Willoughby Goddard
Encyclopedia
Willoughby Wittenham Rees Goddard (4 July 1926 – 11 April 2008) was a British
actor whose trademark rotund figure was well known on television and in films for over 40 years.
Goddard was born in Bicester
, Oxfordshire
. He played Mr. Bumble in two versions of Charles Dickens
's Oliver Twist
- a 1962 television
adaptation, and the original Broadway
production of the musical Oliver!
. He originated the role of Cardinal Wolsey in the West End
production of Robert Bolt
's A Man for All Seasons
. He appeared in the television series The Adventures of William Tell
in 1958 and 1959 as the villain Landburger Gessler which lasted 39 episodes. Also as Reeder's boss, Sir Jason Toovey who was head of the Department of Public Prosecutions in The Mind of Mr. J. G. Reeder
, a TV series of 16 hour-long episodes with first season 1969 and second season 1971. Also as Sir Geoffrey in The Man in Room 17
which ran two series of 13 hour-long black-and-white episodes in 1965 and 1966.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor whose trademark rotund figure was well known on television and in films for over 40 years.
Goddard was born in Bicester
Bicester
Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. He played Mr. Bumble in two versions of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
- a 1962 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adaptation, and the original Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of the musical Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
. He originated the role of Cardinal Wolsey in the West End
West 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...
production of Robert Bolt
Robert Bolt
Robert Oxton Bolt, CBE was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar winning screenwriter.-Career:He was born in Sale, Cheshire. At Manchester Grammar School his affinity for Sir Thomas More first developed. He attended the University of Manchester, and, after war service, the University of...
's A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was...
. He appeared in the television series The Adventures of William Tell
The Adventures of William Tell
The Adventures of William Tell is a British swashbuckler adventure series, first broadcast on the ITV network in 1958, and produced by ITC Entertainment.-Production notes:...
in 1958 and 1959 as the villain Landburger Gessler which lasted 39 episodes. Also as Reeder's boss, Sir Jason Toovey who was head of the Department of Public Prosecutions in The Mind of Mr. J. G. Reeder
The Mind of Mr. J. G. Reeder
The Mind of Mr. J. G. Reeder is a short story compilation by the British crime writer Edgar Wallace published in 1925. The story has been adapted on film, television and radio.The stories are about Mr J. G...
, a TV series of 16 hour-long episodes with first season 1969 and second season 1971. Also as Sir Geoffrey in The Man in Room 17
The Man In Room 17/The Fellows (Late of Room 17)
The Man in Room 17 is a British television series which ran for two seasons in the mid-1960s, produced by the Northern ITV franchise, Granada Television...
which ran two series of 13 hour-long black-and-white episodes in 1965 and 1966.
TV appearances
- The BuccaneersThe Buccaneers (TV series)The Buccaneers was a 1956 Sapphire Films television drama series for ITC Entertainment, networked by CBS in the US and shown on ATV and selected ITV companies in the UK....
(1956), Phineas Bunch - "Marooned" - The BuccaneersThe Buccaneers (TV series)The Buccaneers was a 1956 Sapphire Films television drama series for ITC Entertainment, networked by CBS in the US and shown on ATV and selected ITV companies in the UK....
(1956), Lawyer Pym - "Blood Will Tell" - Gay Cavalier (1957), Bulstrode - "Dragon's Heart"
- The Adventures of William TellThe Adventures of William TellThe Adventures of William Tell is a British swashbuckler adventure series, first broadcast on the ITV network in 1958, and produced by ITC Entertainment.-Production notes:...
(1958–1959), Landburger Gessler - regular cast - The Invisible ManThe Invisible Man (1958 TV series)The Invisible Man was a 1958 ITP Production/Official Films Inc. presentation for Associated TeleVision. The series was networked on CBS in the United States. It ran for 26 half-hour monochrome episodes across two seasons and was nominally based on the novel by H.G...
(1961), Crowther - "Bank Raid" - Danger ManDanger ManDanger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
(1961), McFadden - "The Journey Ends Halfway" - Ghost SquadGhost Squad (TV series)Ghost Squad, known as G.S.5 for its third season, was a crime drama series about an elite division of Scotland Yard that ran between 1961 and 1964. Each episode the Ghost Squad would investigate cases that fell outside the scope of normal police work...
(1963), Slim Salmon - "The Missing People" - Richard the Lionheart (1963), Arnold - "The Lord of Kenak"
- Public Eye (1965), Chambers - "A Harsh World for Zealots"
- The Man In Room 17The Man In Room 17/The Fellows (Late of Room 17)The Man in Room 17 is a British television series which ran for two seasons in the mid-1960s, produced by the Northern ITV franchise, Granada Television...
(1965–1966), Sir Geoffrey - regular cast - The SaintThe Saint (TV series)The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
(1969), (ex) King Boris - "The Ex-King of Diamonds" - The Mind of Mr. J. G. ReederThe Mind of Mr. J. G. ReederThe Mind of Mr. J. G. Reeder is a short story compilation by the British crime writer Edgar Wallace published in 1925. The story has been adapted on film, television and radio.The stories are about Mr J. G...
