...
(1981), and the serials The Price (1985) and Late Starter (also 1985) in both of which he played angst-filled, middle-aged, middle-class characters beset by marital problems in the context respectively of a kidnapping and the early retirement of an academic. Both these series and Telford's Change were based on Barkworth's original ideas. He also had a leading guest role as Colonal Ross in the 1988 episode "Silver Blaze", from season four of the 1984 Sherlock Holmes TV series
Theatre
Back on the stage, Barkworth appeared in numerous plays in the West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, notably as Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
in Royce Ryton
Royce Ryton
Royce Thomas Carlisle Ryton was an English playwright. During the war he served in the Royal Navy; afterward, he went to train as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. As an actor, he played in many repertory theatres, including Bromley, Minehead, and Worthing. He also toured...
's Crown Matrimonial at the Haymarket Theatre
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
in 1972, a role which he repeated on TV two years later. He also devised a one-man show based on the work of Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
.
Film
His film career began in 1951 with A Touch of LarcenyA Touch of Larceny
A Touch of Larceny is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring James Mason, George Sanders, Vera Miles, Harry Andrews, Rachel Gurney, and John Le Mesurier. It is based on a diverting and mildly cynical novel, The Megstone Plot , by Paul Winterton under the pseudonym Andrew...
. He had subsequent roles in Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 World War II action-adventure spy film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Upper Austria and Bavaria....
(1968), Patton
Patton (film)
Patton is a 1970 American biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H...
(1970) and International Velvet
International Velvet (film)
International Velvet is a 1978 dramatic film. It was a remake of the 1944 classic, National Velvet. The film stars Tatum O'Neal, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Hopkins and Nanette Newman. The film got mixed reviews.-Plot:...
(1978). His last appearance was in the film Wilde
Wilde (film)
Wilde is a 1997 British biographical film directed by Brian Gilbert with Stephen Fry in the title role. The screenplay by Julian Mitchell is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1987 biography of Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann.-Plot:...
in 1997. He then retired from acting.
The Arts
In the 1980s and 1990s, Barkworth was a member of the Council at RADARada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
for 16 years. His book About Acting – formerly titled The Complete About Acting – is often recommended reading for students and professional actors alike.
He also edited For All Occasions: A Selection of Poems, Prose and Party Pieces (1997).
Personal life
Barkworth lived in HampsteadHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
for many years, and died at the Royal Free Hospital
Royal Free Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Hampstead, London, England and part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
of bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia or bronchial pneumonia or "Bronchogenic pneumonia" is the acute inflammation of the walls of the bronchioles...
10 days after suffering a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. He never married.
Testimonials
In The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
, John Peter wrote:
External links
- Biography of Peter Barkworth Loose Cannon's Hall Of Fame
- Brit actor Peter Barkworth dies BBC News, 25 October 2006