Actor Timothy West, whose career spanned everything from stage appearances in Shakespeare, Ibsen and Pinter to TV roles including The Brass, EastEnders and The Great Canal Journey (co-starring his wife Prunella Scales), has died at the age of 90. .
His children, Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West, said in a statement: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off stage, our beloved father Timothy West passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening at the age of 90.
“Tim was with his friends and family until the end. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Prunella Scales, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. We will all miss him very much.
“We would like to thank the wonderful NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and Avery Wandsworth for their loving care in his final days.”
Wildly popular for his commanding stage presence and unassuming personality, West toured England's regional theaters with the same sense of adventure he used to travel the waterways.
“I feel better when I’m traveling, touring this country and other countries, playing different theaters, exploring different places, meeting different people. , I feel meaningful,” he wrote in his witty 2001 memoir, “Moments to the End of the Play.” “It's not how you get rich or famous, and it might piss off your agent, but I love it.”
Following the news of West's death, many condolences poured in. Writer and broadcaster Giles Brandreth posted on Instagram: “A wonderful man, a wonderful actor, husband, father and friend. On stage, on screen, on a canal boat, at the end of a pier (he loved the seaside pier! ), in the garden, drinking wine, he was just the best. The great Timothy West has died at the age of 90. What a life worth living.
West played the lead roles in Uncle Vanya, Death of a Salesman, The Master Builder, The Long Day's Journey into Night, Macbeth, and four times in King Lear. He is also known for portraying real-life figures such as designer William Morris and conductor Thomas Beecham, as well as politicians such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill, on stage and screen. It became like that. West's films included The Day of the Jackal (1973) and Cry Freedom (1987).
He appeared regularly on television from the 1960s, playing the eponymous king in 1975's Edward VII and finding himself in an awkward situation in 1980's Royal Jelly (one of Roald Dahl's unexpected stories). He played a beekeeper and also had a role in Charles' film adaptation. Dickens' novels Hard Times, Oliver Twist, and The Bleak House. Hard Times, which aired in 1977, was parodied in the 1983 TV series Brass, in which West played upstart Northern businessman Bradley Hardaker. He was appointed CBE in 1984.
Perhaps his greatest television success came with Great Canal Journey, a funny and moving series driven by his family's passion for narrowboats. The show, starring West and Scales, was notable for exploring how the two coped with Scales' experience with dementia. “She doesn't remember things very well, but she doesn't need to remember being on the canal,” he said. “It’s a perfect fit for her because she enjoys things as they happen.”
Times Radio pays tribute to West with broadcaster and Alzheimer's campaigner Angela Rippon He said his death was “a huge loss for everyone.”
“I think Timothy and Prue have done a fantastic, wonderful job of convincing people that dementia is not something to always be afraid of, but something that can be accepted, lived with, and lived with.”
West had a daughter, Juliette, with his first wife, Jacqueline Boyer. He and Scales had two sons, Samuel and Joseph. Samuel co-starred with his father several times on stage and in films.
Born in Bradford in 1934 to actor Lockwood West and Olive Carleton-Crowe, West spent his childhood wandering.
During World War II, the family settled in Bristol, where West's father joined the police reserve, and West made his stage debut opposite his parents in the 1943 Police Station panto. He was often absent from school and was expelled from school, although he regularly attended performances at the Little Theater in Bristol.
After directing Bristol's award-winning student production Our Town, directed by Thornton Wilder, he left his job as a quality control engineer at EMI to become assistant stage manager at London's Wimbledon Theatre. He soon began appearing on stage in progressively larger roles.
In the 1960s, he appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Samuel Johnson with the Prospect Theater Company (opposite Julian Glover, who played James Boswell). He also appeared in The Tempest for Prospect, playing Prospero.
On the subsequent Prospect tour, he played Bolingbroke in Shakespeare's Richard II and Mortimer in Marlowe's Edward II, both title roles played by Ian McKellen.
West first played the role of Lear in Prospect when she was 37 years old. His fourth role was during the 2016 EU referendum, a fitting role for a play about “tearing up maps, old men making disastrous decisions and young people having to choose.” That’s out,” he said.
In 2013, West had a small role in Coronation Street, and in 2014 he made his first appearance as Stan Carter in EastEnders, a role he continued to play for over a year. His recent television credits included “Gentleman Jack.”