(1969), Sir Jason Toovey - regular cast - The Main ChanceThe Main ChanceThe Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV from 1969-1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds.-Episodes:...
(1969) - What About Justice? - The SweeneyThe SweeneyThe Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
(1976), Kitter - "The Sweet Smell of Succession" - Space: 1999Space: 1999Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
(1977), The Taybor - "The Taybor" - The Black AdderThe Black AdderThe Black Adder is the first series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd...
(1983), The Archbishop - "The Queen Of Spain's Beard" - John Silver's Return to Treasure Island (1986), Sir Solomon Pridham - "The Map"
- Porterhouse BluePorterhouse BluePorterhouse Blue is a novel written by Tom Sharpe, first published in 1974. There was a Channel 4 TV series in 1987 based on the novel, adapted by Malcolm Bradbury...
(1987), Professor Siblington
Film appearances
- BaitBait (1950 film)Bait is a 1950 British crime film directed by Frank Richardson and starring Diana Napier, John Bentley, Willoughby Goddard and John Oxford. A gang steal some diamonds, sell them on the black market to a buyer and then plan to steal them back again.-Cast:...
(1950), John Hartley - The Green ManThe Green Man (film)The Green Man is a 1956 British comedy-drama film based on the play Meet A Body by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, who produced and adapted the big-screen version.-Plot:...
(1956), Statesman - A Touch of the SunA Touch of the Sun (1956 film)A Touch of the Sun is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Frankie Howerd, Ruby Murray and Dennis Price. A hall porter is left a large inheritance by one of the residents...
(1956), Golightly - Heart of a ChildHeart of a ChildHeart of a Child is a 1958 film directed by Clive Donner. It stars Jean Anderson and Donald Pleasence.-Cast:* Jean Anderson as Maria* Donald Pleasence as Spiel* Richard Williams as Karl* Maureen Pryor as Frau Spiel* Norman Macowan as Heiss...
(1958), Scott - Inn for TroubleInn for TroubleInn for Trouble is a 1960 British comedy film - a movie spin-off of the 1950s sitcom 'The Larkins' - starring Peggy Mount, David Kossoff and Leslie Phillips....
(1960), Sgt Saunders - In the Wake of a StrangerIn the Wake of a StrangerIn the Wake of a Stranger is a 1959 British thriller film directed by David Eady and starring Tony Wright, Shirley Eaton and Danny Green. A group of murderers try to frame an innocent sailor for their crime.-Cast:* Tony Wright - Tom Cassidy...
(1960), Shafto - Double BunkDouble BunkDouble Bunk is a 1961 British black-and-white comedy set on a houseboat, that stars Ian Carmichael and Sid James.The musical score was composed by Stanley Black and the title song, sung by Sid James and Liz Fraser, was by Stanley Black, Jack Fishman and Michael Pratt.-Plot:When newlyweds Jack and...
(1961), possible purchaser - The MillionairessThe MillionairessThe Millionairess is a 1960 British romantic comedy film set in London, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers...
(1961), President - The Secret PartnerThe Secret PartnerThe Secret Partner is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stewart Granger, Haya Harareet and Bernard Lee.An executive officer with a record becomes a suspect when money goes missing from the shipping company vault.-Cast:...
(1961), Hotel Kepper - The Long ShadowThe Long ShadowThe Long Shadow is a 1961 British drama film directed by Peter Maxwell and starring John Crawford, Susan Hampshire and Willoughby Goddard. During the Cold War, the Russians and Americans both try and gain control of a boy who can be manipulated for political purposes.-Cast:* John Crawford - Kelly*...
(1961), Schober - The Golden RabbitThe Golden RabbitThe Golden Rabbit is a 1962 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Timothy Bateson, Maureen Beck and Willoughby Goddard...
(1962), Clitheroe - The Wrong BoxThe Wrong BoxThe Wrong Box is a British comedy film made by Salamander Film Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.The cast includes a...
(1966), James White Wragg - The Charge of the Light BrigadeThe Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)The Charge of the Light Brigade is a 1968 British war film made by Woodfall Film Productions and distributed by United Artists . It was directed by Tony Richardson and produced by Neil Hartley....
(1968), Squire - Laughter in the DarkLaughter in the Dark (film)Laughter in the Dark is a 1969 French-British drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Nicol Williamson and Anna Karina. It is based on the novel of the same name. Nicol Williamson was brought in as a very late replacement for Richard Burton, who had already shot several scenes...
(1969) - The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
(1971) - Gawain and the Green KnightGawain and the Green Knight (1973 film)Gawain and the Green Knight is a 1973 film directed by Stephen Weeks, and starring Murray Head as Gawain and Nigel Green in his final theatrical film as the Green Knight...
(1973), a knight - Young Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 mystery/adventure film directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
(1985), school chaplain - God's OutlawGod's OutlawGod's Outlaw is a 1986 British historical film directed by Tony Tew and starring Roger Rees, Bernard Archer and Keith Barron. It depicts the historical figure of William Tynedale and his struggles with the authorties in the time of Henry VIII for translating the bible into English.-Cast:* Sebastian...
(1986)